Florence Authier Meuric #165
Happy childhood memories: the beginning of Florence’s wine story
Her first experience with wine was at the age of 10, at her communion meal. Florence’s Uncle Maurice was ecstatic while drinking a good bottle of Bordeaux. He was so thrilled that she asked him to pour her a glass of wine. But at 10 years old, you don’t have the taste buds of an adult. As soon as the wine was in Florence’s mouth, she spit it out. Her uncle Maurice laughed and told her: “You’ll get this, when you ‘re older, you’ll enjoy wine too”. And he was right.
Florence’s second experience was with her grandfather’s wine. Her paternal grandparents had a small vineyard attached to their house that her grandfather cultivated for his personal enjoyment and to make his own wine. Every year, the whole family would get together to harvest these few vines in one day. Everyone had their role. The women cut all the bunches of grapes and once the buckets were full, the men brought the grapes to the tractor. At the end of the day, the whole tribe would happily go off to dump the harvest at the local cooperative winery. Florence loved this very relaxed and convivial atmosphere. During the family lunch on the veranda, they tasted, by tradition, the wine of grandpa. Even if Grandpa’s wine was not of the best quality, it reminds her of unforgettable moments spent together. It evokes good memories of sharing, conviviality and joy.
Beyond the product, the wine world is a big family
When in 1999, after living abroad for a few years, she joined the export department of Maison Bessière, in Languedoc-Roussillon, Florence found this warm atmosphere again. To her great surprise, she discovered that, beyond the product, the wine world was a big family. And because she loves her family, she decided to stay in this environment. Nearly a quarter of a century later, she continues to promote the wines of her partners with the same pleasure. The link that ties Florence to the wine industry is so strong that she still has this flame in her.
Star meetings - star wines
At the age of 12, she begin the first lines of her diary with these words: « This evening, I saw the movie « La Chèvre” with Pierre Richard and Gérard Depardieu. I love Pierre Richard…”. Who could have predicted at that time that a few decades later, Florence would meet these two sacred monsters of French cinema, in the context of her work in the wine industry? She was able to get close to Gérard Depardieu when she was working for Bernard Magrez who distributed his wines. After Bernard Magrez, Florence continued her career in Bordeaux at Les Grands Chais de France before creating in 2012 her own company of “Wine and Events”. In 2017, she made one of her dreams come true: she accompanied her idol Pierre Richard to Kyiv to promote his wines, after having organized his trip. This was the beginning of their professional and friendly history. Then, many other events and trips will follow in the Eastern countries with Pierre Richard or his son Christophe Defays who is the general manager of Pierre Richard Wines.
She cultivates a passion for the Art of Living. Florence likes to cultivate herself, to spend hours at the table, to drink, to taste the gastronomy of the chefs, to exchange around various subjects, to laugh… In short, she likes to enjoy life. As an ambassador, it is this « savoir-vivre » and this “French touch” that she tries to put forward when she promotes the wines of her partners. In November 2022, for instance, she participated for the second time in the Saint-Barth Gourmet Festival with the wines of Château Trianon, AOP Saint-Emilion. What a satisfaction to see this grand cru invited on the tables of some chefs during this world-renowned festival that takes place in the Caribbean!
Florence likes to create links between people. That’s why she has been organizing a stand at the Prowein trade show in Germany for over 12 years, which brings together several producers. She proposes an “all inclusive” formula so that their only concern is to meet their customers. And she takes care of them.
Since 2019, Florence has been also a taster at the Concours Expression des Vignerons bio de Nouvelle Aquitaine. Wine is a pleasure. Wine is a hedonic beverage. Wine is unifying. Wine leads us by our heart not our head.
