How Bordeaux puts the PR into party when world comes to drink

(AFP) - The illuminated facades of historic chateaux light up the night sky. The air is filled with the crackle of fireworks, the tinkle of crystal and the lilt of opera.

Tuxedos and evening gowns are de rigueur and some of France's top chefs are sweating away in the kitchens.

Bordeaux has always known how to throw a party and when the planet's biggest wine fair is in town, no expense is spared in the effort to seduce the movers and shakers who help to maintain the region's status as the epicentre of the viticultural world.

This year's Vinexpo was played out against a background of uncertainty over the direction of the world economy and fears of an EU-China trade war, both subjects of concern for European wine producers in general and Bordeaux in particular.

But there was no cutting back on the banquets that chateaux owners admit can cost them up to 500 euros per head ($650), even before the cost of pouring vintage wines down guests' throats is taken into account.

"These meals create an impression of quality, of a certain art of living that is enormously beneficial to the image of Bordeaux wines in general terms," explains Jean-Michel Cazes, a former grandmaster of the Commanderie du Bontemps, one of the oldest and biggest fraternities in French wine.

"It is an excellent form of public relations aimed at our customers."

The Commanderie du Bontemps is in charge of organising the Fete de la Fleur, the Vinexpo closing dinner that is traditionally the hottest ticket of the week.