NEWSLETTER  •  ISSUE 38  •  SEPTEMBER 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussing the Digital Influence on the Wine World: Now and in the Future

 

The pandemic has reshaped the wine landscape forever. While the undulations of our vineyards remain largely intact, the change in how we interact in this world now has more peaks and valleys. For an industry, historically reliant on fostering community and building relationships in a traditional manner, the past two years have ushered in a new reality. We ask three experts for their opinions on the impact of digital in the present and how it is shaping our future.  Pauline Vicard of ARENI Global, heads a wine think tank tasked with thinking about the future of fine wine. Amber LeBeau not only thinks digital, she lives it, as the founder of virtualwineevents.com while super sommelier Hendrik Thoma MS has an undeniable digital presence. We asked these unique personalities for their insights.

 

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Wine in the Digital World

 

Join ASI on September 13 (3:00 PM CET) via the Association de la Sommellerie’s Facebook page for a live panel discussion exploring Wine in the Digital World. Now more than ever digital communication is making sommeliers rethink how they communicate about wine. In our next round table discussion, we discuss the impact the digital world has on our industry now and will have in the future. Joining ASI Experience Manager Liora Levi will be a diverse group including Pauline Vicard (ARENI Global), Amber LeBeau (virtualwineevents.com) Hendrik Thoma MS (Wine am Limit) and representing VinExpo their Director of Marketing & Communications, Anaïs ÉGRÉ.

 

 

 

Vinexpo: the evolution of digital engagement

 

ASI Partner VinExpo has been bringing together the wine world for forty years. Over the last two years, as a result of the pandemic, it has been challenged to rethink its business model and completely embrace the digital wine world. With the launch of their Vinexposium Connect digital portal, VinExpo has demonstrated its agility and forward-thinking nature. We asked VinExpo Marketing & Communications Director Anaïs Égré how they have adapted their digital strategy as result of the pandemic and how this has impacted, changed planning for future events.

 

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“Faster, Higher, Stronger”: BOOTCAMP Dreams

 

The life of an elite sommelier is not unlike that of an athlete with Olympic dreams. Olympians live by the motto “faster, higher, stronger” in relation to their athletic prowess. Top sommeliers share a similar dedication to be more knowledgeable, more professional and more service oriented. We ask a selection of ASI BOOTCAMP attendees to tell us who they are and why they are striving to be the best sommeliers they can be.
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ASI Joins Wine in Moderation

 

The Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) is pleased to announce its collaboration with Wine in Moderation (WiM) as an Associated Partner endorsing the social sustainability movement of the wine sector.
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Remember When
In September at ASI…

 

The Riviera dei Fiori, Sanremo, Monte Carlo… It was in September 2013 for the Contest of the Best Sommelier of Europe organized by the ASI then chaired by Shinya Tasaki, with the logistical support of the ASPI, Associazione della Sommellerie Professionale Italiana chaired by Giuseppe Vaccarini. The tests were concocted by the Sommelier Competition Commission headed by Gérard Basset. An exceptional triumvirate -Best Sommeliers of the World- which gave Arvid Rosengren the opportunity to win the European title and thus put him on the way to the World Championship in Mendoza…

 

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Member News

 

Next Sommelier Champion

The Sommelier Union Austria will be conducting the Best Sommelier of Austria on September 13th and 14th at Schloss Gabelhofen in Styria. The winner of this competition will represent Austria in the next ASI World Sommelier Championship in France.

 

 

 

 

Indonesia Sommelier Association Reelects President

The Indonesia Sommelier Association has reelected Mr. Adam as president of its association. Mr. Adam will continue his role through 2023. ASI wished Mr. Adam best wishes and congratulations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managing your mental health when facing a new COVID-19 lockdown

As the fourth wave of COVID-19 grips the world, once again placing restaurants, sommeliers and all hospitality staff through the perils of uncertainty, Sommeliers Australia republishes an article about managing stress in the workplace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ASI Best Sommelier of Europe & Africa Contest Website Launched

ASI, in collaboration with it’s agency on record, Vivify Creative Group, has launched a new digital platform. The contest site is housed within asi.info and will become the platform for all future contests. According to ASI Director of Marketing, Mark DeWolf “our goal of this project is to support our member assocations by reducing the costs to host a contest, ensure our design standards are consistent and achieved and bring more people to our home website to ensure the global wine community learns more about what we, and our members associations, do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Argentina Sommelier Association Explores the Non-Alcoholic Wine Revolution

A new generation of consumers is seeking to reduce their alcoholic intake. The reasons for non-alcoholic wine consumption are varied from social responsibility (designated driving) to healthier living and even as a reaction to alcohol addiction. This has led to innovation within the field of de-alcoholized wines. Masters of Wine Student Irem Eren, Business Development Manager and Sales Director of BevZero, a global company focused on de-alcoholization technology offers additional insight indicating “zero-alcohol and low-alcohol wine as an opportunity for the wine category to innovate and reinvent itself and an exciting part of wine´s future.  No / Low alcohol is not a trend anymore, it is a category which is here to stay, and the market is out there….no / low alcohol wine is a way to get younger consumers into wine, who are the drinkers of tomorrow.”

The trend is not lost on sommeliers. Valeria Gamper, a well-known Argentinean sommelier recently published an article on the subject in the July edition of the Argentine Association of Sommeliers monthly newsletter.

 

 

 

Industry News

 

France’s 2021 Harvest Predicted to Be One of Smallest Ever

Early spring frosts followed by fungus issues has resulted in potentially the lowest harvest in half a century. The impact of which will be felt for years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OIV Revises its Definitions of GI and AO

During the last General Assembly, the OIV adopted by consensus the ‘Update to the Definitions of Geographical Indication and Appellation of Origin (OIV-ECO 656-2021).’ The “Law and Consumer Information” (DROCON) Expert Group of the OIV Commission III “Economy and Law” has been working on this resolution for many years, to align the definitions with those that currently appear in the main international agreements on intellectual property*.

 

 

 

 

Are you a gate keeper or a gate opener?

Areni Global talks about the future of fine wine and how cultivating a community and sharing information will be an important step forward for fine wines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARTNER NEWS

 

Famille Perrin
Oenothèque Case of Château de Beaucastel

We are pleased to announce the launch of a very special oenotheque case with carefully selected vintages of Château de Beaucastel : 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009. These wines come from the Family’s Reserve Cellar. It’s exclusively destined for the most prestigious restaurants.