Behind the scenes at the Concours Mondial: Bernard Burtschy, Le Figaro

The trade-only judging panel gathers together the foremost international experts. It represents almost 40 nationalities and this diversity contributes to the uniqueness of the event. This is an opportunity to let them voice their thoughts and share their impressions on a changing industry.

Bernard Burtschy is a French journalist writing in the daily Paris-based newspaper Le Figaro. Every Thursday he writes a full page column on the world of wine. He took part in the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles for the first time this year in Luxembourg. In this interview, he shares his impressions on the event itself and on the changes within the industry.

“A competition with huge numbers of excellent wine tasters that I see individually on my travels. It is extremely rare to see them all in one place. Basically, all the world’s star tasters are here.
“We are heading towards more professional reviews. In the past, a wine critic needed to be able to write well, listen and tell great stories. Nowadays, and this is true of the sommelier profession too, a wine critic must be capable of forming his own opinion. He needs to travel to each region and see what is really happening there.”