It is a real consecration. The Vignery of Saint-Germain-en-Laye literally won the competition for the best wine merchant in France whose final took place this Monday in Bordeaux (Gironde).
The manager and owner of the cellar, Matthieu Potin, and his colleague, Julien Lepage, respectively won the title of gold wine merchant and silver wine merchant. “It’s a robbery,” laughs the first.
The two men had already achieved the feat of being the only two candidates from the same establishment to reach the final of this competition born in the 19th century and brought up to date in 2014.
After the qualifying tests, which focused on technical knowledge concerning the different grape varieties, appellations and regulations, the duo therefore flew over the competition by showing themselves brilliant on the blind tasting tests, then during the simulation. with a sales pitch to develop from a bottle. Their rating also includes the opinion of a mystery shopper who recently visited their store.
An “intense” competition
Matthieu speaks of “intense competition”. “It was as I had imagined: only fun,” said the 33-year-old who quickly felt the tide turn in his favor. “I felt so comfortable at the end of the first two events that I knew I had a real chance to get there,” says the professional from Normandy.
His colleague points out a major enemy: stress. “The biggest challenge for me was managing stress,” says the 31-year-old former cook. It was a struggle against myself to have to relax and speak distinctly, with presence, to make it appear as natural as possible as if I were at work ”.
Expected economic benefits
If the young man underlines “a very beautiful story” and “a victory to share”, Matthieu, for his part, expresses a feeling of “pride”: “I saw it in the eyes of the people of La Vignery , colleagues and other professionals ”.
If he says he is “on a real cloudy day”, Julien knows “that we will quickly come down from there when we start working again tomorrow”.
