England to put Olympic spirit into wine symposium

England plans to bring the spirit of the London Olympics to the ninth International Cool Climate Wine Symposium, which the UK will host in 2016.

The symposium will take place in Brighton from 26-28 May

Following the official launch of the symposium at ProWein last week, Ridgeview’s marketing manager Mardi Roberts – who is helping to organise the event – told db that the symposium “would play on the idea of a cool wine show”.

Continuing she said, “We want to capture the spirit of the British Olympics, and create something that is both quirky and cool.”

Due to take place in Brighton from 26-28 May 2016, Roberts said that the organisers were planning novel events such as a tasting of cool-climate wines at Brighton’s Sea Life Centre – which she said was the oldest in the world – as well as pairing fish and chips with English sparkling on the coastal city’s sea front.

Although a trade event, Roberts said that the symposium will be “joining up will all the restaurants in Brighton so we can host winemaker dinners, and there’ll be a cool wine show for consumers on [Brighton’s] Hove Lawns, sponsored by Laithwaite’s.”

She added, “We want the consumer involved, and we want the international audience exposed to Brighton’s food and drink culture.”

The International Cool Climate Symposium has been running since 1984, when Eugene, Oregon hosted the first event, and has happened approximately every four years since (one was held in both 2010 and 2012).

The cool climate symposium organisers hope to capture the spirit of London 2012

Marketing director of the English Wine Producers, Julia Trustram Eve expressed her excitement at the impact of the upcoming symposium on the English wine industry.

“We are excited about hosting it because each place where it has been held in the past has put that region on the map,” she said, citing in particular the positive affect on the symposium on Tasmania, which hosted the event in 2012.

Already, she said that England’s decision to host the event had brought the country’s emerging wine industry “much interest from the foreign wine press”.

While she pointed out that the symposium has historically been primarily a “technical” event, Brighton’s programme, which will run over three days, will see a “marketing/business angle too”.

As previously reported by db, among the speakers confirmed so far are Jancis Robinson MW, who will open the symposium, and New Zealand viticulturalist Dr Mike Trought of the Marlborough Research Centre, who will lead a session of achieving vine balance.

Meanwhile, Professor Charles Spence from the Oxford University Department of Experimental Psychology will address delegates on the subject of wine sensory evaluation.

Trustram Eve said that the organisers were hoping to attract 500 delegates, noting that the three-day programme would cost £600, although those who book by the end of this year can benefit from a reduced ticket price of £500.

For more information about the programme, Early Bird Tickets and other event details, visit www.iccws2016.com