Wine Pleasures Workshop: Buyer meets IBERIAN Cellar

Los próximos días 10 al 12 de febrero 2010  se celebrará en el Hotel Barceló Montserrat situ La Beguda Baixa (Barcelona) la 6ª edición del Wine Pleasures Workshop.

A diferencia de ediciones anteriores damos la bienvenida a Bodegas Portuguesas al evento y como consecuencia hemos pensado que el titulo del acontecimiento Buyer meets IBERIAN Cellar sea el nombre más apropiado.

Lugar de Celebración

Hemos seleccionado de nuevo el Hotel Barceló Montserrat para celebrar el workshop. Dispone de un salón espacioso para trabajar con luz natural y vistas impresionantes a la conocida atracción turística – la montaña de Montserrat. Además está rodeado de una zona vinícola pero a la vez muy cerca al aeropuerto internacional de Barcelona.

A diferencia de Ferias de Servir el Vino, el Wine Pleasures Workshop permite que tanto la bodega como el comprador se beneficien de la posibilidad de establecer una comunicación previa al evento con la finalidad de concertar entrevistas de mutuo acuerdo. Así tanto la bodega y el comprador tiene parte de su agenda de entrevistas ya hecha con antelación. El resto de las entrevistas se pactan cara a cara durante la cata de vinos el primer día del workshop.

Selección de Compradores

Ya hemos empezado con la selección de compradores haciendo primero hincapié en los compradores ubicados en los países más lejanos de la peninsula tales como EEUU, Canada, México, Brasil, China, Singapur, Japón, Filipinas, India y Malasia.

Después del verano empezaremos con la selección de compradores europeos haciendo más esfuerzo en los compradores de Alemania, Reino Unido y Irlanda, los país nórdicos y los países que forma el conjunto que es Benelux.

Programa de Seminarios en el Workshop

El reconocido blogger Nic Myers abrirá la 1ª edición del WP Workshop Buyer meets IBERIAN Cellar. Nic, considerado uno de los mejores conocedores americanos de la Red Social (Internet 2.0), participará en el WP Workshop en los seminarios “Cómo conseguir nuevo clientes y fidelizar a los que ya lo son con el web 2.0”

El lunes 17 de 09.00 a 10.00 Nic Myers impartirá un seminario para las bodegas participantes en el Workshop: Blogging para Bodegas. Cabe destacar que de más de las 5,000 bodegas en España sólo una docena tiene un blog – una estadística que esperemos cambiará después del Wine Pleasures Workshop 2010.

Comidas y Cenas

Las posibilidades de reunirse con los importadores, se extienden más allá del espacio del workshop, con los numerosos eventos que tienen lugar cada día. Desde la cata de vinos el primer día hasta las siempre populares comidas y cenas con los demás bodegueros y los compradores, todos los participantes encontrarán algo que les resulte interesante.

Inscripciones

Las bodegas interesadas en aprovechar de la tarifa “Early Bird” deberían inscribirse antes del 31 de agosto y así se beneficiarán de un 15% descuento. Plazas limitadas.

A continuación les proponemos dos video reportajes que recogen opiniones de una bodega y un comprador, ambos participantes en el Wine Pleasures Workshop Buyer meets Spanish CELLAR 2009:

Vega Privanza (DO Ribera del Duero):

RMB Associates importadores (EEUU, Mexico y Canada):

Parés Baltà open for “extreme wine tourism”

Second part of a Wine Pleasures winery visit programme I was lucky enough to witness. 

Our visit to Parés Baltà was the complete antithesis to Rimarts. For starters, Parés Baltà is an older (established in 1790), much bigger winery with a staff of over fifty and five estates. Rather than wandering around the depths of the cellar, a visit to the grounds and vineyards was the order of the day. Piling into the sturdy and muddy landrover, we went around one of the five estates, seeing innumerable types of grapes as well as some breathtaking vistas. Some of the sites of the vines had been vineyards for thousand of years, since pre-roman times. 

