Page 4 - IWSCReport2017

2017 SAW the loss of a great supporter of the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC), a true ambassador for Madeira wine and the island, and a great friend – Tim Stanley-Clarke. When I took over my family’s business in 2011, Tim was always on hand to introduce me to everyone and, in typical Tim form, he was always ready to pull a prank when I was least expecting it.
His regular trips to Madeira with his wife, Dounie, became a fixture and before he passed away, he was busy organising a visit in 2018 with The Worshipful Company of Distillers. He will be much missed by the whole industry.
I had some big shoes to fill when I took over the reins as president of the IWSC, following on from the charismatic Matteo Lunelli. Being only the second Portuguese person to join a distinguished list of past presidents meant that I had a great opportunity to talk about Madeira and all that it stands for in this modern era.
‘I had the pleasure in March of hosting a superb dinner at ProWein in Düsseldorf on behalf of the IWSC, where we had the opportunity to mix and exchange ideas with a host of industry personalities’
Coming from a region where the production of wine is, literally and figuratively, a drop in the ocean (352,000 nine-litre cases in 2016), my focus was to help promote wines of Madeira in all of the key markets, including the US, the UK and Japan. In this regard, being associated with the IWSC has opened many doors.
This, together with the increase in tourism to the island and the added benefit of having one of the world’s best
football players from the island, has meant that all things Madeiran are in fashion. (It’s Cristiano Ronaldo, in case you didn’t immediately know who I meant).
Madeira wine sales, until the end of August, are 5% up in value and once again, Jancis Robinson MW has recently reaffirmed her choice of Madeira as her desert island dessert wine of choice.
During the year, I have juggled my duties as president with those of CEO of the Madeira Wine Company. I had the pleasure in March of hosting a superb dinner at ProWein in Düsseldorf on behalf of the IWSC, where we had the opportunity to mix and exchange ideas with a host of industry personalities. The IWSC team have once again carried out a range of hugely successful events and tastings throughout the year. My thanks and congratulations go to them for their work on these and in raising the profile of the competition around the world.
I have taken inspiration from these events back to Madeira where we have worked hard, not only in restructuring the company for the future, but also focusing on promoting our brands to our island visitors. At our week-long wine festival in September, we asked various artists to promote their craft at our wine
lodges. These included an exhibition of paintings on Madeiran vineyards, dance shows by the group Dançando com a Differencia (dancers with disabilities), concerts by local bands and a memorable demonstration of how to serve wine by some of Portugal’s top sommeliers.
And, for the first time, two ‘rival’ Madeira wine companies joined together to launch their new wines. We invited Vinhos Barbeito to join us as we launched the Blandy’s Vintage Bual 1957, Blandy’s Vintage Sercial 1968 and Blandy’s Colheita Verdelho 2000. Vinhos Barbeito launched a Sercial 1988, a Malmsey 2000 Colheita and a Bastardo 50 anos – truly the spirit of co-operation and friendship – things we all need more of today.
Thank you to everyone at the IWSC for their continued support throughout this year. I wish everyone well for the year ahead and give my best wish to the incoming president for 2018.
Chris Blandy
CEO, Madeira Wine Company 2017 IWSC President
president’s message
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