On varietal pride and naming Europe's best sommelier
In connection with the May 2008 championships to name the best European sommelier, Association de la Sommellerie Internationale representative Michèle Chantôme, Bulgarian Association of Sommeliers president Maria Yordanova and others gave a news conference on April 1 at Bulgarian news agency BTA.
This year will be the first that the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) is holding such a competition outside of France; the first was held in 1988, upon initiative of Chantôme.
As to why Bulgaria was chosen to host the event, Chantôme said that it was because Yordanova “is a very dynamic person, and when she is motivated, she convinces everybody that it’s the best idea in the world”.
Co-inciding with ASI’s general assembly, the event, to be held in Sofia from May 15 to 20, mainly at the Kempinski Hotel Zografski, is expected to draw more than 200 attendees from 45 countries. Each ASI member country will be represented by, at the least, its association president and a journalist, Chantôme said.
About 30 countries – or more so, the best sommelier from each of the 30 European member countries – will be participating in the title-granting competition. Others will come from as far away as Japan, such as ASI’s current president Kazuyoshi Kogai, who is the first non-European to head the association.
During the five days so far that she has been in Bulgaria – and this not her first time in visiting the country, as she was a driving force in setting up Bulgarian Association of Sommeliers back in November 2000 – Chantôme was able to visit, among other things, Vinaria, Bulgaria’s annual international wine and spirits fair in Plovdiv.
“There has been progress [in the country’s hospitality industry] since I’ve started coming here,” she said. Impressed with the “excellent restaurants” in Sofia and around the country, she said that it would be even better if serving wine by the glass became à la mode. As such, customers would be able to experience a greater variety of wines at a meal.
“People are not expecting the quality that your wines offer,” Chantôme said.”
She also called for a greater advocacy for native grape varietals. The phenomena of “flying winemakers” who travel the globe acting as consultants to any number of wineries has, while bringing a certain unified standard to wines, brought about a loss of uniqueness and originality and indication of terroir.
“It is very important to make own-wine styles and to work on the specifics of each country’s grapes,” she said, lauding carménère in Chile, malbec in Argentina and mavrud in Bulgaria.
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Monday, October 13 2008
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What`s on in Bulgaria
Theatre
12 Angry Monologues/12 razgneveni monologa What: The play is a compilation of 12 of the best monologues from Bulgarian actor Velko Kunev on the National Theatre stage over the past 30 years. Alone on the stage, Kunev re-experiences the fates, thoughts, worries and fears of his characters - including Ham When: October 7 and 25, 7pm Where: Ivan Vazov National Theatre
Volpone What: This comedy, written by English Renaissance playwright Ben Jonson, tells the story of Venetian nobleman Volpone who pretends he’s at death’s door to lure the numerous aspirants to his large inheritance and thereby expose their greed and foolishness. Starr When: October 10, 22 and 28 at 7pm Where: Ivan Vazov National Theatre
The Taming of the Shrew/Oukrotyavane na opurnichavata What: Director Marious Kourkinski returns to the stage of the Satirical Theatre with this Shakespearean comedy, which was one of the master’s earlier plays. The original play depicts a nobleman, Petruccio, who, for pragmatic reasons, marries a shrew – a loud-mo When: October 10 at 7pm Where: Aleko Konstantinov Satirical Theatre
Cultural Institutes
Pavel Besta and his inspirations What: This exhibition by Czech artist Pavel Besta coincides with his 50th birthday. His paintings are in the realm of the grey and sorrowful. Besta discusses universal questions touching on the beating hearts and disillusioned faces who dwell in the country’s o When: Until October 31 Where: the Czech cultural centre, 100 G. S. Rakovski Str, Sofia
Art
Painters from Plovdiv exhibit in Sofia What: Natally gallery is organising a general exhibition featuring artists who have depicted Plovdiv’s gentle pace of life in their works. Visitors can admire the delicately smiling characters looking over from Angel Vassilev’s paintings, or the colourful abstr When: Until October 30 Where: Natally, 38A Gourko Str, Sofia
The return of Dimitar Voinov What: Racoursi gallery presents Bulgarian painter Dimitar Voinov, who has lived and worked in Germany since 1986. Now, 22 years later, he is exhibiting in Bulgaria for the first time. His paintings reveal the use of classic techniques, combined with ambiguous s When: Until October 31 Where: Racoursi, 4A Han Kroum Str, Sofia
Eva Peneva and Yulian Yordanov’s graphics for four hands What: This collaboration between two artists is a long-nurtured idea that finally comes to life. Yordanov presents 13 of his graphics including titles like Leda, Fragrance or Temptation. To find an adequate answer to his challenge, Peneva painted glass using va When: Until October 20 Where: Teo, 34 Macedonia Str, Varna
Soshana: Around the world in 80 years What: Austrian painter Susanne Schuller-Soshana is a true cosmopolitan. As one art critic puts it, she has travelled the world not in 80 days, but in 80 years. During her nomadic life, she has met some of the defining titans of the last century’s art scene – in When: Until October 16 Where: Astri, 34 Tsar Samouil Str, Sofia
The apple in the minds of several artists What: Though it has a small exhibition area, this gallery always offers carefully selected artists the chance to flaunt their talents. In this general exhibition nine artists have come together to explore the ‘apple theme.’ Works by Boiko Kolev, Rossen Rashev, When: Until October 20 Where: Art Gallery Paris, 8 Paris Str, Sofia
LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER – ANI KARALAMBEVA AND NIYA ABRASHEVA What: Drawing on her experience and expertise as a long-time textile designer, Ani Karalambeva collaborates with her daughter Niya Abrasheva to create beauty in the ever-saturated world of fashion and interior design. The exhibition presents mixed media wall pa When: Until October 8 Where: Azza Gallery of Modern Art, 25 Cherni Vruh Blvd, Sofia
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