Speakers IWINETC 2016 – 2016 Barcelona, Spain

Born in the UK and lived in Cornwall until it was time to start University. Studied for 3 different qualifications. Geography and Biology first. Then Descriptive & Applied Linguistics and finally Marketing & Business Administration. Went into the Training and Consultancy business and have lived and worked in Kuwait, Finland, Sweden, UK & Spain.

In Spain have lived in Madrid, Barcelona, Sitges and now in the High Penedès.So how did I get into the wine tourism business? Well once installed in a new house in the High Penedès I soon discovered that there were wonderful wines and wineries to visit but little tourism. So I made a low budget market research to see if it would be feasable to set up a business offering wine tasting tours – and hey Wine Pleasures was born.

I’m a big fan of Cava Brut Nature and only from certain producers. I enjoy fruity rosados and just love Cabernet Suavignon and Xarel.lo whites. When it comes to reds I like fruity and slightly oaked cabs and tempranillos.

For future grape escapes and IWINETCswould just love to discover Argentina, Chile, Hungary, Romania and South Africa – oh and CA of course!

Anthony will be delivering a workshop session within the conference programme titled:

Bringing Discourse Analysis into the Winery Visit

How many times have we visited a winery only to see the winery owner, winemaker or wine tour guide talking at the visitors telling them which aromas they should be smelling, what the colour is, how it tastes and so on. If we could measure the amount of discourse going on during a winery visit and a wine tasting we would most likely observe that the winery representative is talking for 95% of the time and the wine tourist only 5% of the time, .if at all! In this practical workshop (Cava drinking involved I’m afraid) I will demonstrate with the help of discourse analysis how to get your customers talking about your winery and wines for 90% of the time and the winery just 10% talking time without having to gag the winery representative.

Get the Speaker notes for Session 1.3 - Bringing Discourse Analysis into the Winery Visit>>

Carles Sala (Co-Founder of SALAFERUSIC Architects) is an Architect by ETSAB-UPC, Barcelona, and MArch by AA School of Architecture, London. He is a design tutor at the Welsh School of Architecture, as well as he is the director and tutor at the AA Barcelona Visiting School under the topic of 'Bodega', an Academic and Research initiative to explore design and architecture in wine making.

Carles will be delivering a talk within the conference programme titled:

Wine tourism. Architecture and Territory.

The studio SALA FERUSIC Architects, from Barcelona, will pose the key points in Architecture and Urban Design for wine tourism facilities, wineries or warehouses, from a very local scale up to its territorial influence.

They will base their speech on their own research, work and experience, and will explain the most relevant issues in creating a brand new winery, considering the design of an image, to enhance the brand, as well as taking into account both, the wine tasting tours and the production processes, and make them work in parallel in an integrated building. A winery becomes of relevance, as it is not only a mere activity of production, it can now also represent an economic hot spot also in other fields or even a landmark in the territory, as it generates new activities and brings new forms of urban, landscape and infrastructural development around.

Su formación como Técnico en Empresas y actividades Turísticas le introdujo al mundo
de la Dirección Hotelera, desde el que pasó al de la administración local.
El impulso a la promoción económica de Vilafranca del Penedès por parte de sus
responsables políticos puso el germen a la Asociación Española y la Red Europea de
Ciudades del Vino, en cuya construcción Carmen Ribes participó activamente.
Desde entonces se ha mantenido siempre en contacto con ambas Asociaciones, puesto
que en la Asociación Española es la técnico de referencia de Vilafranca, ciudad que
ejerce en estos momentos la Secretaría de ACEVIN.

Ostenta prácticamente desde su creación el cargo de Secretaria General de Recevin
que combina con sus funciones de Jefe de Servicio de Relaciones Internacionales del
Ayuntamiento de Vilafranca del Penedès.

El ejercicio de ambas funciones le ha llevado tanto a participar en encuentros
dedicados a profundizar en Enoturismo en Grecia, Italia, Portugal y España, como a
participar en el diseño, gestión y ejecución de múltiples proyectos europeos como PIE,
ADAPT, PATRIVIT, EQUAL, INTERREG IIIC, proyectos siempre con el objetivo de
dinamizar los territorios vitivinícolas.

Carme impartirá una ponencia en el Congreso IWINETC 2016 titulado:

El Enoturismo y la Colaboración Público-Privada

En la Concertación de intereses reside la clave del éxito del Enoturismo. El rol de las Ciudades del Vino en el Enoturismo europeo y las herramientas para favorecer la colaboración Público-Privada.

This talk was cancelled and therefore we do not have speaker notes for this session.

