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Pancho Campo launches broadside at critics
Events organiser and former MW Pancho Campo has rounded on his critics in a blog post on his website entitled: “I have not retired from wine”.
Campo has used his own website to make it clear, in forthright terms, that he is still involved in the wine industry. He writes: “Let’s get one thing clear, I have never sent out a press release or spoken publically about abandoning the industry. I am still the Honorary President of The Wine Academy of Spain. I am still conducting WSET courses, seminars on marketing and event management for the wine sector and the very successful Spanish Wine Experience Programme.”
The post continues, amidst florid language, to berate “some wine writers and bloggers” who, he says, “truly believe that they own the business”.
The comments come in the wake of allegations surrounding Campo’s dealings with The Wine Advocate’s correspondent Jay Miller, and claims that Campo was charging Spanish wineries to ‘secure’ a visit from Miller while organising his tasting schedule in Spain.
Subsequent investigations were launched by the Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW), and Robert Parker. Parker’s investigation did not reveal “any evidence of impropriety by The Wine Academy of Spain”. The IMW investigation was halted after Campo resigned his membership of the Institute.
Campo’s blog statement continues by saying that he no longer needs to be a member of the IMW because of his involvement with sporting events. He says: ”Our line of work, our TV recordings reporting on luxury and fast cars, our Ibiza style parties, our concerts and enjoying exotic experiences, seemed to be non-compatible with certain very traditional and conservative parts of the wine establishment.”
Campo attracted a range of major wine figures to his WineFuture events in Rioja and Hong Kong, but he says his focus will now be on consumer-facing events. He explains: “We realized that organizing events with wine critics, writers and bloggers had no or very little commercial future”, and adds: “We believe that organizing tastings, product presentations, trade fairs, competitions and events the way they have been organized for decades is a major factor for the decrease in consumption in Europe and has contributed to the lack of interest in wine from the younger generations”.