Born in Vienne, directly opposite the vineyards producing Côtes Rôties wines, Patrick Gaillard became interested in wine growing and wines from an early age. To the point that, several decades later, he’s working in an environment where wine is central to his job. After a long period working in the logistics and transportation industries, he created a company called Vitis Club which he managed from 2003 until March 2007.

Since then, he’s operated as a consultant in two fields. As a networking consultant who specialises in corporate event management based on tastings organised in restaurants or at the premises of wine producers. He is also in charge of marketing (still networking) for Novalto, a local Savoie company offering services to small companies with fewer than 50 employees, with the specific responsibility of setting up a club that brings together all the companies, often over a glass of good wine. I set up events that are part of the commercial action plan of company directors, confirms Patrick Gaillard.

They’re always based on the theme of wine, and I always adapt the event to suit the company’s profile. For a pharmaceutical company, I’ll suggest a tasting dinner involving organic wines whilst for a cosmetics company, it’ll be a dinner with more feminine wines. My aim is to ensure that the theme corresponds with whatever message the client is wanting to communicate .

This is a growing market, so Patrick Gaillard has recently opted to work in collaboration with another event management specialist, Emma Girentes, who used to work at Arcs Aventure, with both of them working together on specific projects. Able to bring together several associates, they use selected restaurants such as the Arc-en-Ciel (Hôtel Radisson in Lyon), the Châteauform’ at Faverges-de-la-Tour, the Clos des Varennes at Chazay d’Azergues, Christian Têtedoie’s restaurant in Lyon or the Navig’Inter boats, as well as a number of vineyards. They especially like working with Jean-Paul Brun, in Charnay, and with Domaine Picotin, in the Beaujolais, Maison Jadot in Bourgogne, the wine growers of the Tricastin, Domaine Lafoy at Ampuis or Domaine de la Bonne Tonne at Villé-Morgon.

Depending on which wines are selected, the price of a tasting menu is between 40 and 200 euros per participant, points out Patrick Gaillard. The type of work we get involved in ranges from a tasting drinks party for 70 seminar delegates for Renault Trucks to a board meeting of the Swiss company Nutrifrais, both at Faverges-de-la-Tour. There’s a great deal of demand for this sort of event and, alongside this, I’ve launched the Cercle Vitis which brings together company directors who are also wine buffs. My aim is to involve about 100 people. Every year they have to pay a fee of 120 euros and on top of that, they then pay for tastings based on two options: 280 euros (inc VAT) for six tastings and 570 euros (inc VAT) for 12. Membership of the club gives access not only to the tastings, but also to the benefits of bulk purchasing of wine directly from the producers .

To complement the range of different products, Patrick Gaillard is in the throes of creating discovery tours of wine areas, lasting either a half day or several days, with one already booked in September for a UK pharmaceutical company and in October for a group of 30 Japanese sommeliers.