Registrations are now open for the webinar about the UK market that we will be celebrating on Wednesday 9th June at 11.00 (Spanish time). You can register at https://lnkd.in/dJAkkfT
This time we have three first-class speakers who will talk about their experience and work in the British market and the opportunities it offers to Spanish producers.
We will be attended by:
Agustín Trapero, beverage manager of Four Seasons Madrid who will talk to us about his experience in the UK and the profile of consumers.
Agustín was born and raised in a small village in Ávila; El Tiemblo, an area of Spain known for its ancient Garnacha vineyards. He grew up with his grandfather’s homemade wine, but it wasn’t until he arrived in the UK in 2001 that Agustín decided to start his career in the wine world.
The beginnings were not easy for him, as he worked in several restaurants and hotels in the UK. These included The Great Foster Hotel in Surrey, and The Randolph Hotel in Oxford, both five-star hotels. He spent six years at the latter, joining the sommelier team as a comi-sommelier and leaving as head sommelier.
In 2009, he moved to the City of London, to the five-star Andaz Hotel, as head sommelier.
Agustin completed stints at world-renowned restaurants; Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck and El Celler de Can Roca, both with three Michelin star. At the end of 2012 he joined Chelsea’s luxury restaurant Launceston Place, where he helped it achieve its first Michelin star.
He has won prestigious awards for his wine list, the Tatler Best Wine List Award and Wine Spectator magazine’s Award of Excellence for his work.
In 2008 and 2009 he won the “New Zealand Winegrowers” and “California Wines” competitions, respectively, from The UK Academy of Food & Wine.
In 2012 he completed the last level of the WSET; Diploma, and a year later, he also passed The Court Master Sommelier Advanced exam. Agustín is currently preparing to obtain the title of Master Sommelier, the highest possible qualification in his career.
He currently advises restaurants and hotels on the development of their business, managing their wine programmes and training their staff. She also organises masterclasses and presentations for wine congresses and events.
Miguel Crunia, president of the Spanish Sommeliers Association in the UK, who will provide valuable information on the opportunities Scotland offers for producers.
With a childhood full of memories related to wine, his grandfather ran a wine shop in the city of A Coruña, Miguel has been living in Scotland for almost 10 years, where he arrived to learn English and stayed to work, among others, at the Michelin Star Number 1 where he was able to study his WSET3. In addition to this training, Miguel has completed the International Masters in wine business management at the University of Valladolid in collaboration with the Matarromera group.
His later work at the enoteca Divino allowed him to gain first-hand knowledge of Italian wines and then to make the leap to the restaurant business, with Norn and Fhior standing out. Both restaurants have been cited in the Michelin Guide and named best restaurant in Edinburgh in 2017 and 2018, as well as appearing in the list of the 100 best restaurants in the UK.
Since 2019, Miguel has been advising small venues to turn them into quality wine bars such as GoodBrother or The Green Room.
At the end of 2020, he decided to open his own agency, FION, offering private sommelier services, event organisation, representation of small and medium-sized wineries in Scotland, etc. Also at this time, together with a group of Spanish sommeliers based in Edinburgh, he decided to form the first association of Spanish sommeliers in the UK, of which he is president, with the clear objective of giving a voice to small and medium-sized producers, with wines full of identity and with a story to tell.
Miguel collaborates regularly with public bodies and administrations to promote Spanish wine in the UK.
Nuestra tercera invitada en Noelia Oliver, con una carrera unida al mundo del vino, Noelia es la responsable en estos momentos de Italia y España en la empresa logística especializada en el el transporte de bebidas VignoblExport. Ella nos dará la clave para el envío de muestras a Reino Unido y los cambios post Brexit.
Born and raised in Barcelona, Noelia is an expert in internationalisation and market trends. She holds a degree in Economics and Commerce from the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
Winelover, so her training has always been specially oriented to this world: She has passed level III of the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) and has a professional master’s degree in Viticulture, Oenology and Wine Marketing.
Before joining VignoblExport, he began his career in the Chamber of Commerce, later working for prestigious wineries such as the export group Araex Rioja Alavesa & SFW and Bodegas Luis Cañas, as well as prestigious international companies such as Arthur Andersen and Morgan Stanley.