ARENI Global: In Conversation

What does a luxury boutique know about customer loyalty that most wineries, merchants, and retailers don't? Unsurprisingly, quite a lot.

In this episode, Pauline sits down in Hong Kong with Charles de la Portbarré, a mathematician who has spent 15 years building customer data models and loyalty programs for major luxury houses.

Together they unpack "clienteling" — the practice of segmenting your customers, analyzing their purchase history, and tailoring how you engage with them depending on where they sit in their journey with your brand. They dig into customer loyalty strategies, allocation systems, and the practical steps win...

What makes a wine event memorable? And why do some experiences succeed in turning people into long-term wine drinkers, while others leave no lasting impression at all?

In this final episode of New Consumers, New Narratives, Pauline Vicard speaks with Loïc Lamy and Milena Berman, founders of Hautes Côtes and creators of the now cult Vin & Hip Hop events in Burgundy.

Drawing on their experience organising events in Burgundy, Champagne, and Los Angeles, they discuss what younger consumers actually look for when they engage with wine: not status or technical knowledge alone, but ho...

Why - and how- did wine become collectible?

Pauline Vicard speaks with Amayés Aouli, Global Head of Wine & Spirits at Bonhams, one of the world’s oldest auction houses. Together, they explore the often-misunderstood world of wine auctions, beyond the spectacle of paddles and hammer prices. The discussion reveals how auctions translate desire into value, navigating scarcity, logistics, trust, and global demand. A conversation that offers a deeper lens on the fine wine ecosystem—and where it is heading.

In this conversation:

• What auctions actually do—and why they exist

• How wine be...

As part of Women’s History Month, we are sharing a revisited edition of a conversation first recorded in June 2021 during the Bâtonnage Forum—an initiative dedicated to advancing women in the wine industry.

In this episode, Pauline Vicard is joined by Jordan Sale, founder of 81cents, and Felicity Carter, now Editorial Director at Areni Global. Together, they explore a deceptively simple question: how much is enough?

The discussion examines gender pay gaps, negotiation behaviours, and what happens when an industry that has traditionally avoided conversations about money begins to engage with them more openl...

What makes an allocated wine offering work — and when does it fail?

In this episode, Pauline Vicard sits down with Peter Yeung to unpack the mechanics behind scarcity in fine wine. From waitlists and wishlists to pricing strategy and sell-out psychology, they explore how allocation systems shape brand value and customer loyalty.

Drawing on insights from ARENI Global’s upcoming New Fine Wine Consumers study, they also examine why younger collectors approach wine like a video game: they don’t just want access — they want to understand the rules.

Because in fine wine, it’s not...

Why is the world drinking less — and do they really drink less fine wine?

For the first episode of 2026, Pauline and Felicity unpack one of the most pressing shifts reshaping the wine industry: global deconsumption.

Far from being a simple generational story, they reveal how economics, demographics, social change, regulation and new health narratives are collectively transforming alcohol consumption across every age group.

Drawing on Areni Global’s upcoming research on new fine wine consumers (launching Feb. 2026), they explore how economics, demographics, social change, regulation and new health narratives are transforming alcohol consumption acro...

Does spirituality have a role in winemaking?

Where else to have this conversation than in Burgundy, the region that claims 1,000 years of a wine history that began with monks. We sat down with Aubert de Villaine, co-owner of Domaine de la Romanée Conti, who is not just acknowledged as one of the greatest winemakers of all time, but also one of the most spiritual.

We were joined by Ted Lemon, owner of Littorai in Sonoma, a deep thinker, who articulated his vision for winemaking.

The conversation ranged across what spirituality means in t...

What does terroir mean today? How does it differ from the idea of sense of place? Is terroir a matter of nature or nurture? Do these questions even matter today?

And if they do, how much does an understanding of terroir influence winemakers in their everyday work?

For this fifth episode of the Areni Live Series, we take you inside one of the most unfiltered and thought-provoking conversations we had during our 2025 think tank.

Gathered around Jacques Devauges, manager of the iconic Domaine des Lambrays in Burgundy, and Samantha O’Keefe, owner and wi...

Behind the famous glazed roofs of Beaune lies a story where wine, care, and community are inseparable. Founded in the 15th century as a hospital for the poor, the Hospices de Beaune has evolved into one of the world’s most unique institutions — part working hospital, part wine estate, and a living expression of humanity, charity and hospitality.

In this fourth episode of the Areni Live Series, we sat down with Guillaume Koch, Director of the Beaune Civil Hospitals, and Ludivine Griveau, Winemaker and Estate Manager, to explore how the wines of the Hospices sustain local healthcare, prese...