Diplomada Técnica en Empresas y Actividades Turísticas por la Escuela Oficial de Turismo de la Generalitat Valenciana con un posgrado de especialización en Gestión de Hoteles.

Experiencias destacadas a nivel operativo en NH HOTELES Y MELIÀ HOTELES me dieron la base para pasar a formar parte de acciones estratégicas como la creación del primer departamento CCI de NH HOTELES en la zona Levante y la reorganización del Departamento de Operaciones especiales de uno de los hoteles con mayor número de habitaciones en Francia de la cadena LOUVRE HOTELS.

Destacable, por intensa y productiva, mi experiencia en MC DONALDS FRANCE como Manager de restaurante , que me dió la oportunidad de recibir una completa formación en gestión de restaurante basada en la optimización de recursos.

En Palencia, LA CASA DEL ABAD, desempeñe funciones de dirección operativa conjugando la actividad del hotel con la gestión de su restaurante gastronómico.

En 2011 fundé USU Hoteles y Restaurantes, de la que soy socia consultora, para desarrollar proyectos integrales de dirección para pequeña hostelería, personalizados y analizados de forma global teniendo en cuenta tres puntos principales: financiero, operativo y comercial.

Chelo will be delivering a talk within the conference programme titled:

Wine: From Industry to Tourism (In Castilla - León)

The renowned quality of Ribera del Duero, Toro & Rueda wines has placed Castilla y León on the world map. Logically wine lovers want to visit but Who manages what´s on offer? Who informs the tour operators how to play this game? Who and how does this product appear in the market? This talk will discuss how these questions are being addressed in Castilla León.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.5 - Wine: From Industry to Tourism (In Castilla -León)>>

Sommelier, profesora en diferentes escuelas de hostelería de Cataluña, así como asesora de empresas del mundo de la alimentación y la gastronomía (restaurantes, catering, bodegas, empresas agroalimentarias...). Colaboró en la Guaa d’Enoturisme del Empordà y es coautora de tres libros de vinos; la Guia d’Enoturisme del Pla de Bages, 100 vins catalans que has de conèixer y la Guia d’Enoturisme de la DO Alella.

Diplomada en Nutrición y dietética y máster en Gastronomía y Comunicación. Es profesora titular del ciclo formativo de Técnico en Dietética en la Escuela Universitaria de la Salud y el Deporte de Girona. También es coautora de la Propuesta de Código Ético en la profesión de Nutrición Humana y Dietética, ha publicado artículos en diferentes revistas y medios (Cupatges, Delicooks, Vitagreen) y ha participado en magazines de radio y el programa Cuines de TV3

Get the speaker comments for Session 2.3 - Workshop: Wine and Flower Matching>>

Colin has lived in Spain for 19 years. He has been involved in Enoturismo (Wine Tourism) since before the word existed! Colin specialises in Spanish wines and is an International Wine Judge sitting annually on the Spanish Wine Panel of the International Wine & Spirits Competition (for whom he is also their Brand Ambassador in Spain), as well as Judging Panels for the internal wine competitions of individual Denominaciónes de Origen in Spain, such as DOP Yecla; DOP Bullas; DOP Rías Baixas; etc.

Colin has been writing Cork Talk for the English Language Newspaper Group, Costa News SL, since his arrival in Spain, as well as writing articles for various magazines, Spanish and English, over the years. He currently also writes for the UK based Glass of Bubbly Magazine where his remit is to report on Spanish Sparkling wine as well as sometimes on Cava.

Colin has guested on many radio programmes over the years, in Spain and also in the UK. He owned and ran two restaurants in Wirral, Merseyside before moving to Spain and this, coupled with his wine knowledge and broadcasting experience equips him rather well for his own radio programme, The Fine Wine & Gourmet Dine Programme on the English Language Total FM station (www.totalfm.es).

Colin will be moderating a panel discussion titled:

Golden Rules for Successful Winery Visits

Building a successful winery tour & tasting room experience before, during and after the visit. Do’s and Don’ts. Bring plenty of questions for the panel.

Get the conclusions from the panel on Session 2.5 - Golden Rules for Successful Winery Visits>>

Courtney Quinn loves exploring the Path2Wine through wine regions, wineries, wines and the people behind them. She does so through wine writing and education. She is currently completing her WSET Diploma in California.

Courtney will be delivering a talk with the conference programme titled:

From Wine Student To Your Wine Ambassador

From wine lovers to career development, wine education programs are a niche market. In 2015, more than 56,000 candidates took a WSET exam and the SOMM movies created new interest in the industry. The wine student is a unique visitor to a winery. Learn how to connect with them to help these lifelong learners to become lovers of your wine.

