Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Friday 23 December 2011

WineFuture HK: CavesMaître France (The Chinese Castel) – the exclusive sponsor for the Grand Tastings

Pancho Campo MW@the start of his Grand Tasting dwarfed by CavesMaître France logo

Daniel Li and his company, CavesMaître France, had the exclusivity for the three Grand Tastings held during WineFuture Hong Kong 2011 – this ensuring maximum exposure as well as a place for Danieol Li on the top table for Robert Parker's Magical 20 tasting. There appear to be no other sponsors' names or logos on view. The three tastings featured Campo, Jancis Robinson MW and Robert Parker. The backdrop for all three tastings was dominated by the CavesMaître logo along with their Chinese symbols – 卡斯特 – meaning Castel. Li and his company own the trademark Castel in China. Quite why CaveMaître has appended France to its name is unclear. Certainly the company's European name appears to be at considerable variance with their Chinese one.

   Jancis Robinson MW presenting her Grand Tasting with CavesMaître above her

Presentation@the end of Robinson's tasting: 卡斯特 (Castel) dominating
 
Similar for Robert Parker with 卡斯特 (Castel) dominating

In contrast to the Grand Tastings the CavesMaître logo was much more discreet for the other events such as the panels or the press conferences where it was one of a number of other logos.


Press conference: Jancis Robinson MW, Pancho Campo MW and Francis Ford Coppola
A number of sponsors' names displayed 

Tim Atkin MW – panel with Steven Spurrier, Michel Rolland, Michel Bettane and Randall Grahm
CavesMaître logo is evident but one of a number of sponsors including ARAEX 
   

Given the prominence of the 卡斯特 (Castel) CavesMaître France logo for the Grand Tastings did not Pancho Campo MW owe a duty of care to both Jancis Robinson MW and Robert Parker to check out such a prominent sponsor before giving them the exclusivity for the Grand Tastings?

 Robert Parker greeting Daniel Li of 卡斯特 (Castel) CavesMaître France at the Magical 20 Grand Tasting
 
What did Pancho Campo MW know about Li and his company and what did he tell Parker?
  

“Here's another nice mess you've gotten me into Poncho!”

Photo credits: many thanks to WineFuture Hong Kong 2011www.winefuture.hk


**


The Drinks Business has declared the Pancho Campo MW and the 'Miller Circus' as one of their 10 ten stories of 2011. It's in at No 8. http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2011/12/top-10-drinks-stories-of-2011/9/

'8. Campo in the dock
As the year draws to a close, a scandal currently holds the wine industry in thrall.

The Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) announced in December that it was opening an investigation into the conduct of Pancho Campo MW following allegations the president and founder of The Wine Academy of Spain charged Spanish wineries up to €40,000 for a visit from Jay Miller of The Wine Advocate.'

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