China has long been one of the most complex and fascinating markets for fine wine. Once driven by gifting and status, the market is now undergoing a dramatic reset — with consumers buying wine for themselves, new generations shaping demand, and logistics and e-commerce opening fresh possibilities.

In this episode of Areni Live Sessions, Felicity Carter speaks with Don St Pierre Jr., a pioneer of the Chinese wine trade and co-founder of ASC Fine Wines, about his surprising return to the market. Together, they explore:

What does success really mean in today’s fine wine sector? In this episode, recorded live at Domaine des Lambrays in Burgundy in July 2025, host Pauline Vicard is joined by three leading voices: Mathieu Jullien, CEO of Vins d’Exception at LVMH, Steve Smith MW, Managing Director of AONZ Fine Wine in New Zealand, and Pierre Mansour, Head of Wine at The Wine Society in the UK.

Together they explore how success can no longer be measured by profit and growth alone, but by the ability to create value, build reputation, and ensure wines are truly enjoyed. The...

The situation around wine, alcohol and health is complex, and a lot of important conversations are happening within the realm of public affairs, an area that most of the wine world doesn’t think much about.

What is the social context in which these changes to public health policy are happening? How serious is the threat to the wine industry? Does the medical and scientific evidence support the “no safe level” claim?

We asked three key personalities to help us understand what is happening, and what is at stake.

With Felicity Carter, founder of Dri...

In 2021, 30y old Burgundian winemaker Charles Lachaux was crowned Best Rising Star at the inaugural Golden Vines Awards, and the wine world lost its mind. Prices for his bottles skyrocketed on the secondary market, he was endorsed by President Macron, and suddenly this sixth-generation Burgundian was being hailed as the successor to Lalou Bize-Leroy.

But Lachaux’s rise didn’t begin with fame — and it hasn’t ended there either.

In this unusually frank conversation, Charles Lachaux joins Pauline Vicard to explain the sweeping changes he’s made to viticulture at his family estate in Vosne-Roma...

Pauline spent a few days in the Florida capital and sat down with key players. Here is what we learned about the incredibly dynamic, passionate, hungry and growing wine scene of a city that might change a thing or two for the future of fine wine.

Based in London, Laurence Whyatt is Head of European Beverages Research for Barclays Investment Bank, meaning that his job is to predict the future of alcohol consumption globally, so that companies can invest accordingly.

Drawing from his latest multi-year analysis, How Demographics and Economics Shape Global Alcohol Consumption, we answer some of the world of wine's burning questions on Gen Z, the role of women in premiumisation and the impact of cannabis and Ozempic on alcohol sales.

And if you want to know which markets represent the biggest opportunities for premium wine companies and why...

How should leaders prepare to succeed in an impossible-to-predict world?

Elizabeth (Lizzy) Rudd is the Chair of Berry Bros. & Rudd, Britain’s oldest wine merchant.

Founded in 1698 at number 3 St James street in London, the company still occupies the same address 327 years later. But today, it offers more than 1,500 SKUs and stores more than 1.5 million cases of wine in a state-of-the-art warehouse in Hampshire. They also have offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore, and sell to customers in more than 100 countries.

After more than three centuries, there aren’t many chan...

What does the wine trade need to become more profitable?

At the very moment that everything is changing, it is important to take some time to evaluate professional wine education. Is it fit for purpose? How could a revised professional wine education answer some of our industry’s crucial issues?

Pauline Vicard and Felicity Carter present Areni's latest whitepaper key findings, based on 18 months of research.

They discuss:

How do you create a new generation of life-long wine collectors and enthusiasts?

Hamish Greening knows how to find them and nurture them. Hamish is Private Client Specialist of Chelsea Vintners in London.

And he’s built a clientele of under-40 wine drinkers who are happy to spend £400+ on a single bottle of wine. 

In this fourth episode of New Consumers, New Narratives, Hamish reveals:

What do zillenials want? What do they seek? How do they think about wine and what can the industry do about this?

In this third episode of New Consumers, New Narratives, we meet Honore Comfort, the vice president of international marketing at the Wine institute, the collective body representing the Californian wine trade. In 2024, the wine institute commissioned a big study aiming to understand the minds of the zillenials – the clever contraction of Gen Z-at least the ones that are old enough to legally drink +millennials. While acknowledging that this cohort is diverse, the study focused on un...

