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Today we have a conference preview written by Meridith May, who is bringing several panels of experts from The Tasting Panel Magazine and Somm Journal to our August Conference in Portland. Read on to learn more about these fascinating sessions!
Since I took over The Somm Journal, we have opened doors to thousands of new readers from all aspects of the wine industry. Our audience continues to grow at breakneck speed, from wine buyers at restaurant and retail to winemakers, F&B Directors, distributors and importers. From this perspective we are thrilled to bring in three panels to SWE’s August conference in Portland, and proud of the panel moderators we have gathered together. It will be thrilling to observe and learn from the panelists and we plan to document these panels in word and image in our October issue.
On Thursday, August 10 at 10:00 am, spirits expert/mixologist Jeffrey Morgenthaler will moderate our panel entitled “Deconstructing Spirits.” Jeffrey will question his panel of brand experts on what goes into creating the flavor profiles, the distillation processes, and the ingredients of eight different spirits – which the attendees will taste along with the panel.
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We will “Dig into Unique Terroir” on Friday August 11 at 3:00 pm with moderator Eric Hemer, MW, MS – Senior VP of Education for Southern Glazer’s. Eight winery representatives from regions such as Victoria, Australia; Navarro, Spain; Rias Baixas; Mendoza, Argentina and Alto Adige will taste their wines with attendees and dive deep into how terroir affects the character of these wines.
Our third session, scheduled for Saturday, August 12 at 10:30 am, will feature a “Coached Blind Tasting” program. While attendees attempt to blind a flight of wines, they will be coached by moderators Bob Bath, MS/Head Beverage Professor at CIA Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, and Somm Journal’s Deputy Editor/Advanced Sommelier Allyson Gorsuch. While the attendees taste and write down their guesses, the two coaches will give hints about the regions and varietals. When time is up, papers will be collected and each winery’s representative will “reveal” their respective wines and discuss the details.
All of these fascinating sessions will be presented at the Society of Wine Educators’ 41st Annual Conference, to be held August 10 to 12, 2017 in Portland, Oregon. See you there!