The inaugural International Sauvignon Blanc Celebration to be held in Marlborough early February will see a selection of presentations from the crème de la crème of the international wine world.
Twenty guests from as far afield as Canada, the US, France, UK and China will be speaking at the event, sharing their knowledge and experience of Sauvignon Blanc with over 350 delegates, from 18 different countries.
Chairman of the organising committee, Patrick Materman said that the response from invited speakers has been outstanding with only one person of the group invited who was unable to make the event.
Five Masters of Wine are among the speakers including, David Gleave, founder of Liberty Wines in the UK, Jancis Robinson’s assistant Julia Harding and New Zealanders Sam Harrop, Alastair Maling and Jane Skilton.
Alexandre Schmitt, known in the wine world as ‘the nose’, will explore the sensory pleasures of aroma in wine. Schmitt began his career in Paris in the perfume industry, before working alongside Jean-Claude Berrouet, winemaker at the world renowned Chateau Petrus, for 12 years. He has trained numerous top winemakers over the last 15 years and has a client list that reads like a ‘who’s who’ of the wine industry.
American based Matt Kramer has worked as a wine commentator for over 40 years, and has been described as ‘an intellectual guerrilla’ among wine writers. As a guest speaker Kramer will take a look at ‘where to from here’ for Sauvignon Blanc.
Leslie Sbrocco, recently voted as one of the Top 100 most influential people in the American wine business, also joins the list of acclaimed speakers. Sbrocco is well known as an award winning author, wine consultant and television host.
Renowned UK writer Jamie Goode on ‘The Science of Sauvignon Blanc’, and frequent BBC host OZ Clarke on ‘How Region Defines Style’ will head up further sessions.
The celebration promises attendees an in-depth look at the variety on a global scale.
