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Madrid Fusión: three days, dozens of forums, a million of enogastronomic experiences

Spain

WTA nominees took part in the 21st Congress of Madrid Fusión on January 22-25. Nataliia Burlachenko, WTA nominee at the Brightest Journey and Ambassador of the Year categories, brand ambassador for Vinos de La Luz, prepared the material in the wake of a bright enogastronomic event.

This year, the Madrid Congress took place under the motto Sin limites (Without limits). It is the most important international forum in the field of hospitality. Every year, it gathers the most outstanding professionals in the modern gastronomic field in Madrid and is considered a  window of opportunity. After all, it is at this representative site that you can find out all the news and get information about cutting-edge technologies related to gastronomy.

Madrid Fusión is three full days, during which visitors can not only observe presentations of the best chefs in the world, but also attend competitions, master classes, tastings, as well as take part in parallel panels, such as:

  • Madrid Fusion The Wine Edition, focused on wine brands and their promotion;
  • Madrid Fusion Pastry – all about confectionery and bakeries;
  • The Drinks Show, an international gathering for hospitality professionals that brings together innovation and trends in order to offer a unique experience in the world of cocktails and spirits.

Thanks to the fact that I managed to attend several discussion panels and master classes, I can single out a few of the most vivid topics. The most interesting, in my opinion, was the discussion called “Unknown Spain”, which was moderated by the first MW of Spain, Pedro Ballesteros. It was attended by such influential persons in the world of wine, as MW Andreas Kubach, co-founder and CEO of Península Vinicultores (Madrid, Spain), Pepe Mendoza, owner of Casa Agrícola (Liber, Alicante, Spain), Pedro Ruiz Aragoneses, CEO of Alma Carraovejas (Valladolid, Spain), one of whose projects – Pago de Carraovejas –  is a Wine Travel Awards nominee, Loreto Pancorbo, Tandem Wines SC wine consultant, Luis Sande, co-owner of Pagos de Brigante (Betanzos, A Coruña, Spain) and others.

Representatives of different wine-producing regions of Spain shared their views on such important topics as the stability of the development of the industry, the improvement of quality and the search for new sales markets. Loreto Pancorbo, oenologist from Rioja, shared her impressions of the experience of working with the local Tenerife variety Listán Negro, and Pedro Ruiz Aragoneses – about plans to increase the planting of biodynamic vineyards.

The stand with the island wines of Tenerife and the Canary Islands, whose volcanic soils have a tremendous influence on these wines, impressed me with the variety and such “other” aromas and tastes.

The wines of Viña Zanata 2021 deserve extra attention for the explosion of tropical aromas and flavors, made from grapes with the no less exotic name Marmajuelo. And also, I found Qoli 2020 from a blend of Gual, Verdelho, Vijariego Blanco and Albillo Criollo varieties very interesting: aromas of jasmine, white ripe fruits, a creamy taste with a salty aftertaste and a touch of balsamic.

Needless to say how sophisticated the master class was with the tasting of Dom Perignon champagne of the 2004, 2008 and 2013 vintages paired with various types of black caviar presented at a high level by Eric Vildgaard, chef, owner of Jordnaer (Copenhagen, Denmark).

The Congress, along with all the activities, left a positive and pleasant aftertaste, as well as the desire to further explore Spain.