Wine Bar by CMB in Mexico City, the first of its kind worldwide.
Aline ValdesIn mid-July the first Wine Bar by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (CMB) opened in Mexico City’s business district. At 6,996 square feet (650 square meters), it is the largest wine bar in Latin America and boasts one of the largest wine cellars in Mexico. With a capacity to showcase 700 different labels, the wine bar’s opening list features 250 wines and spirits from around the world, all of which have earned a medal from the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles or one of its auxiliary competitions. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the soft opening is akin to a pre-launch with limited selection and decreased staffing.
The Wine Bar by CMB is a joint project initiated by Baudouin Havaux, Chairman of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles and Director of Vinopres and Mexican sommelier and journalist Carlos Borboa, who represents the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in Mexico and is director of Mexico Selection by CMB, an annual competition that features only Mexican wines. CMB, Vinopres and other partners are responsible for the funding. Carlos Borboa will act as the General Manager and Head Sommelier and will also serve as the main liaison with producers and press.
Carlos Borboa, General Manager and Head Sommelier at Wine Bar by CMB in Mexico City.
Mexico Selection by CMBExpanding on the concept of a traditional wine bar, this project will showcase wines awarded medals by the CMB as well as other associated competitions around the world such as Mexico Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, Concours Mondial du Sauvignon, and Spirits Selection by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. All wines and spirits served have been awarded a medal by one of these competitions, which offers consumers a guarantee of quality.Baudouin Havaux stated, “The ultimate aim is to feature…all the thousands of winners from all 54 countries taking part in the competition year by year.”
Wine Bar by CMB is conceived as a space where wine and spirits producers from around the world can engage with wine and spirits enthusiasts as well as industry members such as sommeliers, distributors and importers. It will ultimately function as a communications and promotional tool for awarded producers looking to work in the Mexican market. Among its various areas is the Ningxia Wine Pavilion, the first of its kind in Latin America, which is decorated in authentic Chinese style and offers award-winning wines from Ningxia, China. Other spaces include the Oak Room, outfitted to recall a vintage European bar, and the Wine Library, which will house a collection of 700 bottles, one of the largest cellars that is open to the public in all of Mexico and Latin America. The most exclusive room is the United Airlines Lounge, reserved for those with elite status on United Airlines. Here, a total of eight people can enjoy selections from a list of 230 wines and spirits awarded at the Mexico Selection by CMB 2019.
The Ningxia Pavilion within Wine Bar by CMB.
Aline ValdesBoth a producer and consumer country when it comes to wine, the Mexican market is a strategic choice for creating the first Wine Bar by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. In addition, Mexico has one of the most dynamic markets in the world, both in terms of consumption, which has experienced continuous and constant growth for several years, and for theongoing development of its domestic wine industry.
In addition to the Ningxia wine region and United Airlines, Wine Bar by CMB holds an expansive list of partners that includes the Mexican School of Sommeliers, Mexican School of Tea, Amorim Cork, Bohemia Royal Crystal, and German dishwashing and sanitizing brand MEIKO. In the age of Coronavirus, the latter may be the most important partnership in terms of consumer confidence The MEIKO Lab houses the first glass washing machine produced by the German brand to reach Mexico, which will guarantee the absolute cleanliness and safety of all the glasses, decanters and glassware of the wine bar.
The wine bar has only two cases (24 bottles) of each different label, so the list will be updated frequently. With a soft opening and social distancing in effect, Carlos Borboa expects that he and his staff will open 16,800 bottles in the first year of operation. While staffing will eventually include five cooks and nine sommeliers—called “Wine Geeks by CMB”—the wine bar is opening with only four sommeliers and two cooks. The Wine Geeks on the opening roster are Alberto Morales, Iván Galván, Manuel Negrete and Mariana Aguilar. The kitchen is run by Executive Chef Fernando Paquini, assisted by David Calzada.
While opening a wine bar during a difficult and unpredictable time, Carlos Borboa took time out of his day to answer a few questions about Wine Bar by CMB.
World Wine Guys: How did the idea to open Wine Bar by CMB in Mexico City come about?
Carlos Borboa: The idea emerged almost two years ago, from a close collaboration between Baudouin Havaux, president of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, and me.
The original idea was to create a unique space, capable of housing all the awarded-winning products of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles on its different platforms, year by year. The initial objective was exceeded, transforming the Wine Bar by CMB into a huge forum for the promotion, education and exploration of wine and spirits around the world, beyond a simple point of sale to the public.
We knew that Mexican market was ideal to establish the first Wine Bar by CMB; Mexico is a producing country, but also one of the most dynamic consumers in the world, which has experienced continuous and constant growth for several years at the same time of the development of its wine and spirits industry. As one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in the world, Mexico City also allowed us to test the Wine Bar by model to assess its scope, operational capacity, possible development and success in terms of business.
WWG: How has Covid-19 affected the opening and operation of the wine bar?
CB: Certainly, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the opening and operation of the Wine Bar. The opening was initially planned for March 2020; however, the entire opening program, importation of wines from Brussels, integration of the operational team, and definition of labels available to the public was delayed almost 5 months.
Right now, we have had to implement a Covid-19 plan, in order to guarantee the absolute safety of our visitors and customers: we have had to make large investments in sanitizing mats, disinfection programs, hospital-grade air purifiers, masks, and special gloves for our operating personnel. Everything has had to adjust to this “new normal.”
Our sponsors also helped tremendously; MEIKO, a German company that leads in the manufacture of glass washing equipment…for the food and beverage industry, provided us a machine that allows us to disinfect all utensils, wine glasses, spirits glasses and tableware, with a “100 percent free of coronavirus” certification direct from its laboratory in Germany. Likewise, we have had to invest in equipment that disinfects all the air inside the Wine Bar, in addition to spray guns for each room and cellar, with 100 percent organic disinfectant sprays [that are] non-invasive with wine or our clients.
WWG: Will the wine selections be set, or will there be a rotating menu of offerings?
CB: Our wine list is dynamic. Every week we have a new selection of wines by the glass, from Mexico and the world, randomly chosen from among the more than 250 labels available for the opening of the Wine Bar by CMB.
Although the Wine Bar will initially open with 250 wines and spirits, which will be displayed in the Wine Library, a cellar open to the public with the capacity to display up to 700 different labels, the ultimate goal is to have all the thousands of winners from the 54 countries who participate in the CMB, year by year.
We will open with a selection of 70 percent Mexican wines and spirits and 30 percent of products from other countries. [Among the most] interesting are the award-winning wines that we are importing directly from Ningxia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Italy, France, Chile, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Pourers fill judges' wine glasses at the Concour Mondial de Bruxelles.
Concours Mondial de BruxellesWWG: With wine from around the world, how will you familiarize your team with all the different varieties, styles, and regions?
CB: All our employees have just one professional requirement: they must have an international sommelier certification. Yes, we made huge investments in our human team, recruiting staff with relevant levels of specialization at the WSET, sommeliers certified by the International Sommelier Association, champion sommeliers, nationally and internationally, and graduates of MBA's in wine business.
Additionally, all the producers send us their wines along with technical sheets, presentation brochures about the brands and projects, and data on commercial and promotional contacts. Thus, we try to have as much information as possible to sell and promote their products, with the greatest human sense.
WWG: What percentage of the wines served will be from Mexico?
CB: As I explained, about 70 percent of our offer in wines and spirits come from Mexico. We have labels from 13 producing states, from white, rosé and reds, to sparkling, fortified and all kinds of distilled beverages. [From Mexico alone] we literally have everything from single-varietal Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Macabeo and Viognier, to Verdejos aged in oak, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Malbec, Grenache, Mourvedre, Tempranillo and all kinds of blends.
A full wall blackboard serves as the main wine list at Wine Bar by CMB in Mexico City.
Aline ValdesWWG: Why did you and the CMB decide to include the Ningxia Pavilion in the wine bar?
CB: Every year, the Wine Bar by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles will have one or more spaces dedicated to promoting wine regions of the world. Let's not forget that this is not just a Wine Bar, but a promotion, cultural dissemination, knowledge and exploration forum. Ningxia is a great productive hub to discover in Mexico and Latin America, so we opted to collaborate with this productive region at the beginning by designing a permanent pavilion where consumers could taste wines of all price ranges and styles, awarded in the different competitions organized by the CMB.
Being today one of the benchmarks in terms of production worldwide, and one of the regions with the greatest potential in terms of quality, it was easy to bet on Ningxia as the first region within the Wine Bar by Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. However, the Wine Bar currently also has a whole calendar of promotional events with wines and producers from Ribera del Duero, Rías Baixas, Bulgaria, Italy and many other regions.
August 03, 2020 at 07:00PM
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