Doctor in Geography and Degree in Tourism, Expert in Innovation and Wine & Gastronomy Tourism Management, Gourmand Award for the world best wine tourism book 2011.

Director Tourism LAB in Barcelona Province Tourism Board

Since 2010 until present, leading the department of tourism innovation based in big data management to implement sustainable tourism indicators for Barcelona tourism destination and products. This department is responsible for transfer and perform the competitiveness of professionals of tourism sector around the province of Barcelona. Damià is also  a lecture Professor in Tourism Planning and Wine & Gastronomy Tourism in CETT- Barcelona University.

Damià will be delivering a talk in the conference programme titled:

Key Factors of Wine Tourism In Catalonia

Based in the recent PhD Thesis about Wine Tourism in Catalonia, Professor Damià Serrano identifies the main key of wine tourism evolution in the last ten years and projects the future escenarios of this activity in Catalunya.

Get the speaker notes for Session 1.2 - Key Factors of Wine Tourism In Catalonia>>

Evarist March es director de Naturalwalks. Formador y consultor en gastrobotánica y ecoturismo.

A través de su especialidad como botánico y guía de naturaleza ha creado miradas renovadas entre el territorio, la gastronomía y el turismo. Es coordinador y botánico de “Tierra Animada”; el proyecto de El Celler de Can Roca, que innova en el uso de las plantas silvestres en la alta gastronomía.

Desarrolla productos turísticos de calidad, con el objetivo de sumergir a sus clientes en la cultura catalana más genuina: combinando el conocimiento del terroir y la naturaleza, con el mundo del vino o los licores locales, la cocina mediterránea más tradicional y de vanguardia, con las raíces de la cultura popular del lugar.

Get the speaker comments for Session 2.3 - Workshop: Wine and Flower Matching>>

Gábor Bánfalvi is one of the co-founders of Taste Hungary (Hungary’s leading food and wine tour operator) and the Tasting Table, a wine shop and tasting cellar in the heart of Budapest. He holds a Level 3 WSET certification, and will shortly begin the Diploma course. Gábor has spoken about wine tourism, entrepreneurship, and Hungarian food and wine for a variety of audiences including the Digital Wine and Communications Conference, the Rotary Club in Budapest, the Balassi Institute, and the Ecole Supérieure des Sciences Commerciales d'Angers. In addition to growing his own companies. Gábor is also committed to increasing the profile of wine tourism in Hungary, and the larger region. In his spare time he is an avid runner, and is currently at work on a research project involving the history of Tokaj.

Gabor will be delivering a talk within the conference programme titled:

Increase Revenue by Selling Products & Creating a Physical Presence

Service based companies can add new sources of revenue by creating their own location and selling related products. This can increase the value of your services, help you create a stronger brand, and become a great marketing tool. As a case study, our company can provide insight about what this means in practice for a small tour operator.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.6 - Increase Revenue by Selling Products & Creating a Physical Presence>>

Co-owner of Wine a’More Travel Agency, the only registered Hungarian wine tour operator organising wine and gastronomy tours in Hungary and Europe. She is an economist, sales professional, has both a sommelier and WSET advanced degree. International sales, key account management, business development and organising events are her key specialities. Following her FMCG career with multinational companies, she is working in the wine and spirit business for more than a decade.  She represented one the most prominent Tokaji wineries as export sales manager, worked as export and wine marketing consultant. 

She is a determined ambassador of Hungarian wines. She is focusing on the development of Hungarian wine tourism, by offering weekend and longer wine experiences throughout Hungary and some neighbouring countries. 

Gabriella will be deliving a tasty talk within the conference programme titled:

Still The King Of Wines and Wine Of Kings?

The Tokaji Aszú wine has always been and still is a great mystery; one of the wine world's best kept secrets. Let’s chase these secrets in cellars of several hundred years, taste the new “ambassadors” the dry wines from Furmint and meet the winemakers. This sponsored talk will end with a tasting of Tokaji wines of four prestigeous cellars. 

Get the speaker notes for Session 1.2 - Still The King Of Wines and Wine Of Kings?>>

Hilarie’s passion for wine began in the 1970’s while in the European hospitality industry.
In 2003 she began her wine career in earnest in her native British Columbia, Canada, working in the vineyards, cellars and tasting rooms of several wineries.
A stint with a Canadian winebroker expanded her knowledge of world wines and marketing as did several years working as Resident Sommelier for a Washington State Winery, providing staff education and training.

