CH'NG Poh Past International Judges - 2009

CH'NG Poh Past International Judges — 2009CH'NG Poh is a lawyer by training.

•He is publisher of The Wine Review, the oldest and most established wine publication in South-East Asia, Hong Kong and China. Ch'ng also publishes, since 2000, the world's first "Guide to Bordeaux in Chinese" and the annual "Asian Sommelier Guide". His articles have also appeared in other magazines, including l'Amateur de Bordeaux of France, United Kingdