Feb 28: Subhash Arora, President of the Indian Wine Academy and Editor of delWine has been recognised at the first World Wines & Spirits Congress and Awards ceremony on 14th of February 2018 at Taj Lands End Mumbai where he was given the ‘Most Influential Leaders in Wine & Spirits Industry’ Award, received by Natasha Vohra, Assistant Editor of delWine as he was away in Tuscany at that time
The Citation presented to Subhash Arora, President Delhi Wine Club, Indian Wine Academy, reads :
“Cav. Subhash Arora is a noted prolific wine writer, author, journalist, speaker, consultant, educator and a wine club promoter. As an international wine judge he has already taken part in 58 international competitions; He will taste next week in Mundusvini, Germany (Feb 20-23) for the 13th time in succession. He is the Editor and major content provider of ‘delWine’- a weekly eNewsletter that goes to 33,000 people in 70 countries (www.delwine.com). He is also the India Correspondent of Meininger’s Wine Business International, Germany.
Arora is an electrical engineer from IIT Delhi. After working in Germany for a year, he went to the US and completed his MSIE and MBA from the University of Minnesota. An IT entrepreneur, he has been a wine evangelist and ambassador for the last 15 years, devoted to the promotion of wine culture in India. He founded Delhi Wine Club in 2002 and has organised 274 wine events so far (www.delhiwineclub.com) besides dozens of wine appreciation workshops and short courses.
In a survey conducted by Wine Business International, he was voted the best wine journalist of India in 2006. He was nominated for the ‘Best Foreign Wine Journalist Award’ by the Grandi Cru d’Italia in 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013. His website, www.indianwineacademy.com founded in 2003 was voted the Best Wine Website 2011 by them. He also co-authored the Italian Wine Guide 2006, the first wine book of its kind in India.
Cav. Subhash Arora was knighted by the Italian President in 2009 and awarded the official title of Cavaliere, for his meritorious service in building friendly ties between India and Italy through wine promotion and education.
He was the first-ever Indian to be awarded the prestigious OIV Merit Award at the 34th International Conference on Vines and Wines in Porto, Portugal on June 24, 2011 for his outstanding service to the vine and wine industry globally. As a catalyst, he had helped facilitate Indian State’s entry into OIV as a full Member in record time. He is the only Indian that has been so recognised by the UN type of world body in Paris on vines and wines.
He works as a faculty member with Indo Italian Chamber of Commerce & Industry in conducting wine courses-Alfiere Italico, introduced in India for the first time in 2017 as a part of the global strategy. He is quite active in social media on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as wineguyindia. He runs a closed group /indianwineacademy on Facebook with over 10,000 members for cross-exchange of information on wine.”
The World Spirits of Excellence Awards recognize and reward projects and professionals that lead innovative practices and make a real difference to the Spirits Community. The awards are unique and cover all those professional and specialists groups whose achievements so often go unnoticed. They highlight the winning work and offer the creative spirits industry their well-deserved recognition. They have a tradition of unearthing the quiet achievers and outstanding services and programs making our spirits system the best it can be, say the organisers who claim to have hosted several events in the past, such as the World HRD Congress (http://www.worldhrdcongress.com/) ; World Marketing Congress (http://www.worldmarketingcongress.org/) ; World CSR Day (http://www.worldcsrday.com/) CMO ASIA (http://www.cmoasia.org/), Stars of the Industry www.starsoftheindustry.com) etc. for the last 25 years and seem to have a track record of performance and associated credibility, with Dr. R L Bhatia behind the whole program as the Founder CEO.
The theme for World Wines & Spirits Congress and Awards 2018 was "Joy & Celebration with Purpose". When asked by Natasha about the criteria for selection for The MOST INFLUENTIAL LEADERS IN WINES & SPIRITS INDUSTRY she was told it was a result of an intensely researched process undertaken by the research cell which consists of Post Graduates in History & Management and which shortlisted individuals who are doing extraordinary work & track the record of their achievements. The shortlist was then reviewed by a Jury comprising of senior professionals from across the globe who picked the winners.
The Congress and Awards was attended by around 250 global delegates in hospitality-generally from India and several nearby countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Maldives etc. The event that was followed by dinner paired with wines was heavily weighted towards the spirit industry, so it was to like a breath of fresh air to see a few individuals selected from the wine industry as well. It was even nicer to know that Mr. Arora had been apparently the only non-commercial person being recognised in the wine industry.
Natasha Vohra
Mumbai
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