As we travelled around the estate, our guide Sylvia let us into the secrets of grape growing. There are many factors that effect the grapes. The first, and most important, is climate. Sylvia explained that though it can sometimes rain heavily, often there are long periods of little rain. When this happens they don´t water the grapes and just let nature take its course. This seemed counterintuitive until Sylvia argued that by watering the grapes you are influencing the wine and so the wines no longer reflects the environment it is grown in. Pares Baltà want their wines to be completely natural, a philosophy that is assuredly organic. The second important factor is the soil type. Over the estates the soil quality varies hugely. I picked up many soil facts as we went, for example with clay, colour doesn´t matter to the grapes. The clay colour is the result of mineral make up and the key factor with clay is the lack of water. 

Many of the grapes we saw were being grown for experimental reasons, to see how they´ll turn out and if they can improve their wines. Many of them are not yet on the wine list: as Sylvia puts it- grapes need to learn to make good wine. She claims to have caught the winemakers talking to grapes, giving them advice and encouragement. Some of their grapes are grown on land that is protected, meaning they have to work around the forest, using the land around the trees. During Eagle nesting time they can´t make any noise and have to wait to carry out any work on their grapes. Luckily the eagles weren´t nesting while we were there so up we went to investigate. The terrain by this time was getting rockier and rockier, the car lurching about as Sylvia attempted to get us to the peak. After a couple of tries we managed it, but it was a real taste of extreme wine tourism. Nestled at the top were the company bees, which were angered by our tour. Safe in the car, we learnt that the bee´s have an influence area of 10km. This means they can track their hives close to patches of rosemary and thyme and the bees will carry the aromas down to infuse the wine as they pollinate the grapes. The bees are not the only animal workers on the vineyards; sheep are also kept purely to eat the leaves after harvest and keep the plants healthy. 

As Sylvia chatted about her work and her home I really got a sense of wine as a way of life. Or, as Sylvia puts it “Everyone round here has wine in the veins.” Sylvia has worked at Parés Baltà for three years and has lived in the area all her life. Her childhood experiences are entwined with the area and the wines, with an open bottle of cava always on the table and the summer highlight of going through the grapes after the pickers had gone and bringing home brimming baskets of leftovers. 

By the end of the day I felt that I´d had a real back to nature experience and a reminder that the wine you see in a bottle has a natural beginning. And talking of wines you see in a bottle, we fit in the time to taste a few bottles before heading to the restaurant for a feast of a lunch. We tried Absis (2003) a 88% tempranillo, 12% cabernet sauvignon mix. There was a sense of caramel on the nose, smokey. The finish was subtle and complex. Oaky spicy yet chocolately, with a tanginess at the top of the lip. This wine is eighteen months in the barrel and solely hand harvested. The soil where the grapes are grown is poor and stony so the grapes are concentrated and have a low yield per acre.

We also tried the 2008 Calcari, made from a native and typical grape variety- Xarel-lo. With a grassy quality on the nose, it was creamy and tasty. Not as fruity as many of the wines I´d tried.

Amy Wilkerson. Wine Travel Writer for Wine Pleasures

Here is a video taken during part of the extreme wine tour visit. Enjoy!

Wine tasting in Parés Baltà with Sylvia and Joan:

Wine tasting tours in Catalonia’s Cava region, Spain

Before today, I had not realised that some 95% of all cavas are produced in the Penedès region. Armed with that knowledge, it was with mounting excitement that I looked forward to my visit to one of the renowned cava producers of the region, Pages Entrena. Joan Pages Entrena met us as we exited the car and took us along with him whilst he shared with us the benefit of his experience as a winemaker. 

On first sight, Pages Entrena is an impressive mixture of the rustic and the sophisticated. The premises are an old 18th Century paper mill, now filled with state of the art wine making equipment. With Ivy creeping up the walls and dogs milling in the yard, it comes as a shock to enter the wrought iron doors and be greeted with a plush, high-tech and professional environment to learn about wines. It is a small operation, with a staff of only four, but nevertheless produces a large amount of wine. A huge emphasis is put on quality, to the extent that although they grow their own grapes, they bring in other grapes if they believe their own not to reach the standards they have set. Owing to year on year differences in climatic and other factors involved with grapes, each year the highest quality is selected for their wines. 

