The organizers hope to assemble influential wine industry personalities at Riojaforum in Logroño, the capital of Rioja. Experts from around the globe will address topics including the economic crisis, trends in consumption and sales as well as climate change, packaging, branding and more.
‘The objective of Wine Future-Rioja '09 is to create a forum to assess current and future challenges and opportunities,’ says Pancho Campo MW, President of the academy. ‘We are very pleased with the quality of speakers who have agreed to share their expertise. We intend for Wine Future-Rioja 09 to be a source of serious analysis of the current marketplace as well as a source of inspiration and leadership for the future,’ he added.
"To our knowledge it is the first time these leaders have all met at once," said Campo.
A group of 35 speakers is expected to address a total audience of some 500 guests including journalists. Some conference sessions will be broadcast via the Internet. The speakers include:
Robert Parker
Jancis Robinson
Mel Dick, President of Wines for Southern Wines & Spirits
Dan Jago, Director of Wines for Tesco
Gary Vaynerchuk from Wine Library TV
The Academy reports that it has already received 267 registrations from nearly 38 countries, as of last month and is targeting 500.
The conference will include panel sessions and a grand tasting conducted by Robert Parker. There will also be a wine showcase. Wineries from the most important wine regions are showing tremendous interest in presenting their wines at the Exhibitor's Area, according to the organizers.
Session topics will include
- The global economic crisis
- How to improve consumption
- How to improve sales in the on-trade and off-trade
- Emerging and interesting markets: Asia, Russia and Scandinavia
- The environment and its business opportunities
- Wine education for increasing sales and consumption
- The role of wine writers and critics in the future of the industry
- The role of wine fairs and competitions as marketing and sales strategies
- The importance of Internet for promoting sales and consumption
- The importance of brands in the future of the industry
Wine Academy of Spain was founded by Pancho Camp who has a penchant for creating forums for topics that are wine related and global in nature. While working for his MW programme, he organized many seminars, conferences and debates on the Global Warming including an international conference in which Noble Laureate Jim Gore also participated, although through video-conferencing. Pancho is the first and perhaps the only Master of Wine in Spain.
|