Joël B. Payne, President of the International Federation of Wine Journalists and Writers, is expected at the trade fair

23.04.2009 | 

The International Federation of Wine Journalists and Writers (FIJEV) will be holding an encounter with the members of the Spanish Steering Board on the upcoming May 6th within the frame of FENAVIN, National Trade Fair on Wine 2009, at which the President of the FIJEV, the North American Joël B. Payne, is also expected.

The meeting of the AEPEV's Steering Board will take place during a luncheon, with said meeting being possibly open to other national or foreign associates (FIJEV), as long as the number of participants does not surpass twenty.

In the afternoon a conference-colloquium will be taking place as of 16:00 hours, which will verse on "Wine: Technique and Communication", the same to be directed by Paul Pontallier, enologist for the Château Margaux; Ana Martín, Spanish Flying Winemaker and Joël B. Payne, President of FIJEV, during which the subject of conversation will be wine: how wines are made and how this fact is communicated, as well as market trends and social tastes.

Paul Pontallier is the current Director of the Château Margaux, a Médoc Premier Cru Classé that, in words of the expert Mauricio Wiesenthal, "is somewhat more than just a wine: it is a symbol of France". Ana Martín Onzain, despite her youth, is one of the most seasoned and experienced enologists in our country. Her ties with names such as Guitián, Casa Gualda, Terras Gauda, Itsasmendi or Traslanzas have also turned her into one of the most prestigious enologists. She has imparted a great number of courses, both technical and covering tasting sessions, having also participated in numerous tasting session committees, research projects and she has even held the position of Commercial Director in more than one winery.

How to protect wine

A conference will be held following the chat that will verse on "How wine can be protected from forgers and scoundrels?", which will be imparted by Mariano Rubio, Managing Director of the Technical Operation Center on Wine (CTOV) and Pierre Delve, Antifraud Adviser for the Council of Europe.

The speakers will be alerting the audience on the dangers of forgery that hover over wine. Up until now the most highly copied beverages, in order, were: whiskey, champagne and cognac, followed by red wine, in particular Bordeaux and Rioja, in Spain's case.

Forgeries reach 30 percent of the invoicing corresponding to community wine sales in 2008 and fraudulent copies in the world, including intellectual property, amounted to 500,000 million Euros, of which 110,000 million corresponded to food products.

The CTOV's Executives, aware as they are of the importance that wine has in Spain, which is the third producer in the world and first in that pertaining to viticulture surface, apart from being the third exporter in terms of volume, although very close to reaching the first position, have been visiting the regulation councils, wineries and institutions in order to obtain first hand knowledge of the sector's needs in security and authentication matters.

Spanish wine producers, likewise aware of what they are risking on the foreign markets, in which according to the Administration's calculations, in a period of five years they will be very close to surpassing Italy, also want to create a great level of perception of quality of their bottled product, even more so when one of the great importers, as is the case of China, through its National Chamber of Industry and Trade, has acknowledged that 70 percent of imported wines that are sold in the restaurants of the big cities are actually forgeries.

The CTOV wants to offer producers and consumers the necessary instruments to insure that each wine will be a unique and unrepeatable product, with a brand image created by the restlessness of the entrepreneur and of the entire team that transforms each harvest into the reality of a genuine product with the identification bands of its creators.

Tribute to Manuel Juliá, Managing Director of FENAVIN

Once the conference reaches its conclusion, a tribute coordinated by the AEPEV will take place in recognition of Manuel Juliá, Managing Director of FENAVIN, the same to acknowledge the attention he has dispensed at this Trade Fair to the work of the journalists, in general, and to the members of the FIJEV, in particular.