Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/688647
12 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } JUNE/JULY 2016 { notebook } Join the Society of Wine Educators for their 40th Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. this August 11–13. With more than 55 sessions over three days and topics rang- ing from Napa to Ningxia, China, Climate Change, Cheese and Saké Pairing and much more, this is one of the largest and most comprehensive wine and spirits conferences in the US. In addition to the diverse agenda, there will be pre-conference Virginia winery visits, spirits master classes, CWE and CSE exams and previews, and plenty of opportu - nity to network with beverage professionals from all around the world. SEMINAR SAMPLING William Deutsch, Key-Note Speaker Bordeaux's New Generation of Movers and Shakers, Mary Gorman-McAdams, MW Spain's Forgotten Grape Varieties, Miguel Torres Maczassek Gaja: A Story of Three Estates, John D. Rielly, CSS, CSW A Short History of Time in a Glass: Colheita Ports over 50 Years, Paul Wagner & Tania Olivera For more information and to register, go to societyofwineeducators.org. The Long Island Merlot Alliance (LIMA) has announced the election of Martha Clara Vineyards Winemaker and General Manager Juan Micieli-Martinez as its new organizational president. Micieli-Martinez, who replaces outgoing president and current LIMA member Roman Roth, brings with him 17 years of experience in the Long Island wine industry—and, like Roth, a great passion for the Merlot grape and the way it expresses itself in Long Island soil. "Being in the industry as long as I have, it's exciting to have a role where I really have a chance to help the organization and the industry progress," Micieli- Martinez says. Indeed, in early 2015 he created the Long Island Merlot Alliance Block Registry, a program aimed at studying Merlot vines with an eye toward understanding how the grape and its myriad clones—the mostly widely grown Vitis vinifera in Long Island—expresses itself in soils on both the North and South Forks. "Our maritime climate is certainly well suited to making interesting, fresh, fruit- driven, food-friendly wines," he says. "I'm really a scientist, and I believe that the work we're doing at LIMA is going to be important in learning more about the particularity of our wines and, thus, our unique terroir." A Long Island native, Micieli-Martinez began his career at Pellegrini with the 1999 harvest, fresh out of SUNY Binghamton after completing a double major in Biology and Psychology. In 2000, he took a slight but integral detour to become a brewer for Southampton Publick House—an experience he found invaluable. Not only did he learn volumes about yeast and fermentation, but it also sparked in him an ahead-of-the-curve idea of putting wine in kegs. In 2001, he landed at Premium Wine Group, Long Island's own custom-crush facility, and through its owner and one of his mentors, Russell Hearn, was given the opportunity to work a harvest at Houghton Winery in Western Australia, further expanding his winemaking knowledge. Back in Long Island, he became Pellegrini's production winemaker from 2002 to 2006. Micieli-Martinez spent a year as Shinn Estate Vineyards' Winemaker from 2006 to 2007, at which time he left for his current position at Martha Clara Vineyards. "Juan has such energy and is an incredibly steadfast and smart person, not to mention a talented wine - maker and great visionary. I am so excited at what w e're going to accomplish this year," says LIMA Executive Director Amy Zavatto. Long Island Merlot Alliance Elects New President, Juan Micieli-Martinez Juan Micieli-Martinez. PHOTO COURTESY OF LIMA Society of Wine Educators 40th Annual Conference