The International Organization of Vines and Wines (OIV) is an intergovernmental organization that promotes and disseminates scientific research in viti/viniculture. The annual congress is an opportunity for said scientists to meet and share their current research. Because this year's conference was just down the road from me, I pounced on the opportunity to attend.

I consider myself a wine geek as I can hold my own with any viticulturist or winemaker. I have nothing on these dedicated researchers. They are exploring every possible aspect of grape growing and wine making, and they are doing it by the numbers. With precise methodology and exacting statistical analysis each project was presented as completely as possible in the 20 minute time frame.

How fascinating you might find any given presentation depends wholly on your ability to parse the data, and how dedicated you are to the subject. Some presentations were given a boost by the presenters, but many more had to stand on their own merits.

Three eight hours days of staring at detailed spreadsheets on a screen from across the room while the simultaneous translator did her best to keep up. Even for the most fervent, it was a daunting task.

The lunch break gave the one thousand participants the opportunity to jostle and race each other for the feed troth. With barely any time to enjoy the food or the bottle of wine unceremoniously placed on each table, this was one of the two opportunities for most of to meet and greet one another.

Dinner at a designated winery was our only other time to mingle. Even though hundreds of the world's top wine scientists were being hosted at a time in the wineries, no one thought to, or bothered to, talk about the wine or the winery. It was simply feed them and wine them, as quickly, and cheaply, as possible. Then back into the busses and shuttled back to the hotel to start again in less than eight hours. We could have been a group of dentists as easily as the who's who of the wine world.



An Austrian governmental official put it best when he pointed out that it was not a wine conference, it was a listen and eat conference.



At the end of the week, knowing that we all needed wine and fresh air, technical visits were arranged. Once again hundreds of us are packed into busses and hauled two hours to visit… an irrigation system. Just to ensure that we really appreciated the sluice gates, we were encouraged to spend another hour walking to and fro.

When at last we arrive at a winery, it was once again a generic visit with the lowest quality wines and food possible. No love for those who might appreciate, not to mention, expect better.

That this congress was an integral part of the process that moves wine scholarship forward, can not be denied. That it was a missed opportunity for Argentina to show its wines and winemaking to those who know best, is just as undeniable. The sheer number of attendees, the logistical nightmares, the limited time, all of these conspired to keep the congress from being… well, fun. It is possible that it could have been done differently, but better is a judgement, and I was not in charge. Thankfully.