Magnum of Vieux Papesfrom the 1970s
More than 100 years ago - in 1899 to be precise - Société des Vins de France (SVF) was created in the Lyon region. The name reflected the goal of the family: to make it easy for everyone to discover the richness of our winemaking regions in France.
A wine broker specialist, the company was later absorbed in 1965 by SAPVIN (Société d'APprovisionnements VINicoles), who kept the name Société des Vins de France. Two years later, Société des Vins de France merged with MARGNAT SA., and again kept the name Société des Vins de France. Thus these two family-owned companies, among the oldest wine brokers in France, now included several subsidiaries distributed throughout the territory, and already had an impressive portfolio of great wine brands.Although famous brands of yesteryear like Kiravi or Margnat are now part of the past, others are still widely recognised.
For example, Vieux Papes is currently the best selling wine in France. Its history started in 1930 and today, nearly 75 years later, it is still widely appreciated by millions of consumers.Starting in 1968, several acquisitions, reorganisations and changes in ownership stakes all took place until 1991. Société des Vins de France thus became the leading wine distributor in France in 1990, with nearly 261,382,000 litres of wine sold, just ahead of its competitor Castel.
With national coverage, bottling centres in the main wine producing regions and distribution networks throughout France, Société des Vins de France joined the CASTEL family-owned company in 1992. Castel reorganised the Société des Vins de France activity, making it the French specialist in branded wines today.
Always in tune with the needs of French consumers, Société des Vins de France has maintained a close relationship with different regions of France and has adapted to new habits in wine consumption throughout the years. It offers a wide variety of wines from French regions and elsewhere, all selected by specialists.