We move straight past the stainless steel fermentation tanks, familiar to me from previous winery visits, and downwards to the cellar. Cava wine has a second fermentation once the wine is in the bottle, which takes place in the cool environment of the cellar. The wine is left to ferment in the bottles with sugar and yeast for months in the dark, whilst the winemakers wait patiently. Juan took me downwards, explaining the process of fermentation and holding the bottles to the light to elucidate his statements. All the while, my attention was partly on my surroundings, the atmospheric and gloomy rooms with dim lighting, stacked with thousand and thousand of cavas. The temperature is always kept between 18 and 21 degrees, a cool and refreshing change from the constant summer heat of Spain. The cellars smelt incredibly welcoming, aged and balmy; exactly what I would expect from a well stocked wine cellar. Some of the Cavas in there, for example the Gran Reserva, will have to wait at least 40 months until they see the light of day again. 

Emerging from the cellar, we took a tour of the grounds, seeing the tasting rooms, the  lab where they test quality of wines and an old, separate building, where Joan voiced long term plans for conversion into a hotel, as a retreat for visitors to Barcelona. With the property surrounded by vineyards and attached to a stable with 12 thoroughbred horses, it was easy to see it as a haven against the vibrant bustle of Barcelona. I went up to have a quick peek at the horses and stroke their noses, and was slightly overawed by their obvious quality.

Finally, it was time to try one of the cavas, I´d heard so much about. We tried the Cava Pages Entrena Rose, made of 60% garnacha and 40% monestrell grapes. To earn the title of Cava, it must be aged for at least nine months. However, all the cavas they produce are aged for an absolute minimum of twelve months. Unlike the wines you buy at a supermarket, the bottles are dated from when they have completed second fermentation, ensuring that you always know precisely how old the Cava you are drinking is. The nose was aromatic and intensive and upon drinking it I found it fresh, cool and fruity. The taste was definitely that of a summer wine, for drinking on balmy evenings outside. I was favourably impressed by the overall experience of the Rose. 12,000 have been produced.

Amy Wilkerson Wine Travel writer for Wine Pleasures

VINTESA Consorzio includes La Luna del Rospo – Loacker – Punset – Fasoli Gino – Antica Entoria. Wine Pleasures International Organic Workshop

Next month sees the 3rd edition of the Wine Pleasures International Organic Workshop to be held in Sitges (Barcelona), Spain. Several Italaian organic and biodynamic wine producers have got together and formed  Consortium called Vintesa. Vintesa will be participating and representing the interests of their members. In the next few days we will be featuring each winery which forms part of Vintesa.

To date there are more wineries from Italy enrolled than there are from Spain which means there is clearly more interest (or even could it be more commercial sense?) from Italian wineries to export their wines. Given this situation Wine Pleasures is looking to programme the 4th edition of the workshop event ie in 2010 in Italy – place and date to be decided. Any suggestions for a place and venue?

Here is how Vintesa present themselves:

Vintesa is the result of a friendship of a few winemakers who have joined together with the aim to overcome the most common inconveniences faced by their professional clients.

Restaurants, wine bars, wine shops have been complaining for years about the difficulty of finding proper warehouse facilities (especially in the ancient city centres where high rents considerably increase the management costs); difficulties in managing a lot of paper documents from different suppliers (orders, transport bills, invoices, payments etc.); and last but not least the need to taste different wines without overloading  the warehouse or simply to enrich the wine chart with new sorts of wines, without running the risk to store up in the years great quantities of old bottles.

Vintesa Union offers its customers a rich wine selection from several Italian wineries located all over the national territory (from Piedmont to Tyrol, Veneto, Tuscany and Apulia). The wineries joining Vintesa Union are all small to medium size wine estates and the product range they can offer to their customers can easily be considered as an abstract of the best Italian wine production, furthermore they also have a wide range of organic and biodynamic products.

