One of the first events of the year’s wine calendar, VIN kicked off 2026 in chic French style with 41 producers and two importers showing over 400 wines. Organised by Business France, the trade arm of the French embassy in the UK, the mood for the tasting was fun and full of energy, with the Business France team wearing their now signature Breton-striped tops and berets.
Everyone's a winner! The French Champion Awards once again kicked off this year's event
The event opened with the presentation of the French Champion Awards. Natalie Earl, last year’s Best Voice for France winner, gave some background about her love for France before congratulating this year’s UK French wine trade champions. Pauline Gauthier, head of food and drink for Business France UK & Ireland, explains that the awards celebrate those in the UK wine trade who raise the profile of French wines.
Voted for by 50 wine trade professionals, the 2026 French Champion Award winners are:
Best Importer for France: Daniel Lambert Wines
Best Supermarket for France: Waitrose
Best Indie Retailer for France: The Good Wine Shop
Best Online Retailer for France: The Wine Society
Best Voice for France: Matt Walls
Best Restaurant for France: Noizé
The Best Voice for France award, this year awarded to Matt Walls, writer, educator and Rhône expert, was sponsored by Laurent-Perrier. Adam Guy, managing director at Laurent-Perrier UK, explains supporting the award is driven by the knowledge that it is essential to work with educators and communicators to get out key messages about the company.
Third time skilful - Daniel Lambert
Daniel Lambert, winner of the Best Importer award for the third year in a row, attributes his success to working with small family producers “showing the pinnacle of what can be done in an appellation.” As one of the two importers with a stand at the tasting, he is a big supporter, explaining that VIN is a “snapshot of what France is all about.”
With many of the 400 wines on show not yet available in the UK, the tasting offered buyers the opportunity to discover both established estates and emerging producers, with Gauthier explaining that while the tasting is focused on showing the diversity in France, one of the main aims is also to create an opportunity for people to meet face to face: “to connect, network and celebrate French wines in the UK.”
Wine walks and walkaround tasting
Presenter Tom Surgey hosted a number of ‘wine walks’, bringing his trademark energy and humour to showcase a range of wines around different themes. Silent disco headsets added to the fun, with groups joining Surgey for his insights getting visibly bigger throughout the day.
Natalie Earl says that VIN is “a good opportunity to taste wines from all corners of France.” To take advantage of the diversity on offer I joined two of the wine walks, curated around the themes of ‘Quintessential Classics’ and ‘Off the Beaten Track,’ together highlighting the breadth of styles on offer at VIN. These are some of my favourite discoveries from the tasting:
A classic with a twist, Alain Geoffroy Signature Chablis 2020 is made to show the ageing potential in Chablis with three years on the lees giving weight and texture.
Bordeaux gems included the third label wine from Château Montrose, Tertio de Montrose 2018, full of rich spiced fruit cake; and Franc Beauséjour 2022 from Pauillac with cedar and layered dark fruit, concentrated but ready to drink now.
Domaine Jessiaume showed some excellent examples of traditional Burgundy: Auxey-Duresses 1er Cru Les Ecussaux 2023 showing complexity and richness with elegant oak, and Santenay 1er Cru Les Gravières 2023 with intense red fruit, a hint of spice and balanced acidity.
Champagne Michel Littière in Oeuilly is an independent grower producer in the Vallée de la Marne. The Vintage 2018 Brut is equal parts Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier with toasty brioche from six years on the lees, rich baked apple and citrus notes, elegant and balanced.
Champagne François Chaumont, now linked to Champagne Michel Littière through marriage and sharing the same winery, is based in Puisieulx, the smallest of the Grand Cru villages. Producing only single varietal champagnes, they make limited quantities, selling most of their grapes to Champagne Palmer. The Blanc de Noirs Brut is 100% Pinot Noir with a generous nose of raspberry fruit and apple crumble.
Château de Poncié949 Blanc and Fleurie 949, named for the year of the oldest recorded vineyards on their land, both show freshness and balance with the Chardonnay seeing old oak for a year while the Fleurie is made partly with carbonic maceration but left unoaked for a pure expression with rounded, juicy red fruit.
Tom Surgey's wine walks were an inventive way of engaging with the many wines on show
Off the beaten track
Showing us his picks of wines ‘Off the Beaten Track’, Surgey comments that while “we all know the classic French regions and wines, there is value to be found in the gaps” adding that he believes the VIN tasting is a good way of “finding modern France”. As well as less common styles and varieties, Surgey also highlights regions that are often overlooked, like Corsica and Bergerac.
Domaine du Clos Aura Orange2023 from IGP Vaucluse in the Rhône, is an orange Souvignier Gris made with carbonic maceration and aged in concrete and barrel, showing pithy, tropical fruit with a hint of spiciness on the finish.
Domaine les Capréoles in Beaujolais also offers an orange alongside more traditional reds and whites – L’Oranginal 2024 is an orange Chardonnay made with carbonic maceration before fermentation in barrels, with spice and tea notes on the nose and an approachable fruitiness.
From Domaine Poiron Dabin in the Loire, Séduction 2023 embraces sweetness in a demi-sec Pinot Gris with 40g/L of sugar bringing out the fruitiness and texture of the variety.
Cave d’Aléria is a cooperative in Corsica formed in 1958. Terra Santa 2024 is a blend of indigenous varieties Sciaccarellu and Niellucciuwith a touch of Grenache showing red fruits and light tannic grip to give a refreshing and fruity wine which would work well chilled.
Univitis is a cooperative of more than 100 growers across Bordeaux and Bergerac. Brennus 2023 is a blend of mainly Merlot with some Cabernet Sauvignon, well-structured but approachable with ripe fruit.
"One of the main aims of VIN is to create an opportunity for people to meet face to face, to connect, network and celebrate French wines in the UK.” Business France's Pauline Gauthier.
A trade tasting aiming to represent the whole of France sounds like a somewhat overwhelming proposition, but VIN managed with aplomb to deliver both a manageable tasting and a joyful celebration of Francophilia. Gauthier explains that VIN aims to “showcase the best of France” and to champion the diversity of French wines, showing the UK wine trade “all the talent and passion from France.”
