Winefuture ‘11: Taste that beats the others cold
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Although there will be opportunities to taste several wines at the 2nd edition of Winefuture to be held in Hong Kong from 6-8 November, the Grand Tastings of First Growth Quality Chateaux of Bordeaux by Robert Parker, other regions by Jancis Robinson and 13 regions of Spain by Pancho Campo will be the biggest and the grandest tastings ever, feels Subhash Arora who is one of the thousand wine connoisseurs looking forward to them
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He will be accompanied by representatives from each of the chateaux, helping to describe the wines and the estates and answering questions from the audience. With an unprecedented opportunity to discuss the issues confronting the wine industry as well as tasting some of the world's finest wines, this tasting alone might be worth attending the 3-day conference. 1. Ch. Cos D'Estournel Beyond Bordeaux
Jancis is a visible supporter of the conference and the venue which she believes is the logical place. ‘I am not surprised that Pancho decided to take Winefuture to Hong Kong, after the successful edition in La Rioja in 2009, because the focus of the wine world is now so firmly on Asia. There is so much money to invest, and so much interest in wine in Asia.’ ‘Jancis is so professional about her work that she has reportedly tasted the wines to be presented already and has made her personal tasting notes’, says Pancho, adding, ’she will also discuss how to communicate with wine consumers through social networks and the Internet in Europe. "The web has transformed my way of communicating about wines, particularly since I have my own website. I enjoy interacting with my 100,000+ followers on Twitter and wine producers and merchants ignore these new media at their peril”, she says. The guided wine tasting by her will include: 1. Brazil - Geisse Brut 1998 (magnum) An unfortunate and blatant ommission in her tasting meant to ‘stimulate the taste buds with hand-picked selection from some corners of the wine world that deserve more attention’ is Portugal which makes besides Port, some excellent red and white wines from local grapes that would find a definite market in Asia. Macau is a duty free former Portuguese colony and one of the biggest importer of their wines. Greece could also have perhaps been included, especially when Bordeaux has 20 wines in the portfolio gives Jancis some scope to add to here has only 15 wines in the list. Viva España
To reflect the passion of Spanish winemakers and the diversity of terroir of different wine regions, the event will be entitled ‘Spanish Wines: Passion and Diversity’. Pancho will take the audience through the main designations of origin of Spanish wines. ‘My presentation will be accompanied by interesting audiovisual material in order to transport the participants to the various regions, vineyards and wineries, so they can discover the immense quality and rich diversity of Spanish wine,’ says Pancho who will also highlight Spanish gastronomy in Asia. Here is a List of Wines for the Spanish Tasting Event on November 6 at 6:15 pm 1. Pazo Señorans Albariño 2010 DO Rías Baixas Other Highlights There will be several interesting perspectives shared at the conference. For instance, Angelo Gaja believes that the greatest richness of Europe is neither in the appellations nor the terroirs but instead the world’s greatest number of craftsmen wine growers and wine makers who are the “yeasts” necessary to increase the quality of wine. He will talk about the emerging countries like China, India, Russia and Brazil which can count on increasing markets and building an important wine industry. Soon they will have their own consultants and develop their own wine vocabulary inspiried by their culture (and not adopted to the west). Whether these countries allow their craftsmen to be born and grow in future or will introduce other different models, is an interesting factor to watch for the future of wine. Wine buffs and professionals all around the world who cannot be present at the conference of book for these optional tastings, can also follow the tasting online via live streaming on www.winefuture.hk which gives information regarding the conference, or www.madwine.tv. |
Parker says that he has selected estates that produce wines of first growth quality that he feels are under-valued and therefore smart acquisitions. ‘The magical 20’ tasting to be held on November 8 at 10:30 am will showcase wines from 20 chateaux that one should watch as Parker´s tasting could have a tremendous impact in the trading of these Bordeaux wines, especially in Asia. This will be the first time that the impressive 2009 vintage, rated as one of the best in the history of Bordeaux, would be showcased at a public event since the wines have been bottled.
Even Robert Parker who is the undisputed world authority on Bordeaux wines would agree that there is an exciting life beyond Bordeaux. The famous British wine writer and author from UK, Jancis Robinson MW will conduct a tasting of wines on November 7 at 6 pm, from new and old world regions that deserve more attention for drinking, collecting and investing. These are very high quality wines coming from some of the more established wine regions plus a few from emerging markets such as Brazil, Turkey and China (India has been excluded for an apparent lack of interest and enthusiasm from Indians and the potential market for the wines in the near future).
Pancho Campo MW, President of The Wine Academy of Spain and organiser of the Conference will lord over perhaps the biggest Spanish wine tasting in the history with 13 wine regions represented and an expected audience of 1000 persons from 50 countries, tasting 16 wines. These regions include Rioja, Ribera del Duero, La Mancha, Rias Baixas, Toro, Sherry, Priorat, Cava, Empordá, Penedés, Valencia and Jumilla. Designated Pago wines (single vineyard exclusive wine estates that are equivalent of Grand Cru wines in Bordeaux) will also be part of the selection.
In addition to the Grand Tastings there will be several wine celebrities at the conference including Francis Ford Coppola, guest of honour, Robert Joseph, Gary Vaynerchuk, Miguel Torres, Michel Rolland, Angelo Gaja, Michel Bettane, John Kapon, Christian Seely, Randall Grahm (Bonny Doon Vineyards), Steven Spurrier, Eduardo Chadwick (Errazuriz, Chile), Bernard de Laage (Chateau Palmer), and Nigel Greening. This group of wine celebrities will be accompanied by Asian specialists Don St. Pierre, Ian Ford, Carl Robinson, Yang Li, along with Masters of Wine Ned Goodwin, Jeannie Cho Lee, Debra Meiburg, and Lisa Perrotti-Brown. Also included in the list of speakers and representing India is Subhash Arora who will be in the Asian panel chaired by Meiburg.