Brighton, England, will host ninth International Cool Climate Wine Symposium

Article courtesy of Practical Winery and Vineyard

Brighton, England, will host wine experts from China to Champagne to speak at the ninth International Cool Climate Wine Symposium from May 26 through 28, 2016. A limited number of early-bird tickets are available from the website iccws2016.com at £500 (about $850) + VAT for delegates to save £100 (about $170) off the total conference fee, which includes access to all sessions, master classes, wine tastings, workshops and lunches. Deadline for the early-bird tickets is Dec. 31, 2014.

Brighton is on the south coast of England, which is now recognized worldwide as a premium wine-producing region, particularly for sparkling wine. The United Kingdom is a key international wine market housing some of the industry’s leading education providers, and it is widely considered to be the “shop window” of the global trade. Previous hosts of the symposium include Tasmania, New Zealand, Oregon, Washington state, New York state, Melbourne, Australia, and Germany.

Key United Kingdom wine industry and trade bodies such as the United Vineyards Association, English Wine Producers, Plumpton College and the Institute of Masters of Wine are involved in organizing the symposium. A 50-strong international advisory panel chaired by Chris Foss, head of the Wine Department at Plumpton College (the UK’s center for wine training education and research) is compiling the program.

Laithwaite’s and Lallemand have signed up as major supporters of the symposium. Ann Dumont, Lallemand’s communications manager, explains: “We are delighted to partner with the ICCWS 2016, as Lallemand has a strong commitment to research and education, and our association with the symposium is totally in line with this mission. We are looking forward to the event in the United Kingdom, itself an exciting and dynamic market, and learning about the latest research and advances in cool-climate winemaking.”

Schedule and speakers

THURSDAY MAY 26

Facing a challenging climate

Professor Cornelis van Leeuwen, based in Enita, Bordeaux, France, will present “Managing Climate-Based Variability in the Vineyard, Winery and Glass.”

Professor Hans Schultz from Geisenheim University, Germany, and professor Gregory Jones from Southern Oregon University will jointly cover “Emerging Cool Climate Wine Regions.”

Internationally renowned plant pathologist Dr. Mark Sosnowski, science leader in sustainable systems, plant health and biosecurity at South Australia Research and Development Institute (SARDI), will present “Emerging Vineyard Diseases Including Grapevine Trunk Diseases.”

Professor Dr. Reinhardt Töpfer from the Institute of Grapevine Breeding in Germany will lead a session about “New Varieties for Cool Climate Regions.”

Dr. Pat Bowen, research scientist at the Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada’s Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Summerland, British Columbia, will lead a program in wine grape eco-physiology and present “Protected or Semi-Protected Viticulture,” discussing viticulture that incorporates protection from inclement weather to enhance ripening and yield and prevent injury from frost and winter cold.

Essi Avellan MW, editor of FINE Champagne magazine and the revised, extended third edition of Tom Stevenson’s Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine, will lead a tasting and presentation about English sparkling wine.

Richard Halstead, chief operating officer of the wine research company Wine Intelligence, will present “Emerging Wine Markets and New Consumers.”

Professor James Kennedy, chair of the Department of Viticulture & Enology at California State University, Fresno, and director of the Viticulture & Enology Research Center, will present “Managing Phenolics in Winemaking.”

Jancis Robinson MW OBE will open the symposium. Robinson writes daily for JancisRobinson.com, weekly for The Financial Times and bi-monthly for a column that is syndicated around the world. She is also editor of The Oxford Companion to Wine, co-author with Hugh Johnson of The World Atlas of Wine and co-author of Wine Grapes.

FRIDAY MAY 27

Optimizing fruit and wine quality

Dr. Mike Trought, one of New Zealand’s pioneering viticulturalists at the Marl­borough Research Centre, will lead a session about “Achieving Vine Balance.”

Dr. Tony Proffitt, viticulture consultant in Margaret River, Australia, lecturer in viticulture at Curtin University, Western Australia, will present “New Technologies for Optimizing Fruit Quality and Vineyard Management.”

Dr. Paul Henschke of the Australian Wine Research Institute will cover the “New Research and Application in Wine Microbiology” session.

Dr. Monica Christmann from Geisenheim University, Germany, will address “Optimizing Cool Climate Wine Styles.”

Justin Howard-Sneyd MW, global wine consultant to Direct Wines and owner of Domaine of the Bee, will offer insights about “Placing Cool-Climate Wines on the Market.”

Professor Vittorio Rossi, associate professor with the faculty of science at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy, will present “Developments in Vineyard Pest and Disease Management.”

SATURDAY MAY 28

Cool-climate wine styles

Professor Charles Spence, leading experimental psychologist from the University of Oxford’s Department of Experimental Psychology will address “Wine Sensory Evaluation.”

Professor Steve Charters MW of Dijon Management School will speak about “Marketing New Products.”

Professor Dr. Huiquin Ma, one of China’s leading wine researchers at the College of Agriculture & Biotechnology, University of Beijing, who trained at Stellenbosch University, will address “Wine Production in Challenging Climates.”

Professor Randolf Kauer of Geisenheim University, Germany, will address “The Viability of Organic and Bio­dynamic Production.”

For more information, visit: iccws2016.com.