Public relations
Charity auction

The "wine world" pays its respects to Canadian heritage

The challenge was to transpose the original concept of "Toques et Clochers" from the south of France to Montreal, North America's gastronomic capital and a city known for its rich religious heritage. First held 12 years ago, Toques et Clochers is the annual auction of the wines of the Vignerons du Sieur d'Arques. A portion of the proceeds from this auction are used to finance the restoration of a church bell tower near the town of Limoux.

Sopexa's solution

• In October 2001, we organised a wine auction in Montreal's Saint Enfant Jésus Church, gathering over 800 industry professionals including Quebec's most prominent chefs.
• We also organised a "Clocher" wine tasting event, with Sieur d'Arques winegrowers and the Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, amongst other well-known public figures from the wine world.
• The campaign included a promotion of the charity event in SAQ (Société des Alcools du Québec) retail stores from October through November 2001. During that period, the Co-operative pledged to donate one dollar for every bottle of Toques et Clochers wine purchased towards the restoration of the tower at Saint Enfant Jésus Church.

The results

Through this promotion, over 24,000 Limoux appellation and 2,400 Baron'Arques bottles were sold in the Greater Montreal area.