Western societies are currently re-examining their relationship with wine and alcohol. For the last couple of years, the “no-safe level of alcohol” narrative has come to the forefront, with headlines highlighting new studies leading to the conclusion that there is no alcohol consumption without health risks, deeply challenging our established understanding of moderation.

So, has the science really changed, or is moderation still a valid concept?

Jennifer Tujague is Chief Scientist at the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), a position she has occupied since 2013. IARD is a membership organization gathering 13 of the...

What does 2025 have in store for the fine wine world? How are key players planning for this new year and where will they invest their time, and money?

Felicity and Pauline caught up with six major wine personalities, to ask them what they see ahead in 2025.

Here is what they discussed:

· China: The impact of the country’s slow recovery and how the wine market has drastically changed in five years (with some very positive trends, we promise!)

· Global: The geopolitical turmoil and taxes and tariffs, both in the USA an...

He's one of the advertising world's living legends, the man behind some of the most iconic campaigns ever devised. But Sir John Hegarty also owns a vineyard and is passionate about wine.

What would it take for wine companies to come up with some really compelling ideas that would inspire a whole new generation of consumers to think about wine in a new, more attractive way?

New Consumers, New Narratives is a podcast series produced by Areni Global, a think tank dedicated to the future of fine wine. Areni Global helps wineries, distributors and retailers...

How do successful luxury brands engage with the young(er) consumers?

In this first episode of our latest series New Consumers, New Narratives host Pauline Vicard delves into the topic of Luxury strategies with Jean-Noël Kapferer

a world-renowned expert in luxury brand strategy. They discuss the levers of success for luxury and premium brands and explore how they manage to stay relevant and attractive to the new generations of consumers, whilst debating the unique position of wine in the global luxury segment.

To pick up a copy of Jean-Nean-Noël Ka...

What does successful distribution mean for fine wine? And what does it take to be -and remain- successful in fine wine distribution? Are the keys and measure of success different whether you are releasing your wine en primeur, or en livrables (as deliverables), through exclusive importers, or direct to consumers? And what are the main advantages and limitations of each system? 

Listen in as host Pauline Vicard discusses distribution -in conjunction with her deep dive into La Place de Bordeaux- with Mathieu Jullien Marketing and Sales Director at LVMH Vins d’Exception (comprising Yquem, Château...

How is the secondary market organized in Norway? And why are Fine Wines so much cheaper there? And how long do people have to queue to buy a bottle of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti?

In this episode, host Pauline Vicard sits down with Arnt Egil Nordlien, Product Manager of Fine Wine & Auctions at Vinmonopolet in Norway. Together they discuss the in’s and out’s of a very unique distribution system. How does Arnt choose what to buy at En Primeur week each year, and how are the wines imported? How does the Vinmo...

It started in Bordeaux but has since become a major force in global fine wine. What’s next for La Place de Bordeaux?

In this final episode of Inside La Place de Bordeaux, hosts Felicity Carter and Pauline Vicard consider where La Place came from — and where it’s going. They talk to some of the world’s most insightful experts, and look into their own crystal balls, to predict what’s likely to happen next.

·       Can En Primeur stay in its current form, or will it transform into something else?

·       Will the market polarise f...

How old is La Place? How did the Bordelais create the most influential fine wine system in the world? Where did the 1855 Classification come from- and who decided? Did 1982 really change the fate of the Bordelais?

In this sixth episode, hosts Felicity Carter and Pauline Vicard dive into the archives and talk to historians, to help them better understand the origins of La Place de Bordeaux.

And what they find is unexpected. Whether it’s the hard-nosed commercial decisions, or the quest for tax deductions, or even the world of smuggling, they uncover th...

What does it mean for a fine wine to be a brand? How do fine wine brands define and measure success? How much does it cost to be a successful brand? What’s the role of the secondary market in building successful brands?

If you’ve been listening to the previous episodes of this series, you would have heard it: La Place doesn’t build brands. But then, who does? And how do they successfully do it?

In this fifth episode, hosts Felicity Carter and Pauline Vicard explore the concept of branding in relati...

Why do estates from around the world want to work with a historic institution in Bordeaux? What impact have these wines had on La Place and beyond? And should fine wine producers look to La Place for distribution?

In the small world of La Place, no other change has had as many impacts as the recent growth of the Beyond Bordeaux wines category. From Almaviva to Opus One, from Penfolds to Masseto, the international icons have transformed the way the Place works, and the way we understand the fine wine category.

Faced with declining consumption and a threatening regulatory environment, are we good enough at talking or writing about wine? Why? What could be the levers of a new narrative for wine? And what could be the risks of not improving our game?

