Conference Created and Hosted by Award-Winning Author and Master Sommelier John Szabo
NEW YORK, NY, November 8, 2017 – John Szabo, Master Sommelier and award-winning author, announced today the inaugural ‘International Volcanic Wines Conference (IVWC)’ to be held in New York City on March 27, 2018. The event follows the global success of his definitive book on the subject, ‘Volcanic Wines: Salt, Grit and Power,’ published in 2016.
The IVWC aims to establish a volcanic wine movement, and to provide educational and promotional opportunities for volcanic wine producers internationally. The conference will act as a catalyst and facilitator to eventually bring together all of the world’s volcanic regions and create a “volcanic wine brand,” defined as a unique category of wines produced under some of the most extreme viticultural conditions on the planet. The IVWC will also help establish the volcanic wine brand as a premium category of high quality wines with a true sense of place, thereby increasing their perceived value.
‘I’ve seen that wines made from volcanic soils around the world share common characteristics”, says Szabo, “yet maintain their own personalities, considering variations in not just climate, grape varieties and winemaking traditions, but also in volcanic soils themselves. It’s a fascinating world to discover.”
Wine professionals are continually discussing and debating the role of soils on wine profile, and volcanic soils have been recognized in recent years as having one of the strongest signatures. At the Volcanic Wine Conference, the first of its kind, Szabo aims to explore the unique characteristics that make volcanic wines special, drawing on experts from all related fields and wine producers from across the globe to delve deeply into the topic.
“The conference seminars will explore what differentiates volcanic wines in the world of wine, and what unites them. It will also give participants an unprecedented opportunity to taste a vast collection of volcanic wines under a single roof, with producers at hand to further explain their unique attributes,” says Szabo.
Producers from regions as diverse as Basilicata, Sicily, Soave, Campania, Santorini, Tokaj, Badacsony, Somló, Washington State and more will be participating in the inaugural conference. Winemakers, academics and journalists will be presenting educational seminars during breakout tasting sessions on various aspects of volcanic wines.
About John Szabo
John Szabo is a Toronto-based author and wine critic, and in 2004 was the first Canadian to add the Master Sommelier credential to his name. He was named ‘Canada’s best-known sommelier’ in Meininger’s Wine Business International, and he is a partner and a wine critic for WineAlign.com and freelances widely. In addition to Volcanic Wines, Salt, Grit and Power, his book titles include Pairing Food and Wine for Dummies and Sommelier Management. John also works as a restaurant consultant, and speaks and judges internationally, when he’s not making a few dozen bottles of wine from his vineyard in Eger, Hungary.
