The Finnish Sommelier Association took the opportunity and challenge to organise the International Sommelier Summit – ASI General Assembly for the first time in order to showcase the high level of the hospitality industry and wine professionalism in Finland that has been steadily growing over the years.
The International Sommelier Association (ASI- Association de la Sommellerie Internationale) holds its International Sommelier Summit – ASI General Assembly on July 3-7 for the first time in Helsinki, Finland. The meeting gathers approximately 100 international professionals and influencers from different countries. The program includes a Gala dinner, a Wine Symposium, and Lunch Networking on all three days.
ASI was founded over 50 years ago as an umbrella organization to raise the bar for restaurant service professionals internationally. ASI’s members are national sommelier associations, currently with 61 national associations as full members and 5 observer countries represented across 6 continents. Its purpose is to drive conversation within the industry at the international, national, and local levels and act as the world’s global advocate for the needs of the modern sommelier.
The Finnish Sommelier Association took the opportunity and challenge to organise the International Sommelier Summit – ASI General Assembly for the first time in order to showcase the high level of the hospitality industry and wine professionalism in Finland that has been steadily growing over the years.
“Finland is a non-wine producing country as per our status in the EU. We wanted to show the level of hospitality/food and wine professionalism in our country. The brainstorming, planning, and finetuning of the event have been both invigorating as well as daunting, as anyone who’s ever organized a big international event would be able to relate to. Yet with teamwork everything is possible,” says Hedi Mäkinen President of the Finnish Sommelier Association.
“We look forward to showing our guests from all corners of the world the beauty and purity of Finnish nature, and our light-filled summers in particular. There are also great food and beverage products in our country which we hope to highlight and communicate about. I feel we should be more proud of what we have and do, and communicate that better, as these kinds of events really are the best opportunities to explain and showcase our core, values and knowhow to the international markets. We hope this event will make our international visitors take home with them great experiences with us and from our country, to spread the word about Finland, and hopefully come back soon again,” she explains about the goals and expectations of this year’s event.
The president of the Greek Sommelier Association represents Greece at the Summit
Andreas Matthidis, DipWSET leads Greek Sommelier Association and he is attending the Summit ASI General Assemble in Helsinki, Finland. Last week he gave an exclusive interview to Travel Daily News about his innovative oeno-gastronomic experiences project at the Apollo Blue Hotel in Rhodes.
Greece is a wine-producing country with a long history Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world and among the first wine-producing territories in Europe. The earliest evidence of Greek wine has been dated to 6,500 years ago. In modern times, due to its diversity and uniqueness, Greek wine is trending around the world, while Greek wine tourism is constantly growing.
The efforts of wine professionals are raising awareness of Greek wines in Greece and internationally. Watch Mr. Matthidis’ full interview on his innovative oeno-gastronomic project below.
The Program
Lunch networking is a perfect moment to get together, relax and taste wines during all three days open for attendees of both the General Assembly and Wine Symposium at the inspiring and unique Little Finlandia (Pikku Finlandia, in Finnish) event center at the heart of the Finnish capital, Helsinki.
The Sommelier Summit also consists of a Gala Dinner on July 5, which will gather sommeliers from around the world to renew old acquaintances and make fresh ones. It will emphasize the openness to different nations, cultures and peoples in the name of excellence in wine service. The five-course dinner will be accompanied by great wines from some renowned wine producers including Taittinger, AdVini, Famille Perrin, Austrian Wine and Ainoa Winery.
Wine industry professionals are invited to join the 5th Wine Symposium on July 5 – 6 which is focusing on ‘Biodynamic Impact – What’s modern about 100-year-old ideas for agriculture and viticulture?’ The main speakers of the 5th Wine Symposium are Romana Echensperger MW and Dr. Georg Meissner.
Romana Echensperger MW has a background in various top restaurants where she worked as head sommelier. Since becoming a Master of Wine in 2015 she has been working intensively on biodynamics. She recently wrote a comprehensive book highlighting the biodynamic wine scene in German-speaking countries and today she is working as wine writer, educator, and consultant.
Dr. Georg Meissner is a leading biodynamic farming and winegrowing consultant and was head of production for Alois Lageder’s extensive winegrowing operations in the Alto Adige region of northern Italy. He is also a researcher in the Department of Viticulture at the Geisenheim Institute of Applied Sciences in Rheingau, Germany. Georg earned his degrees in technical viticulture and oenology in Montpellier, France, and his interest in organic and biodynamic grape growing has taken him around the world.
Chryssa Skodra is a Finland-based journalist, a celebrity interviewer, a podcaster, an award-winning blogger, a university lecturer and a public speaker. She holds a Bachelor’s in Communications and Media from Athens University and a Master’s in Arts Management from the prestigious Sibelius Academy.
She worked at spotlight international events such as the Athens 2004 Olympic Games and European Commission Conferences and Galas. She is passionate about travelling, food and events. On ‘Travel Insights’ she interviews influential and insightful thought-leaders and professionals from the tourism, aviation and hospitality industries.
