Events

World Wine Symposium
«Vinnaya Karta» №7(108) December 2009

The World Wine Symposium (WWS), one of this year’s key wine events, finished on Sunday night in Villa d’Este, on the shores of Lake Como, Italy.

The idea of organising a high profile event belongs to Francois Mauss, president of the Grand Jury Europeen. His initiative was supported by the owners of five top ranking wine estates whom Mauss now calls the symposium’s godfathers. They are Alain Vauthier (Chateau Ausone), Angelo Gaja (Gaja), Egon Muller (Weingut Egon Muller), Aubert de Villaine (Domaine de la Romanee-Conti) and Pablo Alvarez (Vega Sicilia). The WWS is already dubbed the ‘Wine Davos’ due to the participation of many high ranking guests and speakers.

“It was not easy to launch this first edition of the ‘Davos of Wine’ whilst the financial sector is suffering in most parts of the world”, said Francois Mauss. Yet, a two-day symposium hosted a full house, with 200 participants against the originally planned 150. More importantly, the event attracted a high concentration of renowned wine personalities. Along with the well known Grand Jury Europeen members, such as Michel Bettane and Stephane Derenoncourt, the symposium was attended by the owners of some of the most emblematic estates, as well as leading winemakers, merchants, auctioneers, collectors, experts and journalists.

The event’s seminars and tastings were not, as suggested by Francois Mauss, merely business exchanges or silent tastings with famous gurus. Moderators spoke as much as key presenters, and the audience actively participated in the Q&A sessions. A wide-ranging spectrum of topics was covered over the two days.

One of the most powerful presentations was given by Michel Bettane who spoke about wine criticism and ethics. He talked about how wine assessment has evolved in the past few decades and also the interaction between the three major forces — producers/merchants, critics/writers and consumers. Whilst critique remains a valid tool of freedom of expression, Bettane called all groups to abide by certain ethical standards. He suggested a code of ethics with three fundamental values — good product knowledge, appropriate use of words and impartial wine evaluation. Michel Bettane has kindly presented a synopsis of his speech in this video (in English).

Angelo Gaja, as usual, kept the audience in suspense from the start to the finish of his presentation, that was focused on the evolution of Italian wine through the history of Gaja. Differences between Tuscany and Piedmont, Cabernet Sauvignon and Nebbiolo, big producers and artisanal estates were the key points that the famous Piemontese winemaker addressed.

Olivier Humbrecht, from Alsace, presented his biodynamic winegrowing experience, whilst another respected consultant enologist Stephane Derenoncourt from Bordeaux talked about the evolution of winegrowing and winemaking techniques and technologies, many of which he considers as mere gadgets rather than genuine technological breakthroughs. A short interview with Stephane Derenoncourt where he discusses main points of his speech can be viewed here (in English).

In the meantime, Yair Haidu introduced an innovative concept of presenting wine on the internet. It is an original interactive platform that links together wine, tourism and dining. Clever technology allows visitors to manage information without the usual commercial or psychological pressure of advertising and ratings. Yair Haidu believes that his unconventional approach will help to move the boundaries of the wine world and to attract new people into the wine culture.

Wine, in turn, remains a beverage of European identity. Close historic links between wine and different cultures were explored by Jean-Robert Pitte, the former president of the Sorbonne University. Yet, wine can ride high on political agendas. The world of wine and government administrations were separately discussed by Jacques Berthomeau who has a long experience inside the French Ministry of Agriculture. His speech was moderated by EU deputy Elisabeth Morin-Chartier who mentioned that next year the EU parliament will be developing a new agricultural policy. The wine industry can and must use the opportunity to promote its own interests. Paradoxically, whilst winemaking is the most profitable agricultural sector in France, like in other countries it has acquired a strong negative connotation through wine being presented as a social evil, without differentiation from spirits or other alcoholic beverages.

Various other topics were also discussed, such as Quebec wine monopoly, wine tourism in Austria, the latest initiatives of the German producer association VDP, the Bordeaux negociant system, wine and money. The seminars were complemented by a series of regional tastings presented by wineries from Piedmont, Austria and Croatia.

When asked to comment on the results, Francois Mauss was very satisfied with a successful debut. He also confirmed that the World Wine Symposium will be regularly held in future. A brief video statement by Francois Mauss can be viewed here (in English).