In 2004 she received her certificate from the Court of Master Sommelier and has since acquired her Certified Specialist of Wine and French Wine Scholar post-nominals.
Hilarie currently brings her experience and enthusiasm to California where she was instrumental in the start up and staff training for Europa Village in Temecula Wine country and wine education for Miramonte Winery, Wilson Creek and others,

She consults with wine country businesses to develop well trained, educated teams and speaks at trade and consumer events such as the Wine Tourism Conference in Paso Robles, the San Diego International Wine Show and, most recently, the International Wine Tourism Conference in Champagne, France

Hilarie also writes about wine for Wine Geographic, Wine Folly, Examnier.com and other online sites.

She was honored to be awarded the 2013 Emerging Writer Scholarship from the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association for whom she now acts as the Administrative Director.

Hilarie will be delivering a talk within the conference programme titled:

Keeping Up With ‘The Wine Tourist’

Wine tourism is a constantly evolving concept, reflecting ever-changing customer tastes and desires. Is your wine tourism business and/or territory keeping up-to-date? This informative talk will look at who today’s wine tourists are and what they’re seeking on their travels. Discover creative ways your organization or business can attract, engage and retain that most valuable asset – the customer.

Get the speaker notes for Session 1.3 - Keeping Up With ‘The Wine Tourist’>>

Jaume Marin is the Marketing Director of the Costa Brava Girona Tourist Board in Spain. As one of the most innovative destinations on the online Marketing and thanks to the good results achieved, Costa Brava is now known as a home for many toourist from all over the world. Lecturer in the University of Girona and speaker in many tourism conferences over the globe, Jaume is a proud supporter of storytelling and engagement, and has a strong trust in the power of blogging, communication and relationships.

Jaume along with colleague Marta Casas will be delivering a talk titled:

Vívid: The Wine Tourism Festival To Showcase A Region

Vívid, the wine tourism festival that promotes the DO Empordà and the Costa Brava region, is a tool to showcase the region and to create new wine tourism proposals, encouraging cooperation among all involved in the initiative. Origin, present and future of the festival, which aims to showcase wine products and the region through innovative wine tourism activities.

After some years in academia and many years in the international civil service, Jochen Erler retired to pursue his true love, of wines, walking and writing. He has spent much of his time leading wine walking groups throughout Europe, between wine writing, study trips and attending wine fairs. For more than twenty years he has been a member of jury at the International Wine & Spirit Competition in the UK, a juror at many national, regional and international contests, and a wine consultant.

In addition to his interest in wine & spirits, Jochen has researched and written about spas, in particular in the field of wine wellness/therapy.

The International Wine Tourism Conference has given him a venue to share his experience with the stakeholders in wine tourism. Jochen researches wine growing areas suited for wine tourism and makes presentations at the Conference for travel agents in search of tour destinations. Since 2014 he has been a wine lecturer on cruise ships as well.

Jochen will be part of a panel discussion titled:

Golden Rules for Successful Winery Visits

Building a successful winery tour & tasting room experience before, during and after the visit. Do’s and Don’ts. Bring plenty of questions for the panel.

Get the conclusions from the panel on Session 2.5 - Golden Rules for Successful Winery Visits>>

Judith Lewis is the founder of the deCabbit Consultancy specialising in integrated digital marketing consultancy and execution. She is a specialist integrated online marketer with skills in SEO, PPC, and Social Media Marketing as well as other digital marketing techniques. She has been doing SEO since before it had a name and has worked both in-house and agency-side.

She has judged both UK & EU Search Awards, is a founding everywoman Modern Muse and is the coordinator for London Girl Geek Dinners.  Having both an in-house and agency background, her clients have included Google, Virgin, NSPCC, Zopa, Slendertone, the Guggenheim, SAP, Amadeus, Blue Cross, & ShareThis.

Judith writes for the SEO Chicks and Mostly About Chocolate as well as the Huffington Post.  She speaks at various conferences around the world and is passionate about teaching and helping businesses large and small (as well as chocolate)

Judith is one of our keynote speakers and will be delivering a talk in two parts (one part on each day of the conference titled:

SEO Master Class for the Wine Tourism Industry

Get the speaker notes for Session 1.1 -  SEO Master Class for the Wine Tourism Industry Part 1 >>

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.1 - SEO Master Class for the Wine Tourism Industry Part 2 >>

Judith will also deliver a talk titled:

SEO vs PR vs Bloggers - Fight!

With Google suggesting 35% - 40% of the value assigned to a website is based on links, these are increasingly the focus of wine tourism businesses looking to increase their online visibility. Some PR agencies are selling blogger link building as a service but who can you trust now Google is handing out penalties based on bad links? Most valuable links seem to come from wine & travel bloggers but how to you judge who is right for your business? Should you go with a PR for outreach, a specialist SEO agency or do it yourself? In this session you will be taught how to use the tools available to find, assess and reach out to influencers as well as assessing potential bloggers reaching out to you. You will leave this session with clear, practical information on how to execute an outreach campaign."

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.6 - SEO vs PR vs Bloggers - Fight!>>

Julie has immersed herself in all things digital for almost 20 years, and is still entranced with how the medium transforms behavior and lives.

As Head of Content at OgilvyOne, Julie provides leadership in the art and science of creating and managing content programmes. She has extensive experience in digital transformation projects, including helping organizations become dynamic publishers and storytellers.

Julie has worked in both New York and London at agencies like Razorfish, Ogilvy Worldwide, and DigitasLBi with brands like Nestle, Coca-Cola, and more. She’s also the founder of Damncheeky Wines, an online wine shop and pop-up bar.

Julie will be delivering a talk with the conference programme titled:

Why Smart Marketers Use Social Media To Maximise Revenue

Social media represents a huge opportunity for wine brands to engage and sell to consumers. But the competition online for attention is fierce. This talk will show you how to plan for and create content as part of a winning retail strategy.

Get the speakers notes for Session 1.2 - Why Smart Marketers Use Social Media To Maximise Revenue>>

My love for wine tourism started once with my research as currently I am a PhD student analyzing the economic and ecological risks in terms of tourism. That is why I have been in the organizing team as a PR responsible for The Bucharest International Wine Competition since 2012.

Thanks to a deep research upon wine tourism in Illmitz (Austria) I realized how community can play an important role in assuring a successful experience. Acting each one for his/her own community you may succeed as a whole. It was then when I realised it was high time Romania had started doing something in order to develop wine tourism. Therefore, now I am the founder and the President of The Association of Enotourism - an NGO which was launched this year. I am also a professor within The Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. All the efforts are towards wine tourism: assuring, developing and promoting a sustainable wine tourism.

Maria will be delivering a talk with the conference programme titled:

Cotnari – The Place Where Wine & Culture Meet

Roman Emperors and Danube Wine Route aims to promote the connection between wine and culture. Case study on Romania’s the Cotnari wine region and Cucutenian Art & Civilisation. Branding & Marketing challenges – lessons learnt and lessons not to be learnt.

Get the speaker notes for Session 1.3 - Cotnari – The Place Where Wine & Culture Meet>>

Xavier Espassa and Miquel Forns i Fusté will be kicking off IWINETC 2016 with a few words of welcome and this will be followed by a talk titled:

Wine Country Catalonia

Con una formación académica multidisciplinar que vincula Turismo, Humanidades y Geografía, estudios cursados íntegramente en la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, me encuentro en la actualidad escribiendo mi tesis doctoral sobre el turismo cultural, los museos y la accesibilidad para todos los públicos.

Soy miembro del grupo de investigación en turismo TUDISTAR del Departamento de Geografía de la UAB, desde el cual he trabajado en varios proyectos, alguno de ellos tan remarcable como la metodología para la clasificación de la oferta de turismo rural de Cataluña encargada por la Generalitat. De manera periódica presento comunicaciones en congresos tanto nacionales como internacionales vinculadas a mi tema de investigación que es la accesibilidad universal en el sector cultural.

Mi relación con el enoturismo se origina al vincular este sector con el de la accesibilidad como tema de investigación para mi tesina de master. Así en el año 2009 gané el Premio de Turismo Accesible de la Universidad de Nebrija de Madrid por el trabajo "Turismo accesible y enoturismo: Una propuesta de introducción de la accesibilidad en el Museo de las Culturas del Vino de Cataluña".

Desde entonces he seguido con el estudio del sector del enoturismo pero siempre desde la propuesta de darle una visión inclusiva. Otros sujetos de interés vinculados a mi investigación son la co-creación, el turismo sostenible, el diseño universal, el turismo familiar y las smarts cities.

Mònica junto con Oriol Vicente dirigirán un Workshop dentro del programa de IWINETC 2016 titulado:

Workshop de Cocreación e Innovación Retos para el sector del Enoturismo: Encuentro para la transferencia de conocimiento Universidad y Empresa.

