After a few weeks with no news, here is a little snapshot of the situation around the world ahead of the world tasting championship to be held in Châteauneuf du Pape and the Palais des Papes in Avignon on October 1 and 2, 2021.
Here are the recent news that the selection round managers gave me. A big thank you to you for the work done!
Here is a little point country by country
France: the team will be known after the final of the French championship on July 3
Belgium: Same thing, the team will be known on July 3
Luxembourg: Team known on July 3
Quebec: Noël Fourcroy is in charge of preparing a team for the world championship, it will be a great first.
Romania: Under the leadership of Radu, the selections will begin as soon as possible
Finland: The final for the selection of the team will take place on May 22.
Netherlands: Fred and Natascha already have 24 teams registered for the Netherlands final to be held on August 29.
South Africa: Jean-Vincent does everything to find the necessary budget; in the meantime, the selections are made by sending samples in polyethylene tubes under argon.
Denmark: under the responsibility of Thomas, everything is ready for the final selection in September.
Sweden: the team will be known in May as confirmed by Mats
Belarus: The Jury-led team trains weekly while waiting for a visa.
Taiwan: Aaron assures us that the team is ready and highly motivated, hoping for permission to leave the country where Covid cases are near zero.
China: Brice and Jingru set up a major selection campaign across the country. Final at the end of the summer.
Hungary: Attila and his team will be ready in July.
Brazil: Luiz (who has just been appointed Ambassador of Italian Wines), has assembled his team; The Brazilians will be there!
Portugal: Raul is organizing the Portuguese selection which should be known in June or July.
Finland: the team will be officially designated in mid May.
Kazakhstan: This year, the team led by Gulnar will be there.
Poland: managed and coached by Didier, the Polish team are already known.
USA: John is quite optimistic, with the vaccinations in the States, it shouldn't be a problem to send a team to represent this great country.
Australia: Due to the Covid, the Australian team are struggling to organize but are expected to come only next year.
Russia: Exchanges are in place between our Russians and their Bordeaux subsidiary; led by Vlada, a team will be present in Châteauneuf.
Japan: Hidé and his team are all set.
Monaco: Our Monegasque friends are more motivated than ever!
Switzerland: this year, under the aegis of Richard, a real selection is taking place. Result this summer.
Italy: Trust Pierre-Yves and Céline to build a team ready to do better than last year
England: Since Brexit, the English, under the rule of Christopher, are determined to shoot first!
Spain: The selection will take place in Valencia this summer
Estonia: Will Erik Grödhal be with the Swedish or Estonian team? The Suspense is complete!
Ukraine: Yuliya does her utmost in a country where there are many difficulties.
There you go, thank you again and we will work with my entire team, the Châteauneuf du Pape team and our loyal partners to make this great event an unforgettable celebration!
We keep in touch
Yours truly
Philippe de Cantenac