Mark your calendars for Friday, May 23, at 6 pm, for the opening of the pop-up bar set up in the vineyards of Château Lalande-Labatut, at the gateway to Entre-deux-Mers, in Gironde in southern France. Régis Falxa, who manages this vineyard with his sister, will kick off the summer season. Hosting one evening per month until autumn, he will welcome local residents and tourists to taste his wines, sold at €3 per glass and between €10 and €18 per bottle, accompanied by charcuterie and cheese platters, with live music or sports broadcasts.

"In 2024, with the Paris Olympic Games, we hosted up to 400 people per evening," said Falxa, who launched this initiative in 2022, amid an unprecedented crisis in the Bordeaux vineyards. With the sudden slowdown of the Chinese market and the decreased consumption of red wine in France, stockpiles struggled to sell, and prices plummeted. For Falxa, also president of the Independent Winemakers of Gironde, the pop-up bar is a way to reconnect with customers. "We need to demystify and make wine consumption more accessible with friendly events, and challenge the preconceived notion that Bordeaux winemakers are unapproachable," he explained.

This individual approach is just one example of the wave of wine tourism sweeping through French wine regions. Although the phenomenon is not new, it has gained momentum over the past decade, especially after the Covid-19 crisis. According to a study published in February by Atout France, the French tourism development agency, the number of vineyard visitors in France has increased by 20% over five years, reaching 12 million in 2023. The growth of foreign clientele, led by the British, Belgians and Americans, is particularly significant, with a 29% jump, while the French show a less strong growth (+14%) but remain the majority with 6.6 million visitors.

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