Created in June 1969 in Reims, the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale has come back on its native land. The entrance of new associations and the scheduling of the next great contests were on the agenda.
For the duration of the general assembly, the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale settled its headquarters in Reims. Thirty-eight countries were represented at the side of Shinya Tasaki who reminded the symbolic character of this meeting in a city that witnessed the creation of A.S.I., the same year when French Armand Melkonian became the first Best Sommelier of the World. Among the various issues to deal with, those present validated the entrance of Spain (supported by France) and Georgia (supported by Russia) among the active members after a period as observers. Moreover Nelson Chow (Hong Kong) has been appointed vice-president for Asia-Oceania. “I will help to try and find other national associations to contribute to the development of A.S.I. but also of our profession. But my mission will also be to favour the promotion of beverages produced in some of our countries”, he underlined. He also is the president of the sommeliers of Hong Kong and China. New national presidents have been presented as well. Australian David Lawler could not come, but Gérard Guyon (Luxembourg), Dejan Zivkoski (Serbia), Georgios Kassianos (Cyprus) and Gabor Kovacs (Hungary) were there.
Still in terms of novelties, Anglo-French Gérard Basset, appointed person in charge of the contests in San Remo in September 2013, presented the team who will work with him for the next three years. It gathers five Best Sommeliers of the World (Serge Dubs, Shinya Tasaki, Markus del Monego, Andreas Larsson and Paolo Basso) and a Best Sommelier of Europe (Eric Duret) and will soon be involved. Indeed the countries organizers of the next contests unveiled their programme. In 2015, Chile will host the contest of the Americas from April 20 to 25 in Santiago and Colchagua. Then another continent as in November 4 to 11 the Asia-Oceania competition will take place in Hong Kong. The year 2016 will be marked by the world contest in Mendoza, Argentina, in April. The programme built with the support of the Ministry of Tourism will give the opportunities to the delegations to discover Uco Valley where the most famous domains are settled. At last, the next European contest is delayed for a year, and in spring 2017 the selected candidates will meet in Wien. This last change will result in the extension of Shinya Tasaki’s term for a few months.
The sponsors Moët & Chandon and San Pellegrino – Acqua Panna took advantage of this assembly to explain they committed themselves to giving their support to the continental contests. But the most striking annoucement has come with more than two years advance on the schedule. Guillaume Deglise, the new general manager of Vinexpo, a structure that also supports A.S.I., said the Bordeaux trade show wanted to host the contest of the Best Sommelier of the World in June 2019. For the 50th anniversary of the association! He also underlined A.S.I. would benefit from a stand as from the 2015 edition, Guillaume Deglise asked for President of the French Sommellerie Michel Hermet’s support, but also Vice-President Europe of A.S.I. Serge Dubs’. The Alsatian sommelier will thus have the opportunity to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his title in France!
Jean Bernard
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