Gastronomy and Wine Portal

Today at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, spirited whisky collectors from Asia and beyond competed to lay claim to a bottle of the world’s oldest single malt Scotch whisky – Decanter #1 of the Gordon & Macphail Generations 80-Years-Old, housing spirit from the Glenlivet Distillery originally laid down in 1940 in a bespoke oak cask by whisky creators Gordon & MacPhail.

Bidders from across Asia and Europe drove the final sale price to  US$193,000 (est. US$100,000-200,000), establishing an auction record for a bottle of the world’s oldest whisky. The winning bidder was a European private collector, new to Sotheby’s.

Jonny Fowle, Sotheby’s Spirits Specialist, said: “From the moment news broke of the existence of a whisky matured in oak for eighty years, it generated a huge buzz of excitement. For those lucky enough to taste it, myself included, this is an exceptional whisky that not only lingers on the palate but also long after in the mind. As we have seen, exceedingly rare Single Malts are highly coveted, and when collectors are presented with something truly special, they are prepared to go the extra mile.”

To house this most precious of liquids, Gordon & MacPhail commissioned internationally acclaimed architect and designer, Sir David Adjaye OBE to design a unique decanter and oak case around the theme ‘Artistry in Oak’ – a fitting tribute to this landmark moment for the industry, the longest-matured ‘expression’ ever to be released featuring spirit from a Scottish distillery.

The lucky recipient of this special lot will also enjoy a whisky tasting experience for four in London, conducted by Gordon & MacPhail’s Director of Prestige, Stephen Rankin and attended by Sir David Adjaye, in addition to the framed original cask head of Cask 340 which cradled the spirit for eight decades, and a one-of-one signed lithograph of Sir David’s original, concept drawings.

As part of their release of 250 decanters (the remaining 249 decanters will be sold at retail), Gordon & MacPhail is supporting a local charity, Trees for Life whose mission is to rewild the Caledonian forest. Proceeds from the sale of Decanter #1 will be donated to resource the Trees for Life nursery which grows 100,000 rare, native trees, including oaks, from seed each year.

On February 3rd 1940, George Urquhart – from the second generation to own Gordon & MacPhail, founded in 1895 – had the foresight and vision to place into an oak cask a spirit to be enjoyed after his lifetime by future generations. Urquhart passionately believed that each cask needed to be left to reach its full potential, and only when the whisky was deemed ready should it be shared. On 5 February 2020, the decision was taken to bottle the cask’s bounty, which had been nurtured over eight decades by four generations of the Urquhart family.

Today at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, spirited whisky collectors from Asia and beyond competed to lay claim to a bottle of the world’s oldest single malt Scotch whisky – Decanter #1 of the Gordon & Macphail Generations 80-Years-Old.

Wine & Spirits Ukraine will welcome the professionals of the wine and alcoholic market on November 2-4 for the fourth time.

All Europe on one site

At the Wine & Spirits Ukraine, manufacturers from Italy, Portugal, France, Georgia, Argentina, Moldova, Great Britain, Armenia, Denmark, Lithuania and Spain will present their stands – both already well-known and those who are entering the Ukrainian market for the first time. Bulgaria, once the #4 wine exporter in the world, will debut with its wines in Ukraine. And, of course, the main exposition will be devoted to wines, alcoholic beverages and beer from Ukraine – from well-known factories, family wineries and craft producers. The catalog of exhibitors can be found here.

A full program

Wine & Spirits Ukraine is a B2B event, among the visitors of the exhibition are sommeliers, restaurateurs, retailers, distributors and importers from all regions of Ukraine, as well as buyers from the USA, Japan, Canada, Portugal, Kenya, Lithuania, Slovakia, Denmark, Germany, UAE, Turkey, the Netherlands, India, Kazakhstan and other countries.

The 2021 exhibition program is especially intense. Guests will enjoy training seminars on previously little-known wine regions – Switzerland, which will be represented by the Vice President of Swiss Wine Martin Wiederker, and Bulgaria – by Galina Niforou, President of the Bulgarian Association of Wine and Export.

There will be a series of master classes with the best wines of Italy from Marco Sabellico, editor-in-chief of Gambero Rosso, also presentations from Italian, Georgian, Moldovan, French and other producers, who will not only present their wines, but also talk about the peculiarities of the terroir and wine production in their region.

