Keynote Speaker
Andrew Jefford
Decanter World Wine Awards Co-Chair, Saperavi International Wine Competition Jury Chair, Wine Writer
The son of a vicar and eldest of three brothers, Andrew Jefford grew up in Norfolk, UK. He studied English at the University of Reading and pursued post-graduate studies under Malcolm Bradbury at the University of East Anglia before working as a publishing editor. Since becoming a wine writer in 1988, he has written for many British newspapers, including The Evening Standard (for ten years), The Financial Times, The Guardian and The Times; he is today Contributing Editor and a regular columnist for both Decanter and The World of Fine Wine, as well as Academic Advisor to the Wine Scholar Guild. He is one of four Co-Chairs for the London-based Decanter World Wine Awards, the largest global wine competition; he is also Jury Chair of the Saperavi International wine competition, held biannually in Tblisi, Georgia, and helps judge the Latvian Wine of the Year competition held annually in Riga. He has also broadcast extensively on wine, tea and other subjects for BBC Radio in the UK. He leads study tours in France for the Wine Scholar Guild, and lectures on wine globally.
He has written twelve books and guides including The New France and Peat Smoke and Spirit (about the island of Islay), which has been republished (after 16 reprints) as Whisky Island in May 2019. Autumn 2008 saw the publication of the first edition of Andrew Jefford's Wine Course; the second edition was published in 2017. A book-length collection of his writings on wine (and tea), Drinking with the Valkyries, was published in September 2022. He spent 15 months in Australia between 2009 and 2010 (during which he was Wine Writer in Residence to the Wine 2030 Research Network and a Senior Research Fellow at Adelaide University), and since then has lived with his family in Languedoc, France. His poetry has been published in The Spectator and The Independent, as well as via his twitter account @andrewcjefford. He enjoys family time, running, walking, music and thinking.
Speakers
Namratha Prashanth
Winemaker/Brand Owner of Soclicantus (Bordeaux) & Consultant
Namratha is a wine merchant, consultant and brand owner based in Bordeaux, France. She lived more than a decade of her married life in a patriarchal household, in India, where she was forbidden from working. Over the years, she strived to become independent, which gave rise to conflict. Finally, in 2016, she broke free and moved to France. Namratha secured a Master's degree in Wine Management & Marketing at a school in Bordeaux and then with a spirit of an entrepreneur she started Wine Equation — a wine negociant company offering a range of wines and wine services. Later she went on to collaborate with a French winemaker and create her own brand of wine, Solicantus, which is now distributed in three different countries. Her empowering journey from being an ordinary Indian housewife to founding her own wine company in France has been covered on Forbes, Decanter and many other magazines.
Kate Venugopal
California Wines International Marketing Sustainability Specialist
Kate Venugopal has spent the past decade working to advance the adoption of sustainable practices in the California wine community. She currently serves as the California Wines International Marketing Sustainability Specialist, working to convey the depth and breadth of California’s leadership in sustainable and climate smart winegrowing worldwide.
Before entering the wine industry, Kate worked in Washington D.C. on agricultural and natural resources policy for a Member of Congress representing Northern California. Prior to that, she co-founded and managed a farm-to-table restaurant in Athens, GA. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Horticulture, with a focus on Sustainable Agriculture from the University of Georgia. Kate lives in Oakland, CA with her husband and two children.
George Soleas
President & CEO, LCBO
George Soleas is one of Canada’s best-credentialed wine experts. He joined the LCBO in 1997 as Director of Quality Assurance after serving more than 11 years in the Canadian wine industry, taking on progressively senior leadership positions until he was named President & Chief Executive Officer in 2016.
George’s diverse education includes a BSc from McMaster University, a diploma in Oenology from U.C. Davis, as well as a MSc and PhD from the University of Toronto. He remains committed to higher education through professional affiliations with McMaster University, Brock University, and the University of Guelph. George completed executive training through the New CEO Workshop at Harvard Business School, the Masters Certificate in Supply Chain and Logistics Management program from the Schulich Executive Education Centre, the Breakthrough Program for Senior Executives at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Switzerland, and the Rotman Institute of Corporate Directors program (ICD.D). His widely published research focuses primarily on the biochemical aspects of beverage alcohol constituents and their effects on humans.
George currently serves as a Member, Board of Directors of the Retail Council of Canada. He is also the recipient of such awards as the Ontario Imported Wine-Spirits-Beer Association’s Industry Partnership Award, the Greek Wine Industry Award, the McMaster Alumni Gallery Award, and was appointed to the Jurade de Saint Emilion and Chevaliers du Tastevin wine organizations as well as the Keepers of the Quaich.
