The International Exhibition of Noble Wines, better known as Vinoble, is a show dedicated exclusively to those wines classified as fortified, liquor wines, and sweet. The event which started in 1998 takes place every other year (‘even’ years when Vinexpo is not organised in Bordeaux) and is organised by the Town Hall of Jerez de la Frontera in Cádiz, the Sherry producing town. More than 4,000 bottles of wine will be opened across the four days of Vinoble. Wine professionals and marketers from more than 25 different countries will participate and 9 countries will be represented in the exhibition areas.
Besides tasting of several premium Sherries, sweet wines including those made from indegenous grape varieties of Spain, France, Canada etc., several interesting seminars have been organised. Pancho Campo MW, founder President of the Wine Academy has been able to muster six of his colleagues from the Institute of Masters of Wine for a specialised tasting. The seven MWs will be present at The Grand Tasting in which a 1910 PX Ginés Liébana de Toro Albalá will be opened among seven wines. In another tasting of sweet wines of Roussillon, a Rivesaltes Domaine Puig Parahy from 1930 will be opened- and perhaps even an 1898, if the programme details are any indication.
Vertical Tasting of Chateau d’Yquem has become the signature tasting at the Show over the years- an extremely popular event. Sandrine Garvay, the cellar master of the famous First Growth of Bordeaux, will present the sweet wines of their 2007, 2000, 1996 and 1990 vintages.
Tocaj Renaissance is another of the special and regular seminars which will see several of the ‘The Wine of the Kings and the King of Wines’ presented and tasted at the seminar. (The organisers perhaps implied it to be the dessert wine of the kings-else the kings might all have died young with what may today be described as diabetes)
There will also be a seminar on the ‘Emerging Markets for Sherry in the BRIC countries’- Brazil, Russia, India and China. Subhash Arora has been invited to join the panel as India’s rep, along with Arthur Azevedo (Brazil), Eleonora Scholes (Russia) and Stephen Mack (China) completing the panel.
Moscatos of the world, Exclusive World of Biological wines (dessert), Climate change and Noble Wines- to be conducted by Pancho Campo MW himself, are only a few of the topics of the Seminars that would be informative and will keep the visitors occupied. As in the previous editions, the food and wine pairings by well known Spanish chefs and sommeliers would see the serpent-like queues on each evening as usual.
Also on the cards is the maiden issue of Vinoble 2010 wine competition being organised by the Wine Academy of Spain. Although Subhash Arora has been invited to be a judge for the competition which will take place on an afternoon followed by the next morning session, details about the event are scanty at this point.
Opus Wine headed by Spanish wine critic writer Carlos Delgado, as the commissioner of the Show, was organising the biennial Show since it was started in 1998. However, last year there were massive budget cuts to almost half at €157,000and the Show was tendered for the first time when it was awarded to the Academy. In private discussions, Delgado insists it is not feasible to do such a show with these funds. However, Campo promises it to be a very interesting and successful show.
The Wine Academy of Spain is a private organisation founded in 2003 by Pancho Campo MW, the only Spaniard to hold the title of Master of Wine. It focuses its activities on the education of wine professionals and aficionados; the international promotion of Spanish wines and several other related areas.
For a complete listing of the seminars, click here
For more info, visit www.vinoble.org |