It is with great sadness that the AIDV has learnt of the death of Robert Tinlot at 86 years of age on 12 November 2017 in Dijon.
A graduate of the Paris Law Faculty and the research and development centre of the Department of Fraud Control, he began his career as General Counsel for the National Department of Control for Wines and Spirits (1964-1970), then as head of the bureau of wines and beverages at the Ministry of Agriculture (1970-1981).

Inspector General for Fraud Control, he presided the OIV “Regulation and Quality Control” Expert Group from 1982 to 1985.
His legal competencies and knowledge of the vitivinicultural sector paved the way to his presidency of the “Wine” Group (1979) and “Spirituous Beverages” Group (1984) at the Council of Ministers of the European Union, his participation in the revision of the Paris Convention with the WIPO, his vice-presidency of the FAO Wine Group (1983) and his leadership of the French delegation to the Codex Alimentarius Commission.

After becoming Deputy Director of Consumption and Fraud Control, in 1985 he was elected OIV Director General and occupied the post until 1996, developing the activities of the Organisation, which grew from 33 Member States to 46 during this period.

Passionate about history and wine law, and proud of his Burgundy origins, he created the first wine law course in 1971 and loved sharing his passion with students in oenology, economy, agronomy or law at numerous French universities. This is how he came to be at the heart of the initiative to create the International Wine Law Association (IWLA) in 1987 and the International University

Association of Wine (AUIV), which took charge of the OIV Master’s in Wine Management.
A great diplomat, he leaves us with the memory of a passionate and inventive OIV Director dedicated to the service of the world of vine and wine that he knew so well.