From other blogs: some Sunday reading

Pierre Breton

Bertrand Celce has been to see Pierre Breton (Bourgueil and Chinon). This post features some egged shaped vats.

Bertrand Jousset

Bertrand has also been to see Lise and Bertrand Jousset (Montlouis).

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Bunch in the Quarts de Chaume: late September 2010

Good post from Patrick Baudouin rounding up his 2010 vintage here.

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Rebecca Gibb

Rebecca Gibb has some sharp criticism of the first Wine Future and wonders whether the second one will be any better. 

'Will Winefuture 2011 sink or swim?

Tuesday 30 November

Winefuture 2009 - where were the future wine leaders?

Winefuture moves to Hong Kong in November 2011

I sincerely hope the second edition of this conference is better than the first, as I would have been seriously pissed off if I had spent more than 700 euro on a ticket to Winefuture in Rioja.'

Read the rest here.

Rebecca: looking at the wine celebs on the confirmed speakers this looks more like a golden oldies convention with a number of brickies (a technical term for wine critics over 60) present, although, of course, there are exceptions like Gary Vee and Debra Meiburg. Many of the speakers were at the first edition. 

I doubt the future wine leaders will be found here. Instead you are probably more likely to find them at the wine bloggers conferences in the US and Europe. 

Which reminds me I still haven't had any answers from Dr Pancho Campo about the current status of his conviction and one year prison sentence in Dubai imposed in June 2003. I can only assume that the conviction still stands, otherwise Pancho Campo would surely have been keen to explain that it had been set aside. Instead two associated parties sent messages to a leading wine magazine that legal action against me was probably imminent. Campo's lawyers had previously threatened Gerry Dawes with legal action in relation to Pancho Campo's then appearance on Interpol's wanted list.

I suspect the continued uncertainty over Campo's Dubai conviction may have been in factor in Rioja turning down Campo's attempted takeover of Los Grandes de la Rioja earlier this year. Apparently he was promising to give Los Grandes a high media profile with more razzamtazz – making it another celebrity jamboree, perhaps. Wisely the Riojans decided that Los Grandes was already in good hands.