III Inverse Wine Mission
Villarrobledo, Albacete, Spain 19 April 2007 - 22 April 2007
A selected group of wine importers and distributors from all over the world participated in this event.
In fact, about 16 people from - Canada, Argentina, Taiwan, Japan, USA, Moscow, Republica Dominicana as well as Singapore. Millie's Enterprise is proud to be in this wine mission, organised by the Official Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Albacete (Castilla La Mancha Region, Spain).
On the first day, we attended the official welcome ceremony with the President of Albacete County Council, Villarrobledo Mayor, Director of Castilla-la Mancha Foreign Trade Promotion Institute (IPEX) and other invited guests. We later went on to taste the wines from the top 11 wineries (two wines per winery) and listen to their presentations. After the event, we went to visit some of the wineries.
On the next day, we visited a Wine Fair specially organised for us. In the afternoon, we visited different wineries, tasted a wider range of their wines and discussed with their export managers and owners.
During the short stay, we maintained very close contact with the representatives from these wineries. It was indeed an eye-opener - you can imagine the latest technologies being used in wine making - huge stainless steels tanks, underground vats, internet controllable tanks, etc.
Many wineries have built large water reserves (some as large as a small lake) for irrigational purpose. Now I understand the reason why. On reaching Singapore, I read about the severe drought the Australian farmers are now facing!
Language is indeed a barrier in Spain as most don't speak English. However, the organisers and winery representatives tried their best to translate their presentations in English for the minority of us who don't understand Spanish.