Customers have the possibility to re-assort without being forced to place a minimum order. With one single order (which also means one single shipment and one invoice and one payment only) they can receive several different wines at a time. The problem of keeping a great stock of products has found an easy solution thanks to Vintesa logistic organisation, Vintesa warehouses grant delivery within 24/48 hours, also of small orders. This solution also grants a constant price control and a considerable reduction of  costs. These services along with the high reputation of each one of the wineries joining the Union represent an added value for all our commercial partners.

The portfolio of the companies joining the union has only been changed once, which means that today the group is very compact and that all the wine makers united in this project are very close to each other and share the same philosophy and the same commercial values. A group of people working together but also studying together the best solutions for their customers to offer them profitable commercial services and an appealing and rich product portfolio.

If you would like to contact Vintesa please do so through their website.

La Oferta Enoturística de Bodegas Torres

Ponentes: Anna Manchon y Joan Carreras – Bodegas Torres

Presentación del departamento de Enoturismo y Eventos de Bodegas Torres: nuestra misión dentro del contexto de la estrategia de comunicación de la empresa, áereas profesionales y objetivos. La visita a las bodegas y toda la oferta complementaria: restaurante privado, actividades para grupos, alquiler de salas para eventos, etc. Resumen estadístico.

Actualmente, Bodegas Torres cuenta con todo un departamento dedicado exclusivamente al enoturismo, entendiendo esta nueva disciplina como un valor añadido a la comunicación del vino. Bajo el nombre de “Enoturismo y Eventos” hay todo un equipo de 24 profesionales, cubriendo 6 áreas: RRPP y atención al visitante, Promoción/ Comunicación, Administración, Reservas, Tienda e Infraestructuras/transportes. La oferta enoturística de Torres es muy amplia, variada y para todo tipo de público. Desde hace algunos años, se ha ido innovando e introduciendo oferta complementaria para satisfacer las necesidades del enoturista. Con esta oferta se pretende cumplir con los objetivos que se establecen en el departamento: consolidar el crecimiento en número de visitantes, incrementar la calidad de nuestros servicios y diversificar la oferta creando nuevos productos. Las estadísticas, con cifras de hasta 120.000 visitantes anuales, nos posicionan como una de las bodegas más visitadas de España.

Puede contactar con Anna y Joan mediante la página web de Torrres o en el Wine Pleasures Red Social.

Wine Pleasures Congreso y Workshop Internacional 24 al 27 de enero 2009 en Sitges (Barcelona).

Wine Pleasures Congreso Internacional de Enoturismo: El Pre Programa de Ponencias ya esta disponible!

Sitges (Barcelona): 24 al 27 de enero 2009

Durante 2 días y medio se impartirán unos 40 seminarios sobre el enoturismo. Entrando en la página web de Wine Pleasures los interesados pueden conseguir una copía del Preview Conference Brochure que contiene los ponentes y un sinopsis sobre cada ponencia.

Con carácter posterior al congreso, los proveedores de productos enoturísticos podrán tomar parte en un workshop, que posibilitará provechosas citas comerciales entre los proveedores de productos enoturísticos y operadores turísticos que desean ofrecer viajes enoturisticos a sus mercados.

Los operadores turísticos confirmados hasta la fecha son los siguientes:

• BK Tours & Travel, LLC VA (USA)
• Events Corp Solution (France)
• Fair Travel (Holland)
• Horizon Travel (Estonia)
• Passport Executive Travel (Washington)
• Angel Cruises & Tours (Georgia – USA)
• Halcon Viagens (Portugal)
• Velociped (Germany)
• Meditravel (Norway)
• In Quest of the Classics (California – USA)
• American Express (Finland)
• Perma Reiser (Norway)
• Alfran Tour Operadora de Turismo (Brasil)
• Penguin Travel (Denmark)
• Unique World Cruises & Travel (New York – USA)
• Biuro Pielgrzymkowo Turystyczne NOMADA Sp
• Wholesaler Travel (Miami – USA)
• Horizon Travel (Lithuania)
• Timber Trail Travel Today (India)
• Travel Oyster (India)
• Vakantiewoning-Plus (Holland)
• Armenit Travel (New York – USA)
• Reiseorganisation Schmitzberger (Germany)
• Guide Service Travel ( Poland)
• Expert Reiser (Norway)
• Degustadores Sem Fronteiras (Brasil)
• Finland Travel Bureau (Finland)

Wine Pleasures Reverse Trade Mission to Spain for Wine Importers, Distributors, Retailers, & the On-trade

From 15th to 22nd March 2009, a small group of wine buyers will be participating in the 3^rd edition of the Wine Pleasures Reverse Trade Mission to Spain which includes participation in two workshops: Buyer meets Spanish Cellar and the International Organic Workshop followed by visits to the appellations of Penedès, Cava, Priorat, Montsant, Terra Alta & Conca de Barberà.

