The Barossa Valley has announced its participation in the Wine on Earth Taste-A-Thon, a day of virtual tastings hosted by some of the world’s most renowned wine regions.
The Taste-A-Thon, which will take place on Thursday 17 June, will feature tastings presented online by wine producers and trade associations from six wine regions representing eight countries; Australia, France, Portugal, Spain, South Africa and the United States.
Barossa is the sole representative of Australia’s 65 wine regions in this global initiative.
“We are honoured to join this remarkable group of leading world wine regions dedicated to protecting place names.” said James March, chief executive of Barossa Grape & Wine Association and host of the live session.
“Following the highly successful Introduction to Barossa Wine School we hosted for the inaugural Taste-a-Thon last year, we are delighted to once again represent Australia in this global initiative. It truly is a fantastic opportunity for wine regions and lovers globally to celebrate and share the importance of location to winemaking.”
This year Barossa will discuss the question “Can Barossa influence global winemaking trends?” Answering in the affirmative will be Chris Ringland, former winemaker, Rockford and owner/winemaker Chris Ringland Wines and Steph Dutton, senior winemaker, Penfolds. Both have vast experience in international winemaking to draw from throughout what will promise to be a dynamic discussion.
Drawing from his years of experience as winemaker at Rockford, Chris will discuss the direct influence Rockford Basket Press Shiraz had on the establishment and winemaking approach for two winemaking projects in Spain, including Bodegas El Nido in Jumilla (Monastrell, Cabernet & Shiraz). Hot off its launch, Steph will share her experiences of how the Penfolds California Collection has been shaped by their contemporary Australian portfolio, particularly the Bin 707 Cabernet.
The event will stream live at 3.30pm ACST on Facebook Live and barossawine.com. Viewers can join the discussion live (audience participation is encouraged) or view the replay at any time, from any time zone and from the comfort of their own home.
Additional participating countries and wine regions include:
• Bordeaux, France
• Bourgogne, France
• Champagne, France
• Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, Spain
• Napa Valley, USA
• Paso Robles, USA
• Porto/Douro Valley, Portugal
• Rioja, Spain
• South Africa
• Texas, USA
• Willamette Valley, USA
“The past year has taught us just how special the simple act of coming together over a bottle of wine can be.” said Jennifer Hall, director of the Wine Origins Alliance. “Whether you are still social distancing or celebrating a welcome reunion with friends and family after a difficult year, wine can still bring us together. After all, it’s always 5 o’clock somewhere!”
The Wine on Earth Taste-A-Thon is an initiative of the Wine Origins Alliance, a coalition of 31 organizations from 11 countries that collectively work to protect wine region names globally. Go to www.WineOnEarth.org to RSVP and find out details on other virtual tastings that are taking place around the world.
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