Wine & Spirits Congress this year will shift the focus from production technology to wine trade trends and focus on retail and HoReCa. As a part of the Wine & Spirits Retail and Resto Forum, senior executives and off-trade experts, restaurateurs and sommeliers will share their experiences in the development of modern wine and spirits trade and will also be awarded for the best in-store representation and the best wine and spirits list.

Tour of the best wines of Italy

For the first time in Ukraine, the media holding Gambero Rosso will present the Tre Bicchieri World Tour – a tour of the best Italian wines, winners of the Tre Bicchieri (Three Glasses) of the Wine Guide of Italy – the highest award for Italian producers! To select the best of the best, experts taste over 44,000 wines throughout the year! And only 1% of them are awarded the honorary Three Glasses – in 2021, 476 wines received them!

Wine & Spirits Ukraine will welcome the professionals of the wine and alcoholic market on November 2-4 for the fourth time.

Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris will be the first major international event of 2022 and it marks the resumption of full-scale tastings. Highly awaited by the global wine and spirits industry for the variety of products on show and its business meetings, the event is now focusing on promoting attendance by key buyers, including those from outside the EU who are showing a strong interest in the exhibition.

Over three days, more than 2,800 exhibitors will convene in Paris to showcase their latest vintage, their flagship products and rare bottlings, all of them delicious pours to be shared with connoisseurs from around the globe. The desire by French wine marketing boards to join forces by being stakeholders in the event is stronger than ever and the event will group together all of France’s wine regions, alongside an impressive line-up of international wine regions. In total, representations from 23 countries will celebrate the reunion of the wine and spirits community in the heart of the French capital next February.

The event, which will cover four halls at the entrance to the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles exhibition centre (halls 3, 4, 5 and 6), will cater as much to the small winegrowers as to the major international brands. Household names such as François Lurton, Gérard Bertrand, E. Guigal, Maison M. Chapoutier, Domaine Paul Mas, Castel Frères, Maison Sichel, Bernard Magrez, Grands Chais de France and Gh Martel & Cie Champagne will be attending, alongside less prominent vineyards well worth discovering, such as the Aquitaine Independent Winegrowers and family-run properties like Vins Chevron Villette, Vignobles Vellas and Château Castigno, to name a few. Hall 5, set aside for international producers, will welcome wines of Luxembourg, Advantage Austria, Tenuta Lamborghini, Wines of Lebanon, Wines of Germany, Cesari, Carpineto, Consorzio Di Tutela Della Doc Prosecco, Consorzio Tutela del vino Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco, Gaja, J. Garcia Carrion, Viniportugal Wines Of Portugal, Hammeken Cellars and Flechas De Los Andes, for example.  

“Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris is above all an event that brings people together and creates a sense of community. People welcome their clients there from a wide range of backgrounds to give international exposure to local, innovative products, from the little treasures to the prominent growths. Paris will host a celebration in 2022 and we are very much looking forward to being reunited with everyone once again”, stresses Rodolphe Lameyse, CEO of Vinexposium.

Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris is returning to Paris Expo Porte de Versailles from 14 to 16 February 2022 for its third edition, marking the resumption of in-person events for the wine and spirits industry.

After Casino Royale in 2006 and Spectre in 2015, Château Angélus is featured again, playing its part in the new adventures of Britain’s most famous spy. No Time to die, the latest James Bond world Premiere had London trepidation with anticipation on September 28th.

This third appearance is part of a long-term relationship between James Bond producers and the de Boüard de Laforest family. They share the same high standards and excellence, embodied by family vitality and continuity.

The movie is already playing in U.K. cinemas this week, and the British site The Drinks Business promptly released a full rundown of James Bond actor Daniel Craig’s alcohol consumption in the 163-minute flick. Although a martini is 007’s best known drink sponsored by Bollinger and Heineken, a red Bordeaux gets starring role in “No Time to die”.

