Winemakers International Hall of Fame Founded

November 10, 2011 -- The Winemakers International Hall of Fame (WIHOF) announced today that it has created a stellar advisory board of winemakers and estate directors from around the world to nominate and choose its first class of inductees – the “Class of 2012: Wine Legends of the Late 20th Century.”

According to WIHOF executive director Roger Morris, the formal announcement and induction ceremonies will be held at a gala winemakers dinner on Feb. 25, 2012, as part of the MidAtlantic Food + Wine Feast at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington, DE.

“There has never been an independent, international winemakers hall of fame,” Morris says, “so the challenge was to put together an advisory board of respected winemakers and estate directors from around the world who represent the various branches of winemaking along with a well-known, well-respected trade executive.”

The board members are:

· Robin Kelley O’Connor,VP, Head of Wine, Americas Christie’s
· Emmanuel Cruse, Château d’Issan, France
· Steve Smith, Craggy Range, New Zealand
· Eileen Crane, Domaine Carneros, United States
· Manuel Louzada, Numanthia, Spain
· Aurelio Montes, Montes, Chile
· Michael Richmond, Bouchaine, California
· Jean-Luc Colombo, Vins Jean-Luc Colombo, France
· Adrian Bridge, The Fladgate Partnership, Portugal
· Alois Lageder, Alois Lageder, Italy

Additionally, Ajit Mathew George, co-chairman of the partner organization MidAtlantic Food + Wine Feast, will serve as an ex-officio and non-voting member of the advisory board.

“We wanted the first class to be a memorable one – the men and women who led the way during the late 20th century when the greatest strides in vineyard management, wine production, wine quality improvement and fine wine consumption in history took place,” Morris says.

Qualifications for nomination and election include: (1) must have consistently produced superior wines, possibly even contributing important winemaking advances, (2) must have by their actions and example enhanced the reputations of their regions, and (3) must have had a notable and positive presence in the international winemaking arena.

“The Winemakers International Hall of Fame is a very new organization, so we are still putting together our Internet presence,” Morris says. “Additionally, we are beginning a search for highly-respected commercial sponsors in addition to our partner, the MidAtlantic Food + Wine Feast, who would like to further our objective to recognize the world’s greatest winemakers on a well-planned, continuing basis.”