Session Hosts
Almudena Alberca
Master of Wine
Almudena Alberca is the first woman in Spain to achieve the title of Master of Wine. After graduating in agriculture engineering, she continued her studies gaining a degree in oenology and a master in viticulture. Her first harvest was in New Zealand at Vidal Estate, part of the Villa Maria group. Since then she has travelled extensively through wine producing regions worldwide. Almudena began her career producing boutique wines in Viñas de Cenit, in Zamora, Spain, where she went from assistant winemaker to managing the entire winery. She worked at Dominio de Atauta in Ribera del Duero where she played an integral role in shaping their wine styles and achieving international success. During this time, she was also the Spanish specialist for importer AvivaVino in New York, selecting and blending wines for this market. Almudena has been the technical director at Viña Mayor since 2015, one of Spain's large-volume players in Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Toro. She is also responsible for developing new brands and wines in regions like Rías Baixas and Valdeorras and is involved with PR, marketing and sales both in Spain and abroad.
Since January 2021 they have been a Spanish Brand Ambassador for the wine investment company Oeno.
Ann Sperling
Winemaker, Winegrower, and Viticulturist, Southbrook Vineyards
Ann Sperling is a leading force in the Canadian movement towards organic and biodynamic fine winemaking, Ann has three decades of experience in winegrowing and winemaking, and has played a pivotal role in the development and recognition of skin fermented white (“orange”) wines in Canada.
Peter Gamble
Winemaker, Versado Wines
Peter Gamble has been active in the wine industry since 1981. A professional winemaker from Canada’s Niagara Peninsula wine region, he also held winery management positions and, early in his career, became an internationally recognized wine taster — lecturing and educating on wine, appearing on radio and television, and writing for several newspapers and international wine magazines. He continues to travel extensively in the world's wine regions, and judges occasionally at international wine competitions.
Pier-Alexis Soulière
Master Sommelier
Pier-Alexis has dedicated the past 12 years of his career to providing world-class wine service and enhancing guest experiences in some of the most demanding environments. The journey started in Montréal, and continued to London, England, to Sydney, Australia, to New York City and then to California. He has worked in some of the most prestigious Michelin-starred establishments, such as Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, The Modern, and Manresa Restaurant. In 2014, he won the World Young Sommelier of the Year competition held in Copenhagen, where participants from fifteen countries must present their skills under highly competitive, intense and gruelling conditions.
In 2016, he became one of very few to earn the Master Sommelier title before the age of 30, a title held by a total of five individuals in Canada — two in the province of Québec — and 256 worldwide. The Master Sommelier Diploma is one of the most challenging certifications to obtain in the world of wine. Successful candidates must exemplify blind tasting skills, extensive wine knowledge, and outstanding abilities in service and beverage management. In 2017, Pier-Alexis was named Québec’s Best Sommelier by the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers, and one year later he won Best Sommelier of the Americas by the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale amongst 20 participants from 10 countries.
Bruce Wallner
Master Sommelier
Certified as a Master Sommelier in November 2009, Bruce Wallner MS is the founder and director of Canada’s premier wine educational facility, the Sommelier Factory. Originally designed to help sommeliers prepare for the MS exam and for world competitions, the Sommelier Factory now trains industry professionals to become Certified Sommeliers and has opened its doors to the public to educate and to bring the world of wine to all wine enthusiasts.
In 2000, he was the Chef Sommelier at Palazzo Versace, where he designed and executed a beverage training program that pushed the sommelier profession to the forefront of hospitality in Australia. Shortly after that, Bruce moved to the UK to serve as Chef Sommelier for the legendary Hotel du Vin – the first Sommelier from outside of France to do so. He has helped to establish the Canadian wine service industry as one of the best in the world by serving as captain of Team Canada in international competitions where the country has taken top awards.
Alexander Powell
Master Sommelier
Alexcander Powell started in the restaurant industry in 2010. Working at Lee Restaurant in Toronto, Chef Susur Lee suggested that if Alexander wanted to work his bar, he should learn about wine. He bought a copy of A Sommeliers Guide to Wine, and drank in as much wine and knowledge as he could. From there, he knew that his life’s work would revolve around fine wines.
He was worked in several restaurant roles includin Maitre D’ of 4 Ways Inn Bermuda, Wine Director of Micheal’s on Simcoe Toronto, opening Don Alfonso 1890 Toronto as Wine Director/Manager, opening Aburi Hana as Beverage Director/Manager, and most recently as Senior Wine Manager at Grill 23 in Boston. He created and starred in the Canadian tv series The Drink, and he speaks at numerous events.
In 2022 he completed the Master Sommelier Diploma at The Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas.