Jay Miller, Pancho Campo, The Wine Academy and Asevin

Pancho Campo MW

This morning I have received the following email from Juan Antonio Ruiz Jimenez, the Secretary of ASEVIN. I have asked him to let me know what information was false in the email he sent out to a number of bodegas on 4th October 2011. Naturally I'm very keen to correct any false or misleading information as quickly as possible.   

I have also requested answers to a number of areas where the account now being put out by Asevin and by extension The Wine Academy of the proposed visit by Jay Miller and Pancho Campo is at variance with emails he and other wine officials in Murcia sent out in October and posted here.

From: Juan Antonio Ruiz Jimenez

Re: Communication ASEVIN Jumilla (Spain).

Dear Jim Budd,

       

Having become aware of the information reposted on the web http://jimsloire.blogspot.com/ from www.berthomeau.com, under the title: "Le Jumillagate d'Uncle Bob Parker Vincent Pousson couple", we inform you that the information it contains is based on completely false information and conclusions, with the sole intention of discrediting Robert Parker, Jay Miller, and Pancho Campo.

I would also like to bring to your attention that the information shown on your website as "evidence 1 ' is completely confidential and could not be posted or forwarded under any circumstances as you have done. The displayed image corresponding to the email has been clearly manipulated and does not include the legal notice of confidentiality that was included below our contact details in the original mail.

"This document and attachments, if any, are confidential and may only be used exclusively by the recipient, may contain confidential or legally protected. No waiver of confidentiality or professional secrecy for any defective or erroneous transmission. The reception of the message does no  authorize access to the content of it if you are not the recipient, so that in such circumstances should destroy it immediately and notify the sender that point. Please note that is totally prohibited any disclosure, distribution, or reproduction of this message.

In compliance with the Data Protection LO15/1999 Personal inform you that your email address and personal details provided by you will have entered the file is the Head, Juan Antonio Ruiz Jimenez. The purpose of the file is to keep future communications from the relationship started. You ca exercise your rights of access, rectification, cancellation and opposition at the headquarters of the File: Av Catholic Monarchs, 31-1 º B 30 520-Jumilla (Murcia). "

We demand that you inform us of the person who sent a copy of the message. We also expect  that you proceed to rectify the information disseminated and express the appropriate and corresponding apologies in a maximum of 48 hours. Otherwise, we reserve the exercise to proceed with legal actions against you and your organization putting the matter in the hands of the corresponding authorities.

Please be informed that the Association of Wine from the Region of Murcia (ASEVIN), approached The Wine Academy for conducting a seminar on "Exporting wines from Murcia to the U.S. and China markets". We also requested them to organize a commented tasting of wines from the region for local wine professionals and media.

Asevin requested to have Jay Miller as the guest of honor to discuss the U.S. market and Pancho Campo to speak about China. After the seminar we also requested from The Wine Academy to be responsible for the organization and logistics of the tasting. The conditions imposed for the wine academy in order to carry out this tasting was that Jay Miller would choose the 12 to 15 wines at his entire discretion based exclusively on the highest Parker scores.

The Wine Academy made it clear at all times that if Jay Miller would visit some wineries he would choose the wineries at his sole discretion. In any case, the wineries visited would NOT have to pay for such visit. The amount discussed with the staff of The Wine Academy was to cover the cost of organizing this seminar and master tasting, such as: fees of Miller, Pancho and The Wine Academy staff that would put together the event, as well as transfers, car rental, hotel, planes and food.

The Wine Academy representatives insisted at all times that wineries should not pay for having Jay Miller visit them or for sending their wines to the tasting.

  So far there is no agreement nor contract signed because The Wine Academy management team is in Hong Kong.

Yours Sincerely,

Juan Antonio Ruiz Jimenez

Secretary ASEVIN

29,000 € for a two and a half day visit to Murcia: 24th-26th November 2011

Pancho Campo MW 

Programme and payment details for the visit of Jay Miller and Pancho Campo MW to Murcia

Through the assistance of fellow wine writer Harold Heckle, who is based in Madrid, Jim’s Loire has more details of the late November visit of Jay Miller, part of the Team Robert Parker with Spain amongst his responsibilities, and Pancho Campo MW.

According to the draft programme Miller and Campo will visit and taste at seven bodegas, taste wines submitted from wineries not visited. The visit will conclude with a conference and master class by Jay Miller, which is expected to last around two and a half hours.  (See details below). Asevin has an estimated budget of 29,000 euros for this visit. See yesterday's post here.

  

On Monday 10^th October Teresa Torres, Técnico Responsable

Dirección General de Industrias Agroalimentarias y Capacitación Agraria

Consejería de Agricultura y Agua, based in Murcia sent an email (subject: Cata Magistral Jay Miller – master class Jay Miller) to the DOs of Yecla, Bullas, and Jumilla as well as Asevin inviting them to a meeting at the boardroom of this ministry on Friday 14^th October at 13.00 hours.

‘Se solicita que hagáis participes de esta convocatoria a todas las bodegas que reúnen los requisitos para poder participar y que son, sacados textualmente de la información recibida:

 “Los vinos a catar por Jay Miller para ser puntuados son seleccionados en base a las reglas de The Wine Advocate, es decir:

1. Únicamente participarían aquellos vinos que tengan importador en USA.

2. Solo se incluirían vinos o añadas que The Wine Advocate no haya puntuado todavía.

3. No se puntuarán muestras de barrica o depósito.

4. Los vinos serían catados en nuestras instalaciones o en alguna otra sede.

5. La recolección y selección de vinos la llevaríamos a cabo nosotros en base a los criterios dictados por Robert Parker y The Wine Advocate”.’

(Translation by Harold:

‘We request that you circulate to all the wineries that are eligible the requirements for participation that are, taken verbatim from the information received:

"The wines to be tasted by Jay Miller for rating are selected based on the rules of The Wine Advocate, namely:

1. Only those wines that have an importer in USA can participate.

2. Only wines or vintages that The Wine Advocate has not scored yet can be included.

3. Barrel or tank samples will not be rated.

4. The wines will be tasted at our facility or at some other venue.

5. The collection and selection of the wines will be carried out by us, based on the criteria dictated by Robert Parker and The Wine Advocate".’

It seems reasonable to assume that the selection criteria for the wines to be tasted was either supplied by Pancho Campo/The Wine Academy or by Jay Miller himself. Harold says that the Spanish is very good, so it was probably The Wine Academy.

**

Following the meeting called by Teresa Torres on 13^th October 2011, Juan Antonio Ruiz Jiménez, Secretario ASEVIN, sent out a general message (subject: VISITA DE JAY MILLER) on Monday 17th October outlining the draft programme.

Draft programme:

Thursday 24^th  November  – Saturday 26^th November  

24^th: Jay Miller and his team arrive late. Visit one winery and have dinner there.

25^th: tasting of samples and visits to two wineries during the morning with lunch at the second. Afternoon visit to two wineries with dinner in the second.

26^th:  am taste the remaining samples, followed by two visits to wineries with lunch in second winery.  

        pm: conference and master class with Jay Miller (and Pancho Campo?) lasting two and half hours. Showing 12 wines, which will presumably have been selected from the paid samples put in for the master class.

((El programa de actos previstos durante la visita de Jay Miller, podría ser el siguiente: (se trata de un borrador que tenemos que ir perfilando, pero puede servir como adelanto)

Jueves, día 24 de noviembre: tarde, llegada de Jay Miller y su equipo y visita a una bodega. (Cena en esta bodega).

Viernes, día 25 de noviembre: mañana, cata de muestras y visita de dos bodegas. (Comida en la segunda bodega).

Tarde, visita de dos bodegas. (Cena en la segunda bodega).

Sábado, día 26 de noviembre: mañana, cata de resto de muestras y visita a dos bodegas. (Comida en la segunda bodega).

Tarde, Conferencia y Cata Magistral de 12 vinos de Murcia. Lugar: Salones Pio XII. Hora sin determinar. Duración aproximada: 2 horas y 30 minutos.)

**

Last week Juan Antonio Ruiz Jiménez, secretary of Asevin, sent an email to a bodega that had agreed to participate asking for the following sum* to be paid as soon as possible into bank account: CAM: 2090 0004 •• ••••••••••  

Jiménez added:

Estas cantidades tienen carácter de presupuesto, es decir, una vez que hayan ingresado todas las bodegas participantes, y cubiertos todos los gastos, ASEVIN emitirá factura con el importe exacto, abonando, en su caso, el sobrante.

(These amounts are budget basis, ie once they have entered all participating wineries and covered all expenses, ASEVIN issue an invoice with the exact amount paid, if any, the excess.)

•

The estimated tariff is 300€ per sample submitted, 500€ for a sample submitted for consideration for the master class and 1000€ for a visit. Samples submitted by a winery to be visited will be tasted in situ.

* For obvious reasons Jim’s Loire is not disclosing the sum demanded. It is assumed that this is an Assevin account.


Initial post on Jay Miller and Pancho Campo's proposed visit to Murcia here. Email received this morning (1st November 2011) from Asevin here.

***

Jumillagate or more properly Murciagate – some questions

On the 26th October, a copy of this email sent on 4th October by Juan Antonio Ruiz Jiménez, the secretary of Asevin (Asocianción de Vinos de Jumila) to some 20 or 30 bodegas in the Murcia region was published here on Facebook by Vincent Pousson, who lives in Barcelona.

Entitled 'Urgente Participatión Bodegas en Vista Jay Miller' (Urgent call to bodegas who want to participate in a visit Jay Miller) the email set out a tariff for those wineries who wished to be involved in a visit by Jay Miller, who is part of the Robert Parker team and who has a responsibility for reporting on Spain for the Wine Advocate and erobert parker.

Jimenez explained that the cost of the visit was approximately 29,000€. Any bodegas wishing to be involved in Jay Miller's visit would be charged according to the following tariff:

1) Between 200-300€ for each wine submitted for tasting.

2) 500€ for each wine submitted for consideration for inclusion in a master class – presumably to be given by Jay Miller during the course of his visit.

3) 1000€ if a bodega wanted to be visited by Jay Miller.

The story took off this morning when Vincent Pousson posted the story on Jacques Berthomeau's blog here. Assuming that the email from the secretary of Asevin to various bodegas in the DOs of Bullas, Jumilla and Yecla is genuine, it raises a number of questions.

a) I assume that the bodgas contacted are all members of Asevin, so is this cost of 29,000 € a fee that the organisation is charging its members in addition to any membership fees Asevin charges?

b) Or is the 29,000€ (or part of it) going to some organisation, company or individual who has undertaken to arrange this visit of Jay Miller? On both Facebook and Jacques Berthomeau's blog there are suggestions that Pancho Campo MW and his Wine Academy of Spain are in some way involved, although from the email above there is no indication that this is the case. However, Pancho Campo MW and Jay Miller have made visits together in the past – Navarra (in July 2011) and Priorat (in the early part of 2011).

c) How was this figure of 29,000€ calculated?

d) How long will Jay Miller be in the Murcia region? 29,000€ is a considerable sum. This would fund a lengthy stay, which might be justified under the code of Robert Parker's 'OURWINE CRITIC ETHICS and STANDARDS':

'I expect the writers to learn about the regions they cover from first-hand observation, but I demand they have access to all wines, not just one particular sub-segment category or region. Moreover, I require full disclosure of such hospitality they receive in the articles that emanate from these trips.'

'It is essential for a wine critic to taste as comprehensibly as is physically possible, which means tasting every significant wine produced in a region or vintage before reaching qualitative conclusions.'

e) Is Jay Miller aware of the tariff set out by Asevin? If he is aware of this tariff when did he learn of its existence?

f) If bodegas have to pay to have their wines tasted by Jay Miller, irrespective of who receives the money, is this not in breach of the Parker code as payment inevitably creates a 'sub-segment category' and he will not have 'access to all wines'.

g) Assuming that Jay Miller is now aware of these charges, will he inform Murcia that he will not be able to visit the wineries if they are expected to pay for submitting samples and for visits?

h) Jay Miller is reported to have received $15,000 for the master class he gave during his visit to Navarra. Is he also receiving an equivalent fee for the master class to be given in Murcia?

i) If Pancho Campo is involved in this visit of Jay Miller to Murcia what exactly is his role? A significant part of Pancho Campo's business is promoting Spanish wine companies and regions. Nothing wrong in that but it does call into question how Jay Miller can guard the 'independence' demanded by Robert Parker if he is closely associated with Pancho Campo. Spanish companies or regions may be tempted to put PR business Campo's way because rightly or wrong they believe he has influence over Miller.

j) In July the Mercados de Vino reported that Pancho Campo MW had charged Navarra around 100,000€ to bring Jay Miller to the region. Jim's Loire covered this here. Was this story correct or was it the region rather than Campo who charged its members? Was Miller's reported $15,000 lecture fee part of the 100,000€ cost of the visit or in addition?

k) Was there in Navarra a tariff similar to that for Murcia for submitting samples and visits?

I hope that some detailed answers will be forthcoming to the serious questions raised by this email from Juan Antonio Ruiz Jiménez.