Interview with Colin Gent, Head of Communications and Suppliers Relations at Europvin, at the time of a lecture for Master in Wine Marketing and Management students at INSEEC Business School, Bordeaux.
Graduated of Merton College, Oxford University in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, Colin Gent came on November 18th to give a lecture to the MBA Wine Marketing and Management students and to initiate them in professional tasting.
Europvin, founded in 1978 by Christopher Cannan, is a merchant of quality European wines sold all over the world.
Colin Gent has been Master of Wine since 2003. It is both a qualification and a title, usually abbreviated to the letters MW. To use these letters, one must have passed the Institute’s rigorous Masters of Wine examination, which tests practical and theoretical understanding of the arts, science and business of wine. This took Colin Gent 4 years to obtain. His first motivations were both recognition of his wine expertise and extra qualification in his career development.
Colin Gent accepted to teach at INSEEC Business School to help students understand the strengths and issues in the current wine industry. The two main pieces of advice he would give to students would be to ask the right questions and to benefit from all the professionals in the industry they encounter here at INSEEC.
Being a wine merchant implies difficulties to overcome. For instance, you have to be clear about what added value you can bring. As an intermediary between the producers and the consumers, you are constantly in danger of becoming extinct. To be actor in the wine industry, you must have excellent wine expertise to rely on. You have to understand what different motivations drive the market and to what extent different wines succeed or fail and finally you must be flexible to adapt to changes.
Colin Gent sees a bright future for the wine industry because throughout the world, more and more people are discovering wine. Wine is becoming much more than a usual consumption good. People worldwide are developing a growing interest in wine because it tells a story about a culture, a civilization.