According to The Drinks Business (as, unlike our editorial team, they’ve already seen the film), early on in the movie, Bond arrives at Q’s house as he’s preparing dinner. “Featuring prominently on the table is a bottle of Château Angélus, which Bond eyes, then reaches for before pouring himself a large glass — ensuring the St-Emilion Premier Grand Cru Classé A … gets plenty of screentime, and more than any other drinks brand in the film,” the site states. “In contrast, Craig briefly swigs from a bottle of Heineken in a nightclub when meeting with the CIA’s Felix Leiter, while Bollinger is never actually drunk by Bond in the film, but does feature on a back bar.”

The Château Angélus first appeared as the brand in 2006’s Casino Royale and then returned again in 2015’s Spectre. In 2019, Angélus even released a 007 limited-edition bottling of hand-numbered magnums of their 2007 vintage housed in walnut wood and leather cases, made “in the spirit of cigar boxes or dashboards of iconic vintage cars dear to James Bond.”

After Casino Royale in 2006 and Spectre in 2015, Château Angélus is featured again, playing its part in the new adventures of Britain’s most famous spy. No Time to die, the latest James Bond world Premiere had London trepidation with anticipation on September 28th.

Created in 2017, the start-up Scanopy is booming. Specialising in agronomic cartography of vines, it helps professionals make the right decisions.

While talking to winegrowers from Quincy, François Gallet and Pierre-Christophe Mesnil, both engineers and childhood friends, had the idea of creating their start-up. Together, they have invented solutions using artificial intelligence that will save time for winegrowers and help them better manage their viticultural work. Growing larger, farms are now more and more difficult to manage.

A drone scans a plot by flying over it. From the information gathered, a diagnosis is made. It will highlight the appearance of disease outbreaks, locate missing plants or monitor tests of different treatments on the same plot. Web and mobile apps will allow then the winegrower to better target his interventions.

Three years were devoted to the design of these tools which was carried out in co-construction with the Sicavac (Interprofessional service for agronomic advice, vinification and analyses of the Centre) and technicians from the Chambers of Agriculture. The start-up then relied on a network of distributors of agricultural products to promote its solutions. After its beginnings in the Centre Val de Loire and Anjou, Scanopy now operates throughout the French vineyard.

“We are in a context where agriculture is being fundamentally shaken up on the one hand by global warming and on the other hand by globalization with increased competition for exports,” explains François Gallet, Managing Director. In addition, winegrowers will have to halve the use of phytosanitary products in the coming years. For all these reasons, it is important to master your production tool well.”

After a slowdown in 2020 because of the crisis, activity is off to a good start. The goal is to triple or even fivefold turnover in 2022 with two recruitments to add to the eight current employees.

All over France, more and more winegrowers are interested in the solutions offered by Scanopy. The start-up also plans to extend its solutions developed for vines to other tree crops (apple trees, olive trees, etc.).

Prepared by O. Hryhorieva based on francebleu.fr

Created in 2017, the start-up Scanopy is booming. Specialising in agronomic cartography of vines, it helps professionals make the right decisions.

With the approval of all international judges, Le Mondial will be held on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd of October. With its specially equipped room, the newly renovated Strasbourg Congress Centre is the ideal setting to enhance Le Mondial des Vins Blancs Strasbourg.

Le Mondial des Vins Blancs Strasbourg is the only competition in the world entirely dedicated to the diversity of the white wines, under the Patronage of the OIV (Organisation Internationale de la Vigne et du Vin). The 2021 Edition will take place at the newly renovated Strasbourg Congress Centre on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd of October.

“We are honoured that Mrs. Monika Christmann, the current vice president of OIV will be the Chair of the competition,” shared the organizers. The OIV Patronage is a prestigious and required approval to belong to the wine competitions of international fame that the Great White wines of the world competition obtained 10 years ago for the first time.

Thanks to those official checks and supervision, Strasbourg événements can guarantee a worldwide recognition to the competitors.  The rewarded winegrowers will be authorized to affix the seals of the prizes obtained to their bottles.

The are 12 white wines categories in the competition:

1. Chardonnay
2. Chenin
3. Gewürztraminer
4. Muscat
5. Pinot Blanc
6. Pinot Gris
7. Riesling
8. Sauvignon
9. Sylvaner
10. Viognier
11. Other White grape varieties
12. White blended Wines

As from 2021:
• 12 « DRY » trophies for the best wine in each categorie (0-4 g/l sugar)
• The VINOFED Prize for the dry Wine (0-4 g/l sugar) with the highest mark in the Mondial
• The Grand Prix du Jury for the wine with the highest mark in the Mondial

The results will be released live from Strasbourg events TV studio on the FB contest page on the 11th of October at 6.00 pm. Then find the whole results on the contest website.

