The first ever global Wine Summit is happening next June in Portugal.
For 3 consecutive days the new international wine conference will bring together a remarkable list of world-renowned speakers and participants to the beautiful seaside village of Cascais, 30 kilometres away from Lisbon.
MUST is a one-of-a-kind meeting point. Wine industry leaders will get together to debate the wine sector, its ideas, trends, opportunities and challenges. For participants it’s a unique opportunity to meet and discuss with some of the most acclaimed global wine professionals.
An exciting program has been prepared by the organisers, journalist Paulo Salvador and wine critic Rui Falcão, and includes a diverse list of topics considered to be essential to the future of wine.
The conference will take place in Portugal but the event is positioned as an international conference with 80% of the participants coming from abroad and english being the main event language.
With 500 influential participants expected to come from all corners of the world, MUST is an enormous opportunity for the Portuguese wine industry to expose the depth of its wine culture, the diversity of its wine regions and the quality of its wines.
Speakers
For the first time ever, this list of global world wine leaders will be coming together to exchange ideas.
Alice Feiring is an internationally known author, journalist, wine consultant and authority and a leader in the international debate on wine made naturally.
Cathy Huyghe is the co-founder of Enolytics, which provides big data services to the wine industry. She is also the author of the award-winning book, Hungry for Wine: Seeing the World through the Lens of a Wine Glass.
Eric Asimov is the chief wine critic of The New York Times. He is one of the most respected authorities in the wine world.
Felicity Carter is editor-in-chief of Meininger’s Wine Business International, the world’s only global, English language wine business magazine.
Jamie Goode is a London-based winewriter who is currently wine columnist with UK national newspaper The Sunday Express.
Master Sommelier Geoff Kruth is President of GuildSomm, a non-profit membership organization of over 12,000 wine professionals worldwide. He is one of 220 people to achieve the distinction of Master Sommelier.
Huiqin Ma is a professor of China Agricultural University, expert on wine marketing and grape molecular biology.
Dr. José Vouillamoz is one of the world’s leading authority on the origin and parentage of grape varieties through DNA profiling.
Before founding Destinate, Mariette du Toit-Helmbold was CEO of Cape Town Tourism for close to 10 years, and has more than eighteen years’ practical tourism and marketing experience.
Regarded as one of the world’s leading wine experts, Matthew Jukes hosts bespoke corporate and consumer wine tastings all over the world and writes a weekly column for both MoneyWeek and the Daily Mail’s Weekend Magazine.
Michelle Bouffard is a certified sommelier, she also holds the WSET diploma and is a certi ed WSET educator, teaching the program across Canada in both French and English.
Paul Symington serves as Chairman of Symington Family Estates, a fourth generation Port producer that holds some of the most prestigious brands in the trade.
Richard Halstead is co-founder and COO at Wine Intelligence. He leads the company’s strategy practice and works closely with multinational clients on product development, branding and routes to market projects.
Stephen Li lived and worked in Manchester and London for several years. After finishing his WSET Diploma courses he went into wine education knowing that it’s both time and energy consuming.
Víctor de la Serna Jr. is the present Head of International Relations and Deputy Editor of the El Mundo newspaper, for which he also works as a food critic.
More speakers to be announced soon.
Programme
Wednesday, June 7
- Morning
- OPENING CEREMONY
- NATURAL WINE: Alice Feiring answers the question, ‘What, precisely, is natural wine’?
- WINE MARKETING: France seems to be losing market share to other wineproducing nations. Is this because of the typical French nomenclature, which some might find confusing?
- FROM EARTH TO YOU: High-altitude vineyards. Are they here to stay or more of a fad?
- WINE TOURISM: Touristry in the wine scene involves more than just visiting wineries …
- Afternoon
- NATURAL WINE: Jamie Goode (wineanorak.com) speaks about the various challenges in the cellar & the vineyard fundamental to the production of natural wines.
- FORTIFIED WINES: Winemaker and ‘Decanter Man of the Year’ Paul Symington speaks about fortifed wines and their status in a modern world of wine.
- PANEL: Wine contests and long-term commitment. How can they change the way we make or sell wine?
- CONSUMER TRENDS: Sommeliers and the hospitality industry. What does it take to win?
- SPARKLING VS CHAMPAGNE: Matthew Jukes opens discussion on if English sparkling wine can win out over Champagne.
Thursday, June 8
- Morning
- WELCOME AND GREETINGS: With His Excellency the President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
- OLD GRAPE VARIETIES: Grape geneticist Jose Vouillamoz shares his expertise about old but unknown grape varieties. Are these rising stars, offering new opportunities?
- REGIONAL IDENTITY: Michelle Bouffard speaks about Canadian wines and speculates: will Canada ever be-come known for producing anything besides Ice Wine?
- AUTHENTICITY: Why do we need authenticity in wine, or think that we do?
- Afternoon
- WINE TOURISM: Felicity Carter (Wine Business International) speaks about the impact of wine tourism on some of the most famous wine regions.
- COMMUNICATIONS (R)EVOLUTION COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES: Richard Halstead (COO at Wine Intelligence) How should we talk about wine with millen-will talk about the different communication nials, and with long-time consumers? channels in the world of wine.
- PANEL: Is there any place left for traditional and spe-cialised wine journalism, as we have known it up till now?
- WINE EDUCATION: Founder of GuildSomm and Master Sommelier Geoff Kruth is an expert on wine education. He explains the importance of expanding this professional field.
Friday, June 9
- Morning
- ONLINE SALES: Adapt or die! Cathy Huyghe shows some in-novative ways to promote & sell wine online.
- INTERNATIONAL GRAPE INVASION: Victor de La Serna (El Mundo) explores the subject of European wine regions returning to traditional varieties.
- WINE TOURISM: Tourism expert Mariette du Toit-Helmbold raises the question: does wine tourism turn wine regions into a sort of Disneyland, into theme parks?
- UNKNOWN GRAPE VARIETIES: New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov speaks about internationally known – but still underestimated – grape varieties.
- Afternoon
- CHINESE TERROIR: Stephen Li delineates the diversity of Chinese terroir, many worlds within one wine country.
- PANEL: Going collective in the wine world. Does the future of wine production, retailing and event organisation lie in the hands of associations?
- ASIA’S INFLUENCE: Is the Asian market redefining wine styles? Huiqin Ma, Professor at China Agricultural University in Beijing, addresses this question.
- CLOSING CEREMONY
Event Information
What: MUST Wine Summit 2017
When: June 7 – June 9
Where: Estoril Congress Center, Av. Amaral, 2765-192 Estoril, Portugal
Tickets: Buy here
Official Website: http://mustfermentingideas.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MUSTWineSummit/
Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1014213022048136/
Andre Ribeirinho 