The Association de la Sommellerie Internationale membership gathered in Helsinki, Finland, at the beginning of july, to vote on a new board and discuss plans for future development of the profession while enjoying the spectacular natural beauty of the Scandinavian country. The assembly whic was organised by the Finish Sommelier Association, also included a post assembly Wine Symposium on biodynamic agriculture organized by Finnish Master of Wine and the President of the Finnish Sommelier Association Heidi Mäkinen.
The General Assembly itself was moderated by Nina Basset in her final duties as an ASI Board member. She was the association’s secretary general, an interim role she held until a new secretary general was appointed. Of Mrs Basset, ASI president William Wouters says “Nina (Basset) brought a professionalism, warmth, and spirit of collaboration to her role. While her role was interim, our association will feel the affects of her presence and support for years to come. We thank her for her time and look forward to continuing to work with her and her son Romané through the Gérard Basset Foundation”.
After no one chose to contest for the title of president, William Wouters was introduced as leader of the association for a second term. Of the transition from first to second term for himself and the board he says “I believe it marks an important milestone for us and the association. Our first three years were about doing the hard work necessary for long standing success. As the saying goes to build a strong home you need a strong foundation. The last three years have been about laying the bricks so now we can do the final decorations and welcome the world to our home”.
The board of ASI remains quite similar to the previous board with Philippe Faure-Brac (France) and Samuil Angelov (Finland) returning to their roles managing the association’s finances in the roles of treasurer and assistant treasurer, and Piotr Kamecki (Poland), Saiko Tamura-Soga (Japan) and Michèle Chantôme (Morocco) reprising their roles as vice-president Europe, Asia & Pacific, and Africa and the Middle East respectively. Beata Vlnkova (Slovakia) moves to the position of secretary general, moving from her position as an interim deputy secretary general, while Ivo Dvořák (Czech Republic) takes a position on the board for the first time as assistant secretary general. Also joining the ASI Board for the first time is Matias Prezioso. The longtime president of the Asociación Argentina de Sommeliers beat out Paraguay representative Oliver Gayet in the election.
Looking towards the future William Wouters says “there’s a saying ‘a house isn’t a home until it’s full of family and memories.’ Over the last three years we as a board and our committees have been working hard to lay a foundation, establish cornerstones of success, and build strong pillars. Now is the time to do the final decorations and set up our successors and the next generation of sommeliers for the future”. M. Wouters plans include continuing growth of their educational offerings which include the ASI Certifications, ASI Diploma, ASI Bootcamp and ASI Magazine and refining processes and procedures to ensure transparency of governance and a financial stable path forward.
Text and photo: Association de la Sommellerie Internationale
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