Association of Wine Educators awarded a Special Gourmand Award in Umeå
posted 30th May 2023
At the 28th Gourmand Awards Ceremony held Umeå in Sweden, the Association of Wine Educators (AWE) received a Special Award to honour its 30th Anniversary.
Founded by Keith Grainger and Wink Lorch, the aims of the AWE are:
• To inform, educate and inspire the general public and trade on the subject of wines
• To provide easy access to well qualified, objective wine presenters
• To maintain and improve standards of wine education
• To establish a collective profile as a recognised professional group
The Associations' members undertake wine courses, masterclasses and tutored tastings of the highest standard. Some are also wine writers and authors. Whilst the vast majority of the 93 members are based in the UK, the AWE has members in France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, and USA. The Corporate Members are Wine & Spirit Education Trust, and Plumpton College, whose courses include oenology and viticulture.
Keith Grainger and Edouard Cointreau
The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards were founded in 1995 by Edouard Cointreau. Every year, they honour the best food, wine and drinks culture books, printed or digital, as well as food television. The awards are truly international and are without doubt THE recognition for both new and established writers and broadcasters covering related topics. Young writers and those from 'lesser-known' countries are particularly encouraged.
This year delegates from 71 counties attended the Awards and Food Symposium which ran for five days in parallel to the awards event. These included ambassadors, researchers, publishers, authors and media people. Guests had travelled from as far away as Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Gabon, Australia, USA and Canada. Keith has had the pleasure of being at several previous Gourmand events, which he says are great networking opportunities. And without doubt, the receipt of a Gourmand Award helps open doors to translations and global rights.
The award certificate was collected by Keith Grainger, who had earlier made a riveting presentation on wine education, featuring the role of AWE. The Gourmand Certificate states: 'The Association of Wine Educators in an indispensable actor in the transmission of viticultural and vinicultural knowledge. Congratulations for these first 30 years of exchanges and culture for the sake of wine!' The president of Gourmand International Edouard Cointreau said that he is very much looking forward to the next 30 years of AWE!
Photo: Fredrik Larsson/Visit Umeå
Umeå is really really a great place to visit. It is situated close to the Artic Circle (63.5 degrees north). The city is clean, bright, light and progressive. There is a great range of restaurants that focus upon sustainable and local cuisine, together with vibrant cocktail bars. I had some delicious lunches at the Folkets Hus Conference Centre, with drinks perfectly matched, as suggested by restaurant manager and sommelier Hanna Eriksson.
Just 20 minutes from the centre of the city is the 'winery' of Brännland Iscider. Founded by Andreas Sundgren just 10 years ago, the ciders are produced in the same way as wine, The delicious range of sweet, real ciders give top quality sweet wines a run for their money, The alcohol content is between 7 and 13% abv, and residual sugar at least 130 g/l. Chaptalisation is not allowed, and no preservatives are added.
Umeå University is the flagship institution of higher education in northern Sweden. There are over 37,00 undergraduate and post-graduates students. Undergaduate programmes include 'Oenology in Theory and Practice'. A mandatory textbook for this programme is 'Wine production and Quality - 2nd Edition by Keith Grainger and Hazel Tattersall, which previously wone thw Gourmand Award for the 'Best Wine Book for Professionals in 25 Years'. The university undertakes ground breaking research. At the Food Symposium, on 29th May, the University presented a Research Day on Sustainable Food Systems in the Artic.
Umeå is an important hub for the only indigenous people in Europe: the Sámi. Reindeer herding is a sustainable source of food for the Sámi, who treat the animals with the greatest of respect, and use all parts of the deer as food. Reindeer eat the leaves and shoots of shrubs and trees, especially birch (Umeå is the city of birches), together with mosses, ferns and herbs.
Sadly my time in was all too short - I can't wait to be back, hopefully in November, for the Vin I Umeå event.
