January 28, 2010

Asian wine professionals have received this January specialised education in Spanish wines from every viticultural region with iconic tastings and conferences.

Madrid, January 2010 – given that one of the major topics for discussion during WineFuture – Rioja 2009 was the expansion and the future of emerging markets, The Wine Academy has begun to put into practice the ideas of this prestigious conference. It has done this this month by conducting two new courses in Shanghai and Hong Kong as part of its Spanish Wine Education Program and with the collaboration of the Asia Wine Service & Education Centre (AWSEC). It is the first time that The Wine Academy and Spanish Wine Education have gone to Asia, specifically China, in order to promote the wines of Spain in this continent. This trip to Shanghai and Hong Kong has received an excellent reception, with more than one hundred students on oenology and other professionals from the sector.
The importance of new markets, such as that in Asia, led to the organisation of this pair of courses in China and Asia. The first took place in Shanghai from the 20th until the 22nd of January, and was attended by 26 students. The second, from the 25th until the 27th of the same month, took place in Hong Kong, where it brought together another 80 wine professionals with an interest in the Spanish sector. On top of this in Hong Kong, Spanish Wine Education organised an iconic tasting with wines representing every wine producing region in Spain. The wines tasted were:
- CELLER BATLE GRAN RESERVA 2001 - GRAMONA CAVA
- OSSIAN AGRICULTURA BIOLOGICA 2008
- GRAN MURALLES 2001
- CALCHETAS 2006
- MARQUES DE RISCAL RESERVA 2001 - 150 ANIVERSARIO
- VEGA SICILIA UNICO 1999
- TRASNOCHO 2005
- FINCA GARBET 2004
- FELIX CAJELLO SELECCION DE VIÑEDOS DE LA FAMILIA 2005
- NEO PUNTA ESENCIA 2006
- AALTO PS 2006
- VAL LLACH 2006
- AMONTILLADO DEL DUQUE - VORS
- PX GRAN BARQUERO

The attendees, for the most part Asian sommeliers and distributors received, as well as the iconic tasting in Hong Kong, a specialised course taught by well known and respected personalities from the sector, such as the founder of The Wine Academy and Master of Wine, Pancho Campo. The Spanish Wine Education courses were also attended by importers, distributors, representatives from Spanish wine companies in Asia such as Félix Solis, Freixenet, Grupo Garvey, Dinastía Vivanco, Federico Schatz, Lar Barros and Bodegas Francisco Gómez, as well as representatives from Vins de France, the President of The Shanghai Wine Society, Debra Maiburg Master of Wine, promoters of Italian wines, restaurant owners and the Spanish Wine Education tutors.
The Spanish Wine Education Program is one of the main formative courses aimed at wine professionals that focuses on the Spanish wine industry and that is taught outside of Spain. This explains the success of this course since it began, and the positive growth in the face of the future.

According to the opinions of those in charge of The Wine Academy, this type of programme plays an important role in spreading knowledge of Spanish wines outside of Spain as well as opening new doors for trade in the sector. The presence in China for the first time since the programme started in 2006 shows a before and after regarding the success gained there, and the idea is to continue along this line by organising more courses throughout Asia, something that was suggested by the attendees in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The next Spanish Wine Education courses will take place in March in Orlando and Miami, in the United States.
Partnerships
This initiative is sponsored by The Wine Academy of Spain with support from the Agencia Andaluza de Promoción Exterior (Extenda), the Promotora d’Exportacions Catalanes SA (Prodeca) and the Instituto Español de Comercio Exterior (ICEX). The programme is also supported by the four governing bodies for the designated viticultural regions (Consejo Reguladores de Denominaciones de Origen) of Andalusia: Málaga Sierras and Pasas, Montilla – Moriles, Condado de Huelva and Sherry; CRDO Rioja, CRDO Rías Baixas, CRDO Jumilla as well as Félix Solís, Grupo Codorníu, Dinastía Vivancos, Freixenet and González Byass bodegas.

The Wine Academy includes among its strategic partners The Society of Wine Educators, one of the most prestigious educative bodies in the United States; The Wine & Spirit Education Trust, the leading British organisation for education within the wine trade.

In this particular event, The Wine Academy of Spain was also supported by the Asia Wine Service & Education Centre (AWSEC). The success of this event owes a great deal to the significant presence on the Asian continent and the work AWSEC has been doing with the wine sector there since 1994. Both institutions have managed to create an excellent working partnership, whose success can be seen in the number of students that attended the courses, and also in the plans being put in place for new courses in the near future.

The Wine Academy of Spain
The Wine Academy of Spain is a private organisation founded in 2003 by Pancho Campo, the first and only Spaniard to hold the title of Master of Wine. Its activities are centred around the education of both wine professionals and aficionados alike; the international promotion of Spanish Wines, through the Spanish Wine Education Programme; the promotion of Spain as a destination for Wine Tourism; the analysis of the impact of climate change on the sector; the organisation of trips to other wine producing regions, with the collaboration of The University of California Davis; and organising trips and seminars about advances in oenology, viticulture and marketing. It also instructs the courses of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), the leading British organisation for education within the wine trade throughout Spain, and has organised the Climate Change and Wine World Conference, among other events.
For more information
Marta Olea
Prensa
The Wine Academy of Spain
Tel. +34 636 466 179
Email: media@thewineacademy.es