Sommeliers Amie Hendrickson and Julia Dixon selected to attend ProWein 2018
Irving, Texas (September 11, 2017) –– TEXSOM today announced that Sommeliers Amie Hendrickson and Julia Dixon were selected as winners of the ProWein social media contest that took place during TEXSOM 2017. The two winners will attend ProWein 2018, the world’s leading trade fair for wine and spirits.
Amie Hendrickson is a long-serving volunteer for not only the TEXSOM Conference, but also as part of the sommelier panel at the TEXSOM International Wine Awards. Her wine descriptions have been published in Sommelier, a publication of TEXSOM and the TEXSOM International Wine Awards. Amie currently manages Edmond Wine Shop in Edmond, Oklahoma. In addition to her continuing education and management duties at the shop, Amie served as the 2015 and 2017 Education Coordinator for Oklahoma State University’s Wine Forum of Oklahoma, a biennial wine education event that raises scholarship funds for hospitality students in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration.
“Amie is a driving force in the Oklahoma market,” says James Tidwell MS, co-founder of TEXSOM. “She was instrumental in bringing Oklahomans to TEXSOM and in bringing the Court of Master Sommeliers and Guildsomm to Oklahoma. Not only is she deeply thoughtful, but she also gets things done! That is a very important virtue for a top wine professional.”
Julia Dixon is an active member of the Austin sommelier community, and a former wine buyer and manager at Perla’s Seafood and Oyster Bar Restaurant of the MMH Group. She is involved in both the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and Court of Master Sommeliers (CMS) programs. Julia is an annual volunteer at TEXSOM, a place where she fell in love with the Texas wine community. She recently opened a wine import company, Gravity Imports, which focuses on importing clean, pure wines to the U.S. from all over the world.
“Julia is a rising star on the Austin wine scene,” says Tidwell. “Unwavering dedication to her studies, and to exploring new and interesting wines of the world, make attendance at ProWein the perfect opportunity for her. Like Amie, she is thoughtful and hardworking, producing great results!”
“As a new platinum partner we are delighted that we could also offer the social media contest for sommeliers for the first time. The performance and commitment of the two winners impressed us very much. We are excited to see which topics they will focus on when they will come to Germany next March to visit ProWein in Düsseldorf, ” stated Marius Berlemann, Global Head Wine & Spirits at Messe Düsseldorf.
The contest was open to those individual volunteers who devoted their time and energy to making TEXSOM 2017 a great success. In order to qualify, entrants had to:
- Follow ProWein (@prowein_tradefair) and TEXSOM (@texsom) on Instagram & Twitter
- Post a photo on Instagram and/or Twitter showcasing the partnership between ProWein & Texsom
- Tag ProWein & Texsom
- Use hashtag #PROWEINxTEXSOM
The two winners were selected from among all entries.
Held August 12 to 14 at the Four Seasons, TEXSOM is the only event of its kind in the United States. The speakers and judges constitute a who’s who list of the nation’s top wine professionals. Dozens of Master Sommeliers (MS), Certified Wine Educators (CWE), Masters of Wine (MW) and other respected industry professionals continue to be integral parts of the conference. Key not-for-profit educational organizations GuildSomm, SOMMFoundation, Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas, Wine & Spirit Education Trust, and Society of Wine Educators are presenting sponsors.
ProWein is the world’s leading trade fair for wine and spirits, and is the largest industry meeting for professionals from viticulture, production, trade and gastronomy. Professionals from around the world gather to meet at ProWein to conduct business, discuss industry trends, and recognize excellence in the world of wine and spirits. The trade fair is recognized particularly for the quality of the visitors that has given ProWein its reputation of being a unique business platform for the wine and spirits trade.
Information about the TEXSOM Conference, including a conference schedule, list of speakers, list of sponsors, and certification opportunities are available on the website at texsom.com.
ABOUT TEXSOM
Founded in 2005, the TEXSOM conference was started by Master Sommeliers James Tidwell and Drew Hendricks to help promote professional wine service standards, outline paths for further wine education and certification, and raise public awareness about the professional standards and certifications for sommeliers. Today the conference draws more than 1,200 attendees, of whom more than 800 are sommeliers and other beverage industry professionals. In addition to the conference, the group also manages the TEXSOM International Wine Awards, one of the largest, most respected, and longest-running in the United States.
