Entitled Flavours@ProWein, the presenters include Andreas Larsson, a multiple winner of sommelier titles, including Best Sommelier in the World awarded by the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale, Best Sommelier in Europe, Best Nordic Sommelier and Best Sommelier of Sweden. He is currently the wine director of leading Swedish restaurant PM & Vänner in Växjö and is also a wine writer and educator. Caro Maurer MW, who was the first German woman to earn her Masters of Wine, is a wine writer based in Bonn and contributes to a range of leading publications in Germany. She too is a wine educator and judges in international wine shows. Ronan Sayburn MS, one of just 180 Master Sommeliers worldwide, is a former winner of the UK Sommelier of the Year title and is the director of wines and spirits at Hotel du Vin, a prominent group of boutique hotels in the UK.
The New World initiative and master class sessions will form a show-within-a-show over the three-day event. The master class sessions will highlight the wines of the five countries, matching them with foods in a bid to focus on the versatility of New World offerings as viable and affordable alternatives on wine menus. The trio, in a series of seminars, will present the pairings.
The intention, says Wines of South Africa CEO Su Birch, is to "highlight what we produce in a fresh and appetising way. This is the third consecutive year the five countries are working in concert. Each year we accent a particular feature common to us all that offers a new way to introduce our best-of-best wines. This year we are raising their food-friendly profile.
"The specificity of each region will in no way be compromised, however. We are working in unison to express what makes each of us unique and distinctive. We are presenting a carefully collated spectrum of tastes."
For further information, go to www.flavours-prowein.com.
