Wines of France in Eight Languages

Montreal, Quebec, March 31, 2005 ─ The official Wines of France website www.wines-france.com introduced in 2004 by the French Wines Trade Council (Office National Interprofessionnel des Vins or  "ONIVINS") has just launched four new languages to its site: Chinese, Russian, Dutch and Danish.

These languages join English, French, German and Spanish, to offer visitors around the world a genuine information source of French wine.  This creative website is the official reference point for the Wines of France on the web. 

ONIVINS entrusted a team of Canadian experts with the mandate to conceive, design and realise this essential interactive online tool- the team included Sopexa Canada, a consultancy to the French food and drink sector, and Diesel Marketing a Montreal-based agency, responsible for all interactivity and web production.

"Within the increasingly competitive context of the global wine market, we had to strengthen the position of Wines of France as a worldwide leader, and to demystify the so-called complexity of French wines", explains Olivier Moreaux, Vice President, Sopexa North America and Director of Sopexa Canada. "This new international web presence is meant to be a consistent information source on French wines and to present a comprehensive and compelling site where ease of navigation goes hand in hand with relevancy of information.  The goal is to inform and to captivate a wide audience, from the novice to the discriminating connoisseur."

Presented now in eight languages ─ the address www.wines-france.com constitutes a new offer in its niche, unique on the web.

The site welcomes the refined and colourful graphics of Jean-Philippe Delhomme. This French illustrator is known around the world for his contributions in various publications as well as for his collaboration on renowned advertising campaigns. For the Wines of France site, he created three key characters that convey all of the charm and friendliness of the French "touch": the grape grower, the enologist and the wine steward. All three characters are dynamic hosts in the exploration of French wines and their diversity.

The grape grower leads us "From Soil to Grapes," on the discovery of the wine regions, grape varieties, the soils and various micro-climates that characterize wine production in France. Together with the enologist, we are transported "From Grapes to Wine," to simplify wine-producing vocabulary, French appellations of origin, the principles of wine production, vintages, the secrets of cellaring and the influence of history on wine-making. The wine steward then escorts us on the journey "From Bottle to Palate": exploring concepts surrounding appellations of origin, labels, tasting and serving, making discriminating connoisseurs of us all.

For improvised meals and aperitifs, the "Quick, What Should I Drink?" section becomes our best ally. In just two to three clicks, this section provides us with an array of suggestions for enticing wines depending on the food served, our flavour profile, our favourite region, our favourite grape variety, or even the occasion being celebrated. In addition, a fun quiz allows us to test our knowledge of French wines.

More than just a showcase of the Wines of France, www.wines-france.com, created in Canada, is an interactive consumer tool that informs, entertains and captivates. Visit us online for a taste!