Photo: Bartosch Salmanski, Nicolas Roses

With the approval of all international judges, Le Mondial will be held on Saturday 2nd and Monday 3rd of October. With its specially equipped room, the newly renovated Strasbourg Congress Centre is the ideal setting to enhance Le Mondial des Vins Blancs Strasbourg.

The organizing committee of the Wine Travel Awards (WTA), international awards of a new format in the field of wine tourism, with the support of Drinks+ Communication Media Group, is pleased to present a brilliant pool of judges who are to name the winners of the WTA 2021-2022.

The organizers of the Wine Travel Awards managed to attract world-renowned experts, specializing in various aspects of the world of wine and wine tourism, to the project.

Veronika Busel, the Wine Travel Awards Managing Partner, commented on the completion of this extremely important stage for the awards: “It is a great honour to work with experts of this level within the framework of the awards. We are grateful to them and are encouraged that all these outstanding industry professionals supported our idea.

And this is really important for the whole community of professionals in the wine and enogastronomic sphere, as well as wine lovers, whom we plan to unite within the framework of the project.

Each member of the jury is our pride; we are grateful to everyone for the trust shown and for the time they are ready to devote to studying the profiles of the nominees because they are entrusted with the honourable task of choosing the winners.”

We are presenting the members of the panel of judges – 11 experts from around the world in the field of enogastronomy and tourism, marketing and journalism, wine business and education.

Felicity Carter, Executive Editor, Pix+ Special Projects, an editor, public speaker of international wine events and wine judge, former editor-in-chief of Meininger’s Wine Business International.

Fiona Morrison, MW, Managing Director of Thienpont Wine, an international wine merchant and négociant and with her husband, Jacques Thienpont, runs their three Bordeaux estates, Le Pin in Pomerol, L’IF in Saint Emilion and L’Hêtre in Castillon.

Dr. Ricardo Nunez, Head of the international group of companies Vinos de La Luz, which unites wineries in Spain, Italy, Argentina and the United States. He was born in Argentina. As a grandson and son of winemakers, he grew up in the vineyards of the Andean Cordilleras and explored every corner of the Uco Valley. Dr. Nunez is an investor participating in the development of the wine-growing market of Ukraine, also thanks to his new company Wine Gallery. Mr. Nunez currently plans the production of his own products on the territory of Ukraine.

Philippe Massol, General Director of the unique and pioneering project – La Cité du Vin in Bordeaux. He was at the origins of the creation of the museum of the same name in Bordeaux. He got marketing education and a diploma from the University of Poitiers. He has extensive experience in the consulting business, as well as in the development of tourist destinations.

Olga Bussinello, a private entrepreneur, brand consultant, legal consultant for food and wine companies. For ten years, she worked as a Director of the Consorzio per la Tutela Vini Valpolicella (Italy). She holds a law degree. Ms. Bussinello dealt with economic issues in several sectors, in particular in the food industry.

Einat Klein, a journalist, photographer, historian, professional traveller, guide to the Middle East and Africa, wine expert and wine producer (Israel). She studied the Middle East at Bar-Ilan University. Founder of Travel Lab Ethiopia. Owner and founder of Vino & Co, a company that organizes regular educational tastings.

Gergely Szolnoki, Professor of Market Research at Geisenheim University (Germany) and honorary professor of Wine and Beverage Management & Marketing at the University of West Attica (Athens/Greece). His research fields cover consumer behaviour, communication and social media, organic wines, market analysis and wine tourism. In addition to his scientific activities, Gergely is a delegated expert in the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) in the fields of wine economics and statistics.

Per Karlsson, a co-founder and wine writer of BKWine Magazine, one of the world’s leading wine tour operators, a co-author of eleven wine books (including “Biodynamic, Organic and Natural Winemaking: Sustainable Viticulture and Viniculture”), an internationally awarded, professional wine and travel photographer.

Saverio Savio, a leader of projects funded by the European Union and aimed at the development of integration processes in the region. In particular, for three years, he headed a team of specialists who supported the Development of a Geographical Indications system in Ukraine. Currently, he is a leader of the project group working on the termination of the use of the name “cognac” for products originating in Armenia and the development of a new name of brandy in Armenia.

