After 15 years of international career that has led her to work in international marketing and international recruitment in Europe and Asia, Laurence made the choice to return to Burgundy in 2001. She co-developed two companies, a wine store coupled with a wholesale business in Dublin, then a guide and online magazine about Burgundy. At the same time, she was teaching marketing at ESC Dijon. After 6 years in the marketing department, she has recently joined the School of Wine and Spirits Business where she teaches wine-tourism and culinary tourism. Her expertise relates more particularly to the marketing of wine, and the situation of wine-tourism in Burgundy and in Beaujolais. Trilingual, she has graduated from ESCP Europe and holds an MSC in in International Business and a Diplomkauffrau.

Laurence will be delivering a talk titled:

Wine Tourism and Staff Training in a Novice Wine Region: the Case of Northern Virginia>>

With the growing importance of the tasting room as a major distribution channel and increasing competition in wine tourism, adopting best practices and maximising the success of the tasting room becomes a higher priority for wineries. Research suggests that wine tourists are looking for memorable experiences. It also indicates that wineries can offer these experiences through excellent service quality, which is provided by staff. Training has proven to improve service quality The goal of this survey conducted in the fall 2016 was to examine the importance of training for tasting room staff in the wine region of Northern Virginia.