Cataluña cuenta con un importante número de grupos de investigación, que son la cuna de una investigación basada en la excelencia. Con el objetivo de aprovechar este activo, es necesario establecer colaboraciones entre las empresas e instituciones del sector del Enoturismo y los grupos de investigación, para que la transferencia del conocimiento y su posterior aplicación empresarial sea realmente efectiva. En este Workshop se realizará una exposición teórica, por parte de los investigadores, sobre diferentes temas relacionados con el Enoturismo, como la innovación en marketing o la valorización del patrimonio cultural. La sesión finalizará con entrevistas privadas entre las empresas, que presentaron su reto de innovación previamente al Congreso*, y los grupos de investigación que propondrán sus posibles soluciones.

Olivier CHARRIAUD is the Managing Director of COGEVI, Champagne COLLET in Aÿ, near Epernay (France), at the very heart of the recently UNESCO acknowledged landcape. The Company headquarters also include a brand new visitor centre 'la Cité du Champagne Collet-Cogevi'. Thanks to ESSEC school, and a lot of professional experiences in France and other countries, O. Charriaud has various skills as vision implementer, successful strategic and operational management of business units, team leader, general management, marketing, sales and distribution.

Olivier along with Pascal Blanchard (Director de Bâtisseurs de Mémoire) will be delivering a talk titled:

Case Study.The Rise of Champagne Collet

This talk will outline the difficulties and challenges of Champagne Collet with respect to wine tourism. The talk will provide ideas, solutions and strategies for wineries aiming to grow in the wine tourism market.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.3 - Case Study.The Rise of Champagne Collet>>

Patrick Spencer is the founder and executive director of the Cork Forest Conservation Alliance,(CFCA). He has a degree in Environmental Sciences and has had a career in the food and wine industry as sustainability coordinator. The CFCA is located in Salem, Oregon in the heart of Oregon's Pinot Noir producing region. The long term goals for the CFCA are to establish a filed office in Spain and to produce the cork forest eco-tours in all 7 cork producing countries.

Patrick will be delivering a talk with the conference programme titled:

From Bark To Bottle, Cork Forest Eco-Tour

Cork and wine have had a singular relationship for over 2 centuries, but little is known about cork forests, their culture, gastronomy and forestry. This presentation will describe this," first of its kind", eco-tour, of Spain's cork forests that immerses each traveler in the wines, food, culture and forestry of these regions.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.2 - From Bark To Bottle, Cork Forest Eco-Tour>>

My background in tourism is principally academic, with a doctorate in the field and a Masters in Responsible Tourism Managment. My first entrepreneurial endeavour in beer tourism was Crafty Beer Tours, through which I have run trails of Barcelona's craft beer scene, beer and food pairing events, and beer-related excursions. I am now principally absorbed in brewing and communicating all things craft beer at Edge Brewing, an American-style craft brewery that in 2015 burst onto the European craft beer scene from its base in Poblenou, Barcelona. It's exciting to be involved in an industry that is both creative and collaborative; to be working with a product that can open up minds and wake up the senses.

Robin will delivering a talk in the conference programme titled:

Welcome to Beer Tourism! Can You Taste The Difference?

What's driving the strong interest in craft beer and what makes it different from the "normal" stuff? We will also reflect on how and why the province of Barcelona is becoming a destination for the appreciation of good beer. The presentation will be followed by a tasting session featuring locally-crafted beers + time for an exchange of experiences in the beer and wine worlds over the final taster.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.3 - Welcome to Beer Tourism! Can You Taste The Difference?>>

Sarah Jane Evans is an award-winning wine Cava and food writer.  She is a Master of Wine, one of 338 in the world, and is currently Chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine. She is much in demand as a speaker at wine tastings and conferences worldwide.

She has long had a special interest and affection for Spain, its people, its history, its culture, its wines and gastronomy. She has written two books on Spain, one on gastronomy, the other a critically acclaimed history of Seville. She was made a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros de Vino for her services to Spanish wine. In 2015 she received an Outstanding Contribution award by Wine of Rioja, and in 2013 was voted ‘Communicator of the Year’ at the Spanish Wine Awards.

Sarah Jane is co-Chair for Spain and for Sherry at the Decanter World Wine Awards, the world’s largest wine awards. She also judges regularly at Bacchus, as well as internationally, and is a qualified Sherry Educator.

Sarah Jane Evans is one of keynote speakers and will be delivering a talk titled:

A Sparkling Guide To Cava

This will be followed by the Official IWINETC  Grand Cava Tasting featuring a range of Cava styles and ageing:

Unlike Prosecco and other sparklings, Cava gets its bubbles by the traditional, or Champagne, method.  What makes it special are the grape varieties, the soil, and the sunshine, and the time spent maturing in the cellar. Cava is ready to compete with the very best in the world.  Discover the true flavours of today’s Cavas and select your favourites at the Grand Cava Tasting.

