Bethesda, MD, February 26, 2025 – Abridge™, a comprehensive online platform serving the alcohol beverage industry, is excited to announce the sixth edition of its annual Wine & Spirits Competition. The event will take place on March 4-5, 2025, in Dijon, France.
Abridge President, Bennett Caplan, emphasized the competition’s role in educating students on the crucial impact of regulatory compliance in the international alcohol trade. “Our competition provides students with an understanding of how labeling regulations, international trade agreements, tariffs, and taxation can affect business operations,” he said. “We are deeply grateful to Edouard Mognetti from the Burgundy School of Business and Theodore Georgopoulos from the University of Reims for hosting this year’s event.”
Laurel Parker, Abridge’s Vice President of Operations, designs the competition’s case studies and manages its annual organization. This year, Parker will co-host the event alongside Nathalie Grzeskowiak, Coordinator of Academic Activities at the Burgundy School of Business, and Liz Bohner from the International Federation of Wine and Spirits (FIVS). Parker noted, “The competition gives students a valuable hands-on experience, allowing them to address real-world challenges in marketing, branding, and product evaluation while networking with industry experts.”
The competition will feature a panel of international judges evaluating the export strategies of students from the BSB Burgundy School of Wine & Spirits Business and the Georges Chappaz Institute of Vine and Wine at the University of Reims. This year’s distinguished judging panel includes:
- Alinne Bernd – Federal Agricultural Tax Auditor, Ministry of Agriculture (Brazil)
- Dwayne Bershaw – Senior Lecturer, Enology, Cornell University (United States)
- Bennett Caplan – President, Abridge (United States)
- Juliette Dionisi – Attorney at Law, Intellectual Property, CASALONGA (France)
- Damien Griffante – Director, Strategy and International Affairs, Australian Grape & Wine (Australia)
- Vincent Guionet – Director of Sales, Maison Albert Bichot (France)
- Julie Hesketh-Laird – Chief Executive, FIVS (Scotland)
- Kelly Moss – Associate Director, Compliance & Regulation, WSTA (United Kingdom)
- Josephine Murray-Golden – New Product Development Manager, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard (Ireland)
- Adriaan Oelofse – Research, Development, and Innovation Manager, Oenology, South Africa Wine (South Africa)
- Naomi Verdonk – Market Access Manager, Wine Australia (Australia)
- Paul Wagner – Instructor, Viticulture and Winery Technology, Napa Valley College (United States)
This year’s competition will challenge four student teams from Belarus, France, India, Luxembourg, Turkey, and the United States. Each team will present a strategy for a fictional wine and spirits company, grappling with declining sales and other obstacles. They will decide whether the company should expand its exports to the European Union or the United States. Utilizing Abridge’s database, the students will navigate complex issues like labeling, taxation, and trade regulations across both markets.
Abridge’s database offers subscribers up-to-date regulatory information for 54 markets, covering over 110 countries. It includes details on certification, composition, definitions, labeling, production, tariffs, and taxation for wine, spirits, and other alcoholic beverages.
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