On Tuesday 17th of September we took part in the International Wine Tasting, which is a networking event organised every year by several foreign Chambers of Commerce in London to bring their members together and foster international links among them.
Over 200 guests gathered at DSTRKT, a club steps away from Piccadilly Circus, to taste a selection of wine varieties from around the world as they walked their way around the different country stations scattered throughout the club.
Attendees enjoyed the wide variety of wines during the event.
On this occasion, Argentina, Austria, Canada, France, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Japan, Spain and Switzerland were the countries whose wines and spirits were represented at the event. This made this event the largest International Wine Tasting to date in terms of number of countries represented.
With such international mixture the event didn’t fail to impress. Guests had a unique opportunity to broaden their international business networks with their peers from other Chambers, with which everyone was delighted. In fact, attendees were sharing and exchanging opinions about the wines and making recommendations to each other in a really good mood, which translated into a very positive and lively atmosphere.
The Canadian station received a constant flow of guests thanks to their ice wine.
According to many attendees, the revelation of the evening was Canada and their ice wine. Others showed their preference for sweet sake, one of the varieties presented by Japan. What everyone agreed on was the excellent selection each country offered, which allowed many guests to discover new and unexpected flavours.
A guest from the Japanese Chamber tasting one of the tequilas at the Mexican station.
Marqués de Cáceres, member of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, provided the Spanish wines and Ms. Anne Vallejo, Head of Public Relations at Marqués de Cáceres, was in charge of the Spanish wine station. She was looking after the attendees who came around during the evening to expertly lead them in their tasting. We would like to warmly thank her and Marqués de Cáceres for their invaluable support and contribution as wine providers.
Ms Anne Vallejo, Head of PR at Marqués de Cáceres, proudly showing one of their wines.
Thanks as well to all the attendees who joined us and, especially, to our fellow colleagues at the Foreign Chambers of Commerce and trade institutionsfor their work and collaboration to bring this event to life and make it a success yet once again.
We are looking forward to seeing you next year at the International Wine Tasting. If you missed this event or simply want to know what we are up to next, sneak a peek at the UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website or subscribe to our electronic newsletter for weekly updates.
On Tuesday 17th September we will be taking part in the International Wine Tasting, which is organised every year by several foreign Chambers of Commerce in London. This event aims to broaden the attendee’s network by gaining access to a genuine international audience. We are pleased to participate in this joint event again along with France, Argentina, Italy, Mexico and Austria and would like to welcome the new participants for this edition: Canada, Japan, Switzerland and Macedonia.
The International Wine Tasting would not be possible without the kind collaboration of the wine sponsors. This year we are proud to have Marqués de Cáceres, one of our member companies, representing Spanish wine culture. Marqués de Cáceres has undoubtedly become one of Rioja’s driving forces, not only in Spain but also abroad by offering a full range of first-class red, white and rosé wines that are exported to 120 markets world-wide.
Marqués de Cáceres will be sponsoring the Spanish wines at the event.
They are commonly known for their dedication to achieve maximum quality, combining the best of tradition with a touch of innovation to highlight the finesse and elegance in its wines. For more information about them and their products, do not hesitate to visit their website www.marquesdecaceres.com. We would like to thank them for kindly providing their wines for this event.
We would like now to introduce some features about the culture of wine in the countries that will be represented in this edtion.
ARGENTINA
The Argentine wine industry is the 5th largest in the world. Argentinians are known for their Malbec wines, but there are some other popular varieties such as Bonarda grape. Argentina is the largest wine exporter in South America and used to be one of the largest producers outside Europe.
AUSTRIA
Austria has specialised in white wines, particularly dry and sweet ones with some worthy dessert wines. Some of their most popular wines are produced from the following varieties: Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltiliner and Pinot Blancs.
CANADA
‘Ice wine’ is a type of dessert wine from Canada. Ice wine production is obviously limited to that minority of the world’s wine-growing regions where the necessary cold temperatures can be expected to be reached with some regularity. For this reason, they have become the largest ice wine producers in the world.
FRANCE
France, along ourselves, is the oldest participant in the series as the first wine Tasting networking event was organised by both our Chambers in 2010.
France is the largest wine producer in the world. In fact, numerous grape varieties are cultivated there, including both the internationally well-known kinds and also very interesting and more obscure local varieties. Some of the best French wines come from the estates of Pétrus and Chateaux Margaux and one of the most famous Grand Cru vineyard for red wine is Romanee Conti, in the Burgundy region.
ITALY
Charming Tuscany is not the one and only wine region in Italy. In fact, grapes are grown all around the country because of its geographic characteristics, which explains why it also has some of the oldest wine- producing regions in the world. There are around 350 grape varieties officially documented, but there is an estimate of 500 other varieties circulating.
JAPAN
Japan will provide the event with Sake and Suntory. The first one is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice, unlike the fermentation process of wine. On the other hand, Suntory is founded with the idea of providing a diverse range of alcoholic beverages such as whiskeys, beers and wines.
MACEDONIA
The production of red wine dominates the Macedonian wine production.
Most popular cultivations include a large proportion of indigenous grape varieties as well as other grapes that are common across Central Europe and the Balkans. As an example of this, Vranec and Kratosija are common red grapes while Smederevka, Welschriesling and Žilavka are used for white wines. Some international grape varieties can also be found, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Melot and Sauvignon.
MEXICO
Mexico will lift up the guests’ spirits by offering some tequila! Originally, Tequila is drunk straight in Mexico, and it can sometimes be taken with a side of Sangrita, which is a mixture of orange juice, grenadine and chilli. Unlike most people think, tequila is not drunk accompanied by salt and lemon. Tequila blanco, tequila joven, tequila añejo and tequila reposado are the most common kind.
SWITZERLAND
Over the years, the Swiss have developed a number of specialty wines from unique grapes rarely found outside Switzerland. The most popular white wines are Riesling X Sylvaner and Chasselas. As far as red wines are concerned, Pinot Noir and Merlot varieties are the most well known in this region.
Attendees will be able to taste a wide variety of wines.
The International Wine Tasting will be held in Central London, at DSTRKT, from 18:30 to 20:30. This event has always turned out to be a great success, so in order to secure your place and receive further information on this event, please clickhere.
“Wine can be a better teacher than ink, and banter is often better than books”
― Stephen Fry, The Fry Chronicles
The scene was set for a spectacular evening for our attendees.
The Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain had the pleasure to host the most prestigious black-tie event of its calendar yesterday, at the magnificent Landmark Hotel , member of the Chamber, in Marylebone. It was an evening of high elegance and a friendly rubbing of shoulders, as the attendees from our member and Patron companies mingled enthusiastically with our high-profile guests. There was wine, there was laughter, there was great food, and there was also an atmosphere of positive reflection upon the achievements of the Chamber – and in particular, paying respect to those important figures which have played such a large role in its continued successes. It was in this spirit that the outgoing President, Mr. Fernando Pérez, would later be honoured by our guest speakers.
Guests mingle in the glorious central atrium of the Landmark Hotel.
Formalities began with a Spanish-themed drinks reception; with freshly carved Iberian ham, a variety of Spanish cheeses, and a wonderful selection of wines and cava (kindly provided by Marqués de Cáceres & Hacienda Zorita). The live pianist provided a gentle and inviting soundtrack to this early opportunity for representatives from the plethora of British and Spanish companies to share one another’s company. Cultural anecdotes and shared points of interests electrified the atmosphere of discussion in the hotel’s central atrium, before the Toastmaster directed proceedings to the main event – the dinner itself.
Former President, Mr. Fernando Pérez (left), with the new incumbant, Mr. Javier Fernández (right).
The grand ballroom played host to the three-course gastronomic feast, with the dinner being served by the finest camareros in London. The conversations of the earlier part of the evening extended into a palpable hum of friendly banter during the meal, with the Toastmaster once more standing to attention as attendees were finishing their desserts. He first called the newly-elected President of the Chamber, Mr. Javier Fernández, to entertain the audience with a speech. In well-spirited humour, he gave his thanks to Chamber staff and members of the Executive Committee in supporting him through the transition, whilst also stating his enthusiasm for taking on the great responsibility as President.
The audience listening to the speech of Mr. Javier Fernández, President of the Chamber.
H.E. The Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Federico Trillo, was then invited to take to the podium. Preferring to speak from the heart rather than notes, as he put it, he proceeded to touch on numerous subjects that were important to his role as Ambassador.
Mr. Federico Trillo, H.E. The Ambassador of Spain, making a toast to the Queen of the United Kingdom and the King of Spain.
The final section of formalities were ushered in by the Guest of Honour, Mr. José Manuel Soria, Spanish Minister for Industry, Energy & Tourism, who expanded on the need for Spain to develop its economic integration abroad through positive functions such as the one in which he was speaking. It’s in this capacity that he endevoures to promote Spain abroad, he remakred, with this being fundamental in his service to the national interest. His words rang with ambition, and his speech conveyed a strong sense that with hard work, brighter things could soon come for the Spanish economy.
(From left to right): Mr. José Antonio Zamora, Head of the Economic & Commercial Office of the Spanish Embassy; Mr. Federico Trillo, H.E. The Ambassador of Spain; Mr. José Manuel Soria, Spanish Minister for Industry, Energy & Tourism; Mr. Javier Fernández, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Fernando Pérez, Former President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce; Mr. Pedro Moriyón, Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development
After formalities ended, attendees were invited to enjoy the rest of the evening, with of course the help of the hotel bar. In typical Spanish style, many guests stayed chatting long into the night. We thank all of our attendees, our high-profile guests & our sponsors for a truely special event and we sincerely hope that all involved found it to be a wonderful success. Please do interact and browse our blog in order to keep up to date with Chamber news & events, and click here to access the gallery of photos of the whole evening.
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