Organise your event in Cannes
In the heart of Cannes, just a stone’s throw from the Forville market, our wine cellar is transformed for an evening into a truly special venue. Amidst the shelves and the bar, in an elegant yet warm atmosphere, we host your lunch and dinner cocktail parties, as well as your private and corporate events. Your guests will discover a vibrant setting – a house dating from 1937 where wine is as much a story to be told as it is a pleasure to be savoured. We provide them with a selection curated especially for the occasion, a high-quality gastronomic menu and all our expertise as sommeliers, ensuring that every moment spent with us is a celebration of togetherness.
Congresses, seminars and special events in Cannes
Whether it’s a seminar, product launch, corporate Party, birthday party or private party: every event has its own pace, its own conventions and its own guests, and we always take this as our starting point when putting together our proposal. We’re very familiar with the Cannes calendar and its key events: MIPIM, MIPCOM, MAPIC, ILTM, Cannes Lions, the Cannes Yachting Festival, the Film Festival and the World AI Cannes Festival. During these weeks when the city never sleeps, having an intimate venue, just a stone’s throw from the Palais and the Vieux-Port, makes all the difference: your guests will find a more intimate setting than large reception spaces, and the chance to have a proper chat.
Each time, we design a fully bespoke event. We ask you who you’re hosting and what you want them to take away from the experience, and we build on that: a vertical tasting from a single estate for a discerning clientele, a tour of France’s wine regions for an international audience, a guided tasting to provide a theme for the Party, or simply some exceptional bottles opened at just the right moment. Our role as sommeliers is precisely to achieve this: striking a balance between what impresses and what brings pleasure.
We work with local caterers, mostly from Cannes, hand-picked for the quality of their work and their consistency. They are long-standing partners with whom we speak the same language: we present them with the wine selection, they create the canapés accordingly, and we fine-tune the pairing together until it holds up from the first to the last service. It is this dialogue that distinguishes a decent buffet from a truly well-thought-out cocktail reception.
Our events cater for between around fifty and one hundred and fifty guests, for both luncheons and dinners. For smaller numbers, the event becomes a private tasting, which we are equally adept at organising; for larger numbers, we prefer to be frank with you rather than promise a level of comfort that the venue would not allow. This deliberate limit is also what defines the quality of our receptions: everyone finds their place, moves about, mingles, and no one has to wait for their drink.
Who are our customers
Whether they’re businesses, conference delegates, families or agencies: everyone comes to us to celebrate a special occasion, and leaves with a story to tell.
Businesses
Seminars, team-building parties and product launches: an intimate setting in which to bring your staff and clients together.
Congressmen
During MIPIM, MIPCOM or the Festival, an elegant retreat just a stone’s throw from the Palais where you can entertain your guests.
Individuals
Birthdays, engagements or get-togethers with friends: we’ll turn your occasion into a memorable party, accompanied by some truly fine wines.
Agencies
Events, concierge services or communications: a reliable, responsive local partner capable of meeting your requirements and those of your clients.
An organisation planned down to the smallest detail
Every event is organised from start to finish: selection of wines and drinks, pairing with the menu, bringing wines to the correct temperature and determining the order of service, glassware, logistics, check-in for guests and full coordination on the day. We work with you to draw up a detailed schedule. The time the first bottles are opened, the timing of any speeches, and the transition to the wines for the end of the Party – so that nothing is left to chance.
On the day itself, we’ll be there, providing service and behind the bar. Our aim is simple and can be summed up in a single sentence: to ensure you can enjoy your reception to the full whilst we see to every detail. You welcome your guests, chat with them and enjoy the occasion; we’ll take care of the rest, with the discretion the occasion demands. It is thanks to this combined expertise in wine, gastronomy and the local Cannes scene that we create elegant, seamless and memorable events, in keeping with the Gencel spirit.
Booking the Gencel cellar exclusively means having, for a few hours, a venue with a soul, and two sommeliers to bring it to life. We offer several packages, which we always tailor to your event: the basic private hire, with a selection of wines by the glass and light refreshments; the cocktail package, organised in collaboration with one of our partner caterers; and the guided tasting package, where we guide your guests through a region, a grape variety or a wine house, glass in hand.
Hosting guests is both our profession and our pleasure
We’re Hervé and Julien. Before taking over this wine cellar in 2023, we spent years in dining rooms and behind the bar, observing what makes a Party work – or not. Almost always, it comes down to the little things: a wine served at the right temperature, a glass that’s never left empty, a bottle opened at just the right moment, and someone who takes the time to explain what you’re drinking.
That’s exactly what we bring to your events. When you entrust us with a reception, we start by listening to you: how many of you will there be, who are you hosting, and what do you want your guests to take away with them when they leave?
Only then do we put together a proposal: the wines, the catering arrangements, and the programme for the Party. We’ll tell you frankly what we think works and what doesn’t – that’s also why you’ve come to us.
On the big day, you’ll find us there, serving you. We’ll open the bottles, tell those who’re interested about the estates, and keep an eye on the glasses and the time. All you’ll have to do is welcome your guests. That’s how we see our role: wine is never an end in itself; it’s the pretext for a shared moment, and we’re committed to making that moment a success together with you.
So do come and have a chat with us at the cellar, over a glass of wine. Nothing beats a conversation when it comes to understanding exactly what you’re looking for.