Stéphane Badet, a lecturer at ISVV – Institute of Vine and Wine Science at the University of Bordeaux, one of the world’s leading educational institutions, as well as a lecturer at such a prestigious university as EPL Bordeaux. He specializes in wine economy, industry management, business, marketing and tourism for many years, has extensive experience as an expert and consultant in various cooperation and sustainable development programs in the field of winemaking around the world, together with Interco NA, FAO, Ministry of Agriculture and Food of France, French and German embassies.

Maximilian Tafel, an enologist by profession, studied International Wine Business at Geisenheim University and the University of Giessen. Having gained practical experience in the wine industry, he wrote his dissertation on tourism in the wine-growing regions of Germany. He currently works for the AMBITO project which aims to strengthen biodiversity in the wine-growing regions of Germany.

In April 2022, this team of professionals will select the winners of the first Wine Travel Awards.

“We are convinced,” says Veronika Busel, “that the developed format is a new word for the entire industry, and it will contribute to the development of wine and wine tourism in particular, and the development of regions in general. The main goal of the Wine Travel Awards is to overcome the COVID-19 crisis by interacting with new progressive representatives of the industry, uniting the community, providing additional tools and opportunities for business development and promoting the digitalization of wine tourism.

And such a stellar pool of judges is another proof of the interest of the world wine community in this project.

The largest professional exhibitions in the world have shown interest, becoming platforms for the presentation of the awards: Prowein (Germany), London Wine Fair (Great Britain), Wine Paris & Vinexpo Paris (France), Vinitaly (Italy), Alimentaria (Spain), as well as a number of regional organizations specializing in wine tourism. The names of our partners and sponsors – everyone who supported us and who is still planning to do so, you can find at all offline events that will take place starting from November – during the period when the awards officially start, and the registration of nominees begins. You can also follow the course of events on our website winetravelawards.com. Join the Wine Travel Awards – an international wine tourism community created to bring travel back into our lives and brighten the world of wine. Let’s do it together!”

The Wine Travel Awards 2021-2022 Calendar (November 2021 – November 2022):

• September 2021 – October 2021 – Start of the WTA promotional campaign. Formation of an international panel of judges.
• September 2021 – February 2022 – Registration of nominees (don’t miss your chance!).
• November 2021 – the launch of the www.winetravelawards.com website, the beginning of the announcement of the nominees for the awards on the sites winetravelawards.com and drinks.ua, in the Drinks+ magazine, as well as on the resources of the information partners of the awards.
• November 2021 – May 2022 – a large-scale international advertising campaign: events will be held in different countries, including presentations at professional exhibitions, drawing attention to the WTA nominees. Events will be actively covered on all the resources of the Drinks+ Media Group, as well as on the websites of sponsors and partners.
• February-March 2022 – public voting on winetravelawards.com
• March-April 2022 – processing of voting results by a professional jury and determination of the winners.
• March 2022 – Release of the Wine Travel Awards guide which will be distributed at the exhibitions and events around the world.
• May 2022 – the awards ceremony of the Wine Travel Awards 2021-2022 (Italy).
• May-November 2022 – placement of winners and sponsors of the Wine Travel Awards on the information resources of Drinks+ Media Group and its partner media.

Follow the WTA news!

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us:

Facebook: @WineTravelAwards

contact@winetravelawards.com

partnership@winetravelawards.com

The organizing committee of the Wine Travel Awards (WTA), international awards of a new format in the field of wine tourism, with the support of Drinks+ Communication Media Group, is pleased to present a brilliant pool of judges who are to name the winners of the WTA 2021-2022.

This autumn Sotheby’s will add France as a new location for its regular series of wine and spirits auctions, with a newly appointed Head of Auction Sales for Continental Europe.

The property for these sales will be located in both Beaune and Bordeaux, the two most important trading centres for the wines of Burgundy and Bordeaux. The move into a fourth major international hub in France comes as Sotheby’s Wine and Spirits division achieved exceptional results for auction sales in New York, London and Hong Kong in the first half of 2021, with a combined total of $58 million.

