Mesmeric moments for wine connoisseurs

Sommeliers Josep Plana from Spain, Aurélie Maumus from France and Gonzalo Marina Del Rio from Argentina to curate wine workshops at the Colombo Gourmet Week 2016

The first-ever, week-long food festival in Sri Lanka celebrating food, wine and produce, The Colombo Gourmet Week, will be graced by Sommeliers Josep Plana from Spain, Aurélie Maumus from France and Gonzalo Marina Del Rio from Argentina from August 22 to 28. For a truly sensorial experience, the three world-famous Sommeliers in partnership with international award-winning chefs will enhance the curated dinners with their perfected skills in wines and gourmet cuisine respectively, and infuse them with a world-class gourmet flavour.

Setting new standards in luxury hospitality, the event, organized by Wine World, the premium online wine and spirits concierge service in association with The Galle Face Hotel is expected to feature a compelling line-up of exclusive events for gourmet food lovers and professionals in the food and beverage sector.

These dinners will be open to both, ticket holders and invitees and will celebrate the wine and cuisine from four wine making countries namely: France, Italy, Australia and South Africa. The curated dinners will take place from August 23 to 26 and cover Australian, Italian, South African and Chilean gourmet cuisine and accompanying wines from these regions, with the right bouquet to enhance the delectable flavours in the food. Each of the three sommeliers hold extensive international experience and are considered among the best sommeliers the world has to offer.

The Colombo Gourmet Week will also feature tasting counters, where a select group of wines and canapés/dishes will be matched by international chefs and sommeliers. The tasting counters will be open to the general public from August 22 to 26, with special offers on a select range of wines.

Semi private sessions for individuals of the trade will also be held, where representatives from partner wineries will conduct a full day of seminars and trainings. The "Wines of the World" will be officially opened by 4pm the same day and will be accessible to ticket holders and corporate/sponsor invitees. A special Wine buffet will be hosted on the south lawn for 350 people inclusive of the top management of the hotel industry.

Despite holding a degree in Economics and Business from the Barcelona University, Sommelier Josep Plana went on to pursue his passion - Wines & Spirits. He continues to work for Torres, a wine producing company and has been assigned to manage Asian and Latin American markets.

Originally from Bordeaux, Aurelie Maumus has a Masters in Wine Business and Foreign Language from the University of Bordeaux. Her career in the wine industry began close upon 5 years ago and has led her to work in China, California and now Chile.

Meanwhile, Gonzalo Marina Del Rio who studied Agricultural Engineering at the Universidad Católica de Chile moved on to specialize in Agricultural Economy. He joined Cono Sur in 2011, and has 15 years' experience in the wine industry, the majority of which was spent in Asia. He has lived in China to develop the Asia Regional Office for Cono Sur, ensuring a remarkable growth of the brand as the second-largest brand from Chile in Asia.