 

The trade mission is organised by Wine Pleasures and will be based in the Mediterranean Sea resort of Sitges just 20 mins from Barcelona International Airport.

The delegate’s work agenda includes workshop meetings, visits to bodegas, as well as tastings, wine and traditional food matching & seminars led by well – known wine authorities.

This type of marketing activity has already proved its worth in the past two editions for both buyers and bodegas as an efficient means of establishing business relationships in a one-stop, low cost event.

This year, 15 companies will participate in the Reverse Trade Mission from the following countries:  Bulgaria, China, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, UK, USA (CA, CO, CT,FL, MN, NY) & Mexico.

Wine Pleasures Wine Tourism Workshop – any Spanish Winery open for visits?

Things are not looking too bright for the Tour Operators and Travel Agents travelling especially to Sitges (Barcelona, Spain) to meet, above all wineries, hotels and incoming agents in the Wine Pleasures Wine Tourism Workshop. TO DATE ONLY ONE WINERY IN ALL OF SPAIN APPEARS TO BE INTERESTED IN EXPLOTING THE RELATIVELY NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY OF WINE TOURISM. Hotels, (such as Hotels Priorat and Peralada Hotel and Golf), on the other hand are clearly more than willing to invest in order to gain a greater market share of the wine tourism market. Hopefully, wineries (for the sake of the agents attending!!) will wake up soon!.

Wine Pleasures Workshop Internacional de Enoturismo (26 al 27 de enero 2009)

Alrededor de 30 Bodegas  participarán en la 1ª edición del Wine Pleasures Workshop Enoturístico en Sitges

 

Se estima que al Workshop, que se celebrará del 26 al 27 de enero 2009, asistirán unos 50 Touroperadores (TTOO) y Agencias de Viaje (AAVV) internacionales (compradores de productos enoturísticos) de unas 30 empresas diferentes de España, Francia, Italia y Portugal.

 

TTOO y AAVV de los países siguientes han confirmado su asistencia: Noruega, Dinamarca, Alemania, Brasil,  Canada, Portugal, Estados Unidos, Bélgica, Israel, y México.

 

Los workshops (talleres comerciales) tienen por objetivo ofrecer a proveedores de productos enoturísticos (bodegas, agencias incoming, hoteles) la posibilidad de contactar en profundidad con TTOO/AAVV internacionales interesados en ofrecer España e otros países de Europa como destino de turismo enológico.  Mediante la participación en el workshop, tanto las  vendedoras como las empresas compradoras se benefician de la posibilidad de conocerse mutuamente en un entorno eficaz, de bajo coste económico y cómodo, permitiendo la realización de transacciones comerciales favorables para ambas partes. Formulario de Inscripción.

Wine Pleasures bloq gets going

With the help and guidance of Ryan Opaz, Wine Pleasures gets its first ever blog up and running. We hope you like it and will find our near future postings useful and interesting.

Our first event coming up is the Wine Pleasures International Wine Tourism Conference and Workshop (24 – 28 January) 2009 in the Mediterranean Resort of Sitges, Barcelona, Spain. Speakers from around Spain, Europe and as far aways as the US will be either speaking or just visiting this unique event. International Tour Operators and Travel Agents will also be joining the workshop event where they will be looking to meet wine experience providers (above all wineries!) with the view of sending them customers to visit their wineries (weekends included!!)

 Please feel free to browse the content of our blog. If you don’t find what you are looking for please don’t hesitate to contact us. Please leave comments and feedback.

Anthony Swift