In conjunction with this expansion, Amayès Aouli has joined Sotheby’s Wine as Head of Auction Sales for Continental Europe. Mr. Aouli will be responsible for leading the growth of Sotheby’s wine business throughout the region, focusing on making France a fourth global hub for our wine and spirits auctions.

Jamie Ritchie, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Wine, said: “The addition of regular sales of wines and spirits in France this year is a key initiative for us. We anticipate France becoming one of our most important markets, providing sellers in Continental Europe with the greatest access to the global market, and buyers from all around the world will have more ability to buy rare bottles. More than 85% of the value of the wines Sotheby’s sells come from France, so this is long overdue. We believe it is important to have the property for these auctions located in Beaune and Bordeaux, the two most important centres for trading wine in Europe, so we are able to offer collectors a comprehensive range of services.”

Prior to joining Sotheby’s, for the past ten years Mr. Aouli was Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in France, where he played a key role in successfully developing the business across Europe, using his business development skills and marketing expertise to lead many complex, cross-border and wealth-oriented projects.

In parallel to his business career, for more than 15 years he has pursued his passion for wine as a collector, building deep knowledge and relationships with winery owners, producers and merchants across Europe, while studying with the WSET.

Fluent in four European languages – French, English, Spanish and Italian – Mr. Aouli joins a global team of over 20 specialists with more than 250 years of cumulative experience in the fine wine and spirits industry, including George Lacey, who was appointed Head of Auction Sales in the UK earlier this year.

Later this autumn, Sotheby’s will host the 161st edition of the Hospices de Beaune’s celebrated and historic annual barrel auction on 21st November – the third Sunday in November, as per tradition. Jasper Morris MW will also be working with the Sotheby’s team as a consultant, supporting the sale, providing tasting notes, vintage reports and video commentary from Beaune. Jasper lives in Burgundy and has just published the 2nd Edition of Inside Burgundy, which is published by Berry Brothers & Rudd Press and is distributed exclusively by Sotheby’s Wine in the United States.

Sotheby’s inaugural sale of Spirits in France will follow in December, and plans are in place for a full roster of wine and spirits sales in 2022, to be announced in due course.

This autumn, beginning 27th September, Sotheby’s will stage its first Luxury Week in Paris with a series of four auctions offering jewellery, watches, fashion accessories and design – an expansion of

Sotheby’s concept of luxury sales, showcasing the intersection of multiple categories and a reflection today’s collecting habits across disciplines.

This autumn Sotheby’s will add France as a new location for its regular series of wine and spirits auctions, with a newly appointed Head of Auction Sales for Continental Europe.

In its 8th edition, the wine2wine Business Forum 2021 will return on October 18th-19th, 2021 in a brand-new format: hybrid. There are two options to participate: either to travel to PalaExpo, the conference venue of Veronafiere, or to follow the event remotely through the digital platform first introduced in 2020.

 “The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance”, said the English writer, philosopher, and speaker Alan Watts (1915-1973). The wine2wine Business Forum has truly plunged into change: after six editions as a physical event, in 2020 the Forum went digital in response to the COVID emergency. Now in its eighth edition, wine2wine Business Forum will bring all past experiences together in a synthesis that meets the needs of the “new normal” and will be back in a hybrid format.

At the wine2wine Business Forum, two speakers – representatives of the most reputable companies in their industries – will deliver in tandem a report on the situation on the Ukrainian wine market and on new tools that help to overcome the consequences of the pandemic. These are Pavel Glazov, Import Director of the Vinfort importer and distributor company, one of the most experienced in Ukraine, and Veronika Busel, Managing Partner of the Wine Travel Awards, the international wine tourism awards founded by Drinks+ Communication Media Group, the oldest media group in Eastern Europe, which has been leading its activities in the promotion of wines and wine tourism since 1993.

Over the past editions, wine2wine Business Forum has become a must-attend event for wine business professionals and those seeking opportunities in the field. Due to technology, barriers are overcome, enabling participants to use new approaches of doing business and to receive new incentives and inspiration from leading professionals. Indeed, this year the Forum will be focused on the concept of barriers. Barriers meant as physical ones, deriving from travel bans arose in the past two years. Psychological ones, due to changes in lifestyle, both in the workplace and at home. Barriers related to inclusiveness, fostered by obsolete ways of thinking.

