Google president to speak at MW symposium

Google’s president of business solutions Daniel Alegre is to lead a discussion about wine communication at May’s Masters of Wine Symposium.

Google’s Daniel Alegre is to lead a discussion about wine communication at May’s MW Symposium. Picture credit: bbc.co.uk

The event, which will take place in Florence from May 15-18, will begin with a session on “reaching tomorrow’s audience” which will see Alegre give his views on the wine media of the future.

Alegre has worked in a variety of roles at Google since joining the company in 2004, and prior to his time at the internet search engine, he spent seven years at media specialist Bertelsmann AG, focused on web-based music and digital initiatives.

Every four years The Institute of Masters of Wine (IMW) holds an international symposium to provide an independent forum bringing together the leading decision makers and opinion formers in the global wine community.

This year’s event has been dubbed Identity, Innovation, Imagination and will be the 8^th symposium held by the IMW.

Taking place in Florence, the symposium has been sponsored by the Istituto Grandi Marchi, which comprises 19 high quality and family owned wineries covering every major Italian wine region.

Among other highlight speakers are José Vouillamoz, the famous Swiss grape geneticist, Gerard Basset OBE MS MW MBA, winner of the World’s Best Sommelier title in 2010, and Stephen Henschke of the historic Henschke estate in the Barossa Valley.

A ticket for the symposium costs €995 and includes all dinners, receptions, and lunches at a range of beautiful and historic palazzi and wineries.

Tickets are available now for anyone in the wine industry and can be purchased online here.

A list of confirmed speakers is below:

Daniel Alegre (President, Worldwide Partnerships and Business Solutions, Google)
Annette Alvarez-Peters (Global Wine Buying Director, Costco)
Marchese Piero Antinori (owner, Marchesi Antinori; President, Istituto Grandi Marchi)
Francisco Baettig (Head Winemaker, Viña Errazuriz)
Gerard Basset OBE MS MW
Frank Cornelissen (winemaker, Etna, Sicily)
Gaia Gaja (Gaja)
Peter Godden (Group Manager, Industry Applications, Australian Wine Research Institute)
Bill Harlan (owner and founder, Harlan Estate)
Stephen Henschke (owner and winemaker, Henschke)
Dr. Rowald Hepp (Managing Director, Schloss Vollrads)
Dr Hildegarde Heymann (Professor Enologist, University of California Davis)
Dr Cesare Intrieri (Director of the Interdepartmental Centre for Viticulture and Oenology Research, University of Bologna)
Professor Greg Jones (viticulture research climatologist, Southern Oregon University)
Willi Klinger (Managing Director, Austrian Wine Marketing Board)
Johan Larsson (Senior Wine Buyer, Systembolaget, Sweden)
Anne-Claude Leflaive (Managing Director, Domaine Leflaive)
Paul Pontallier (Managing Director, Château Margaux)
Jancis Robinson MW (wine journalist and author)
Christophe Salin (Managing Director, Domaines de Baron de Rothschild)
Rajeev Samant (President and CEO, Sula Vineyards, India)
Dr Hans-Reiner Schultz (Director, Geisenheim Institute)
Christian Seely (Managing Director, AXA Millésimes)
Peter Sisseck (owner and winemaker, Pingus)
Alberto Tasca d’Almerita (CEO, Tasca d’Almerita)
Alessandro Torcoli (Editor, Civiltà del Bere)
José Vouillamoz (geneticist and author)
Maurizio Zanella (owner, Ca’ del Bosco)