Get the speakers notes for Session 1.4 - A Sparkling Guide to Cava>>

Get the speakers notes for Session 1.5 - Official IWINETC Grand Cava Tasting>>

Sarah May Grunwald is originally from California by way of Australian parents and lived in Australia and Germany before settling in Italy in 2005. She graduated from San Diego State University in European Humanities and has a sommelier certificate from Associazione Italiana Sommelier and has complete WSET level two. Sarah is a professor at the Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici where she teaches the course “Wines of Italy”. She is an official ambassador for wine and travel to the Republic of Georgia and also offers food and wine tour services to Georgia and has co-founded a website and business called Taste Georgia which will provide group and private culinary and wine tour services to the country and also provide wine education services to educate the general public and people in trade about Georgian qvevri wine through representational services at trade shows and private tastings. She is also the co-owner and manager of Antiqua Tours, which offers wine tastings, winery visits and cultural tours in and around Rome. She has spoken or participated in panels on social media and wine, wine and food tourism at conferences such as IWINETC and DWCC. She currently works between Rome and Tbilisi.

Sarah will be will be part of a panel discussion titled:

Golden Rules for Successful Winery Visits

Building a successful winery tour & tasting room experience before, during and after the visit. Do’s and Don’ts. Bring plenty of questions for the panel.

Get the conclusions from the panel on Session 2.5 - Golden Rules for Successful Winery Visits>>

Subhash Arora is an engineer by profession with an MBA and MS from the USA. He has been a wine promoter by vocation and religion and relentlessly promoting wine culture in India through various means including founding Delhi Wine Club where he has organised 252 dinners in 13 years. His India-centric but global in character weekly eNewsletter delWine goes to 69 countries and has 30,000 subscribers (over 680 issues sent). He is an international judge, representing India in about 50 competitions. He visits Indian wineries regularly and several overseas. He helps foreign producers seeking to enter India and gives consultancy. For his services, he has been conferred the title of 'Cavaliere' by the President of Italy. He is the only Indian to have been awarded an 'Order of Merit' by OIV Paris for selfless service to the wine industry. His website was chosen as the Best Wine Website in 2011. He has been chosen as the best wine journalist in India by Wine Business International in 2006 and nominated 4 times in the Best Foreign wine Journalist category by Grandi Cru d'Italia. He has conducted several conferences at wine shows and has also been a speaker in several countries and frequently addresses foreign groups visiting India.

Subhash will be delivering a talk with the conference programme titled:

Think India? Think Taj Mahal? Think Again!

Indian wine tourism is, to say the least very young and as a relatively new grape escape destination on the world map, it is having its challenges. This talk will take you around India focusing on specific case studies and outlining the way forward for the wine tourism industry as it begins fermentation.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.1 - Think India? Think Taj Mahal? Think Again!>>

Susan Lanier-Graham is a luxury food, wine and travel journalist based in the US. She is the Wine Editor of the luxury publication, Luxe Beat Magazine, and is owner and editor at WanderWithWonder.com. Susan also writes for a variety of other print and online publications, including Modern Luxury, Life Refined, AAA Highroads, AAA Home & Away, Travelocity, Fairmont.com, Marriott, Sofitel, AOL Travel and more.

Susan will be delivering a talk within the conference programme titled:

Lessons Learned: Conversations with Renowned Wine Leaders

Based on a series of conversations with leaders in the international wine industry—from California, Spain, Italy, France and Australia—this talk explores their secrets of success. Discover ways to use branding, marketing and customer service to transform any winery or tasting room into a leader in the wine tourism market.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.5 - Lessons Learned: Conversations with Renowned Wine Leaders>>

Director of Greek Wine Roads, a new brand by PAM DMC born from his strong faith in the excellent quality of Greek wines and their perfect matching with the country’s traditions and natural beauties.

He has studied French linguistics and literature in Athens and Strasbourg, a certificated (WSET) sommelier and Head Manager in the Groups Department.

A successful professional in the Tourism Industry for 18 consequent years, with 14 of them as a member of the PAM family.

His vision has always been to develop Wine Tourism in Greece and provide to the wine lovers experiences in Greece that exceed their expectations.