The eighth edition of the forum dedicated to the wine business will take place on October 18th-19th, 2021. More than 60 parallel sessions are scheduled, and more than 80 international speakers will travel to Verona or deliver their presentations from their home country. This year, the sessions will last 30 minutes, followed by 15 minutes dedicated to Q&As with the speakers. The dedicated chat or post comments and thoughts will be open for the questions from online participants. A “Kick-Off” session followed by a Keynote speech will initiate every day. During the physical version of the event, two coffee breaks (one in the morning and the other one in the afternoon) are foreseen, along with a lunch break. During this time participants, speakers, and sponsors of the event can be engaged in networking to boost business opportunities.

The digital platform will provide guests with an opportunity to attend sessions in real-time or on-demand at a time that suits them. Networking with other participants, sponsors, and speakers – one of the pillars of the event – will be made possible thanks to AI and smart-matching technology. Session descriptions, biographies, and materials will also be made available on the platform. A format that unites digital and physical, making the wine business closer than ever.

Tickets will be available in a few days. Until September 20th people can reserve their place at a special rate, filling in a form on the event website. Special formulas are also reserved to Vinitaly exhibitors, OperaWine and 5StarWines & Wine Without Walls producers, partners, and students. For further information, write to helpw2w@justdothework.it.

About: wine2wine Business Forum is a dynamic international wine industry forum organized by Veronafiere and held annually in Verona, Italy, since 2014. wine2wine Business Forum 2021 will take place on October 18th and 19th with a hybrid format, allowing guests to attend the conference both online and in-person. The event is a key reference point for wine producers and wine professionals eager to develop and grow their wine business worldwide. wine2wine Business Forum provides unique opportunities to share ideas on the most important issues facing the rapidly evolving wine industry and to connect with wine professionals and experts. The forum takes place over two days and features keynote sessions, seminars, and interactive workshops which aim to equip participants with practical tools to improve their business. Speakers are renowned experts in their field and among the brightest minds in the wine world from Italy and abroad. Additional information is available at www.wine2wine.net or by emailing wine2wine@justdothework.it.

In its 8th edition, the wine2wine Business Forum 2021 will return on October 18th-19th, 2021 in a brand-new format: hybrid. There are two options to participate: either to travel to PalaExpo, the conference venue of Veronafiere, or to follow the event remotely through the digital platform first introduced in 2020.

The Calabrian city of Cosenza is set to host the competition’s main session for red and white wines. The decision was announced online on Thursday 16 September.

The Concours Mondial de Bruxelles will now be held in 4 different sessions so that each type of wine can be judged professionally. The evaluations will be handled by specialist experts, chosen for their knowledge and their ability to taste every type of wine depending on their specific characters.

The different sessions will take place at dates dictated by production and marketing requirements for each style of wine. The 4 Concours Mondial de Bruxelles tasting sessions will run annually in different producer and/or consumer regions.

Rosé Wine Session:

Open indiscriminately to all still, sparkling and semi-sparkling rosé wines along with fortified rosés. By holding this event in March, the aim is to provide an effective response to market needs and to the growing interest shown by consumers for rosé wines. It provides awarded producers with promotion and marketing tools as soon as the wines are released for sale.

Red and White Wine Session:

Open indiscriminately to all white wines (including orange wines) and all still dry and medium dry red wines from all origins and made from all types of grape varieties. This session – the largest in the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles for the number of entries – takes place every year in May.

The host country for the Red and White Wine Session is Italy, in particular the Calabrian city of Cosenza. Nearly 350 judges are expected to travel to the region from 19 to 22 May 2022.

Sparkling Wine Session:

Open indiscriminately to all sparkling and semi-sparkling wines in the 3 colours, irrespective of whether they are dry, medium dry or sweet. Held in June, this session will showcase the variety of sparkling wines available in terms of origin, expression and typicity.

Sweet and Fortified Wine Session:

Open indiscriminately to all sweet wines (medium sweet, sweet and noble rot), as well as fortified wines, irrespective of their sugar content and colour. A panel of specialised experts with the requisite tasting skills will evaluate these wines every year in September.

The Calabrian city of Cosenza is set to host the competition’s main session for red and white wines. The decision was announced online on Thursday 16 September.