For the past three years, Les Roches students have organised the World of Wines exhibition. A one-day event showcasing the quality and diversity of Swiss wines, the WOWExpo is held at our Bluche campus. This year, the third instalment took place on Saturday 21 April, and welcomed a selection of different wine-producing regions, world-renowned sommeliers and blind tastings.
How did the WOWExpo get started?
“One day, a small group of students decided to dust off hundreds of lonely bottles and discover the rich world of wines,” said Andrea Duran, who worked as Head of Marketing at 2017’s expo. More information on that event can be found on our blog post. This year’s WOWExpo was no exception – students and guests got to sample some of the most delicious and unusual wines to come out of both Switzerland and the wider world.
The main event
This year’s WOWExpo proved to be more popular than ever, with 100 tickets sold prior to the event, with more business done on the day. The event began at 1pm, with everyone given a glass and goodie bag upon entrance. Visitors could purchase two tickets – one for just tasting, or another that also provided entry to the event’s workshops.
Learning from the best
The WOWExpo isn’t just about sampling wines, however. Guests get to hear insightful talks and attend informative workshops. At this year’s event, Paolo Basso – ranked the Best Sommelier in the World in 2013 – held a technical food and wine pairing workshop. Guests tried a variety of wines, including Paolo’s own wine from his Lugano vineyard. He discussed the challenges around matching complex dishes with wine, and how we should start with the wine and then match the food later.
Paolo also gave details into which particular ingredients are challenging to match with wine. These included vinegar, eggs, sugar, milk and soup. At the end of the workshop, Paolo held a competition to see which wine went the best with goat’s cheese, with his own red wine coming out on top.
The second workshop saw Albert Mathier & Fils discuss ‘orange wine’, which uses an ancient technique from Georgia, keeping the wine in tick old clay. You can find more information at their website.
Wine of the times
Once the workshops were over, visitors paid visits to the various suppliers exhibiting in the main hall. This provided great opportunities for attendees to mingle and network with fellow professionals, sample a variety of wines and gain valuable insight from suppliers. At the end of the event, there was a blind tasting competition, where attendees got to pit their wits against one another.
The third instalment of the WOWExpo proved to be another success, where some of Switzerland – and the world’s – finest wines got the exposure they deserved. Same again next year?
For more information, go to the WOWExpo website.
