Awards and citations:


1997: Le Prix du Champagne Lanson Noble Cuvée Award for investigations into Champagne for the Millennium investment scams

2001: Le Prix Champagne Lanson Ivory Award for investdrinks.org

2011: Vindic d'Or MMXI – 'Meilleur blog anti-1855'

2011: Robert M. Parker, Jnr: ‘This blogger...’:

2012: Born Digital Wine Awards: No Pay No Jay – best investigative wine story

2012: International Wine Challenge – Personality of the Year Award




Tuesday 1 November 2011

29,000 € for a two and a half day visit to Murcia: 24th-26th November 2011


Pancho Campo MW 

Programme and payment details for the visit of Jay Miller and Pancho Campo MW to Murcia
Through the assistance of fellow wine writer Harold Heckle, who is based in Madrid, Jim’s Loire has more details of the late November visit of Jay Miller, part of the Team Robert Parker with Spain amongst his responsibilities, and Pancho Campo MW.

According to the draft programme Miller and Campo will visit and taste at seven bodegas, taste wines submitted from wineries not visited. The visit will conclude with a conference and master class by Jay Miller, which is expected to last around two and a half hours.  (See details below). Asevin has an estimated budget of 29,000 euros for this visit. See yesterday's post here.
  
On Monday 10th October Teresa Torres, Técnico Responsable
Dirección General de Industrias Agroalimentarias y Capacitación Agraria
Consejería de Agricultura y Agua, based in Murcia sent an email (subject: Cata Magistral Jay Miller – master class Jay Miller) to the DOs of Yecla, Bullas, and Jumilla as well as Asevin inviting them to a meeting at the boardroom of this ministry on Friday 14th October at 13.00 hours.

‘Se solicita que hagáis participes de esta convocatoria a todas las bodegas que reúnen los requisitos para poder participar y que son, sacados textualmente de la información recibida:

 “Los vinos a catar por Jay Miller para ser puntuados son seleccionados en base a las reglas de The Wine Advocate, es decir:

1. Únicamente participarían aquellos vinos que tengan importador en USA.
2. Solo se incluirían vinos o añadas que The Wine Advocate no haya puntuado todavía.
3. No se puntuarán muestras de barrica o depósito.
4. Los vinos serían catados en nuestras instalaciones o en alguna otra sede.
5. La recolección y selección de vinos la llevaríamos a cabo nosotros en base a los criterios dictados por Robert Parker y The Wine Advocate”.’

(Translation by Harold:
‘We request that you circulate to all the wineries that are eligible the requirements for participation that are, taken verbatim from the information received:

"The wines to be tasted by Jay Miller for rating are selected based on the rules of The Wine Advocate, namely:
1. Only those wines that have an importer in USA can participate.
2. Only wines or vintages that The Wine Advocate has not scored yet can be included.
3. Barrel or tank samples will not be rated.
4. The wines will be tasted at our facility or at some other venue.
5. The collection and selection of the wines will be carried out by us, based on the criteria dictated by Robert Parker and The Wine Advocate".’


It seems reasonable to assume that the selection criteria for the wines to be tasted was either supplied by Pancho Campo/The Wine Academy or by Jay Miller himself. Harold says that the Spanish is very good, so it was probably The Wine Academy.

**

Following the meeting called by Teresa Torres on 13th October 2011, Juan Antonio Ruiz Jiménez, Secretario ASEVIN, sent out a general message (subject: VISITA DE JAY MILLER) on Monday 17th October outlining the draft programme.


Draft programme:

Thursday 24th  November  – Saturday 26th November  
24th: Jay Miller and his team arrive late. Visit one winery and have dinner there.

25th: tasting of samples and visits to two wineries during the morning with lunch at the second. Afternoon visit to two wineries with dinner in the second.

26th:  am taste the remaining samples, followed by two visits to wineries with lunch in second winery.  
        pm: conference and master class with Jay Miller (and Pancho Campo?) lasting two and half hours. Showing 12 wines, which will presumably have been selected from the paid samples put in for the master class.

((El programa de actos previstos durante la visita de Jay Miller, podría ser el siguiente: (se trata de un borrador que tenemos que ir perfilando, pero puede servir como adelanto)

Jueves, día 24 de noviembre: tarde, llegada de Jay Miller y su equipo y visita a una bodega. (Cena en esta bodega).
Viernes, día 25 de noviembre: mañana, cata de muestras y visita de dos bodegas. (Comida en la segunda bodega).
Tarde, visita de dos bodegas. (Cena en la segunda bodega).
Sábado, día 26 de noviembre: mañana, cata de resto de muestras y visita a dos bodegas. (Comida en la segunda bodega).
Tarde, Conferencia y Cata Magistral de 12 vinos de Murcia. Lugar: Salones Pio XII. Hora sin determinar. Duración aproximada: 2 horas y 30 minutos.)

**

Last week Juan Antonio Ruiz Jiménez, secretary of Asevin, sent an email to a bodega that had agreed to participate asking for the following sum* to be paid as soon as possible into bank account: CAM: 2090 0004 •• ••••••••••  

Jiménez added:
Estas cantidades tienen carácter de presupuesto, es decir, una vez que hayan ingresado todas las bodegas participantes, y cubiertos todos los gastos, ASEVIN emitirá factura con el importe exacto, abonando, en su caso, el sobrante.

(These amounts are budget basis, ie once they have entered all participating wineries and covered all expenses, ASEVIN issue an invoice with the exact amount paid, if any, the excess.)


The estimated tariff is 300€ per sample submitted, 500€ for a sample submitted for consideration for the master class and 1000€ for a visit. Samples submitted by a winery to be visited will be tasted in situ.


* For obvious reasons Jim’s Loire is not disclosing the sum demanded. It is assumed that this is an Assevin account.


Initial post on Jay Miller and Pancho Campo's proposed visit to Murcia here. Email received this morning (1st November 2011) from Asevin here.

***



3 comments:

Wojciech Bońkowski said...

Thanks for sharing Jim. Not that I'm surprised after the Navarra "episode", but we need full disclosure of this whole story and please don't be intimidated by any legal action threats from Asevin.

Jim's Loire said...

Thanks Wojciech. Like you I hope that there will be full disclosure.

Irene said...

Thank you for sharing. From my experience, Jay Miller visited our winery in Navarra and I can promise we did not pay an euro, nothing at all!