Thanasis will be delivering a talk with the conference programme titled:

Discover The Land of Dionysos - Greece

The New meets the Old in Greece, one of the most historic wine-producing countries in the world. Greek wines are even newer than New World wines! This presentation shows how Greek modern winegrowing on a human scale can be combined with world heritage monuments, breathtaking landscapes, tradition and gastronomy thus turning it into a unique travel experience for wine lovers.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.3 - Discover The Land of Dionysos - Greece>>

Degree in Hospitality from the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (Escola Superior de Turismo e Tecnologia do Mar de Peniche) since 2010. I am a certified trainer by IEFP. I have a Masters in Marketing and Tourism Promotion since 2012 from the same institution.  PhD in Business Administration – in Marketing and specializing in Tourism- Consumer Behaviour, at the University Fernando Pessoa in Porto. I began my professional activity at Eng. Acácio Calazans Duarte High school in Marinha Grande, as a teacher in professional courses related to hospitality during the academic year 2010/2011 until 2012/2013. In the academic year 2011/2012, I also joined the Professional School of Nazaré, as a teacher, teaching the subjects of Food Technology, Marketing and Tourism until present, where I also coordinate Hospitality and Event Management courses. Since 2012, I am also a teacher at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria teaching Food and Beverage Management and Supply Management subjects in the Hotel Management course

Vasco will be delivering a talk in the conference programme titled:

Wine Tourist Behaviour With Specific Reference To Porto, Portugal

An empirical & conceptual model of consumer behaviour in wine tourism. Primary research undertaken in Port Houses involving both national and international wine tourists. A presentation of methodology, results and conclusions for wine tourism for not only Port Houses but also applicable to wine cities or regions.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.2 - Wine Tourist Behaviour With Specific Reference To Porto, Portugal>>

Xavier Espassa and Francesc Vila will be kicking off IWINETC 2016 with a few words of welcome and this will be followed by a talk titled:

Wine Country Catalonia

Get the speakers notes for Wine Country Catalonia>>

Licenciada en Ciencias Políticas y Experta en Relaciones Internacionales llevo vinculada al mundo del vino y del Enoturismo desde hace 8 años. Mi trayectoria profesional a este respecto, ha estado ligada siempre a cargos de responsabilidad en Bodegas Familiares de La Rioja Alavesa y Penedés ( Eguren Ugarte, Mastinell y Grupo Freixenet) de diferente tamaño e implantación internacional, con pioneros proyectos enoturísticos a desarrollar. Actualmente soy la Responsable de Comercialización Enoturística y Desarrollo de Nuevos Proyectos del Grupo Freixenet.

Zaida impartirá una ponencia dentro del programa del Congreso IWINETC titulado:

Wine Stamp By Grupo Freixenet

"Wine Stamp By Freixenet", un concepto de Experiencia Enoturística por etapas entre las Bodegas del Grupo Freixenet en el mundo, como homenaje a las históricos puertos y rutas de peregrinación que fueron las vías naturales de difusión de la cultura del vino. Las rutas históricas de la cultura del vino paralelas a los caminos de peregrinación y evangelización como primeras rutas enogastronómicas de la humanidad, que Wine Stamp by Freixenet recupera para nuestros días a través de las enoexperiencias de sus bodegas en el mundo. Nuestra experiencia con la iniciativa Wine Stamp pasado, presente y futuro.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.6 - Wine Stamp By Grupo Freixenet>>

Zina is the founder and managing director of Bulgaria Wine Tours, a special interest tour operator focusing on incoming wine and food tourism with a touch of cultural, natural and health tourism elements. Bulgaria Wine Tours is the first certified tour operator specializing in wine tourism on the Bulgarian market. With ten years in the hospitality and tourism industry, Zina’s passion for sustainable tourism, wine and alternative types of tourism inspired a 2013 research thesis entitled: Exploring wine tourism in Bulgaria. A pathway to sustainable rural and tourism development? The potential for wine tourism in Bulgaria is promising and expected to grow in the future. The prestigious international wine competition, Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, is set to be held in Plovdiv in 2016 and the same city has been designated the European Capital of Culture in 2019. These key events are expected to have long-term cultural, social and economic impacts and a positive effect on tourism development.

Zina along with colleague Vasil Zlatev will be delivering a talk within the conference programme titled:

Wine Tourism In Bulgaria: Where History Meets The Future

Have you considered Bulgaria as a wine tourism destination? This talk will give a first-hand overview of Bulgaria’s growing wine and wine tourism industry. You will learn about the emergence of the modern boutique wineries that promote wine tourism in the country. The talk will also highlight important factors and supporting conditions that drive the development of Bulgarian wine tourism.

Get the speaker notes for Session 2.2 - Wine Tourism In Bulgaria: Where History Meets The Future>>