In this episode, hosts Pauline Vicard goes to Napa to meet author, speaker, consultant and all-round wine communicator Karen MacNeil. Karen has won every major wine communication award in the English language, including the James Beard award for Wine and Spirits Professional of the Year, and the Louis Roederer award for Best Consumer Wine Writing...

How does a bottle of Bordeaux end up on a collector's table? What will its journey be, from the châteaux to the world? Who decides who gets access to highly allocated wines? And the most fascinating question of all: who is currently making money (or not) in the fine wine supply chain? Are current margins enough to sustain a complex system?

In this third episode, hosts Felicity Carter and Pauline Vicard look at the behind the scenes of La Place de Bordeaux and consider the opportunities and challenges of this distribution system.

Get...

What does an En-Primeur campaign look like? How is it organized? The on-going campaign is supposed to be a crucial one for the survival of the whole ecosystem. How much of that is true? What would la Place be without En Primeur?

In this second episode, hosts Felicity Carter and Pauline Vicard tell the tale of the En Primeur campaign, through speaking to producers, négociants, courtiers, buyers and critics.

Get ready for an in-depth exploration, bringing in diverse and layered opinions from Jane Anson, Ronan Laborde, James Miles, Max Lalondrelle, Thomas Parker MW...

What does the global wine world need to understand about modern China and what will China’s role be in the future of fine wine?

About Simon Tam:

Simon Tam grew up in Australia. He worked in his parents' restaurant which is how he first came into contact with fine wines. After studying at a wine college, Tam worked as a wine consultant for the South Australian government and he even worked as a winemaker for a few years. He eventually moved to Hong Kong, where he opened the first wine sc...

What is La Place de Bordeaux? Does la Place only deal with fine wines? What’s the relationship between la Place and the En-Primeur system? How transparent is the Place?

In this first episode of Inside La Place de Bordeaux, hosts Felicity Carter and Pauline Vicard sit down to discuss their understanding of La Place and challenge their own preconceptions of the system.

We speak to leading experts to understand their perspectives on La Place: Jane Anson, Mathieu Chadronnier, Tom Portet, Valentin Lillet, Axel Heinz, Christopher Lynch, Christian Wylie, and Philippe Newlin. With th...

If you've ever wonder what La Place de Bordeaux is all about, how it works, and maybe most importantly why - and for whom- it works, then this podcast is for you.

In this seven episodes series, Areni Global top duo Pauline Vicard and Felicity Carter tackle all the hard questions, meet key players -many of them going public for the first time - and analyze the role and place of the Place de Bordeaux in the future of fine wine distribution.

Follow them as they enter the Place, and discover what happens behind what...

What does one of the world’s top Bordeaux expert think about La Place? As one of the world's top wine critic, how does she prepare for the upcoming En-Primeur week? And how is it likely to be influenced by the current social and economical context in Bordeaux? To answer these questions and more we sat down with Jane Anson, wine critic, writer and journalist.

About Jane Anson:

Jane is without a doubt one of the most influential fine wine critics globally, respected and praised around the world for her work ethos, dedication and talent. Her...

What role can wine investment play in the future of fine wine?

Host Pauline Vicard delves into the intriguing world of wine investment with guests Rosti Petrov and Matthew Small, of Cru Wine. Together they discuss the different opinions about investing in wine, from concerns about rising prices, to assertions that it's a safe investment with steady returns and tax benefits. Pauline also highlights the question about whether there really are people who simply invest just to invest rather than because they are fine wine lovers, as well as how fine...

What are the processes, resources, the wine knowledge and skills needed to equip a vast team like Southern Glazers? Tune in and hear Eric Hemer MS, MW give his insights on what it takes.

Eric Hemer, MS MW is Senior Vice President, Product Education overseeing wine, spirits and related production education and certification in 45 US markets, Canada, and the Caribbean for Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits. Eric has been with the company for 35 years; prior to his current role he held various sales,management, and educational positions in Florida before being promoted to hi...

Can you scale up fine wine? What are the practicalities of scaling up and the main obstacle and challenge that wineries face along the way? Join our panel discussion to hear more...

Vianney Gravereaux, Sales & Marketing Director, Ornellaia & Masseto, Italy

After starting his career at Arthur Andersen, Vianney Gravereaux has gained a vast international experience in fine wine while working for globally renowned estates such as Champagne Philipponnat and Champagne Salon. He studied Economics, English, Political Philosophy and Geopolitics, is French by birth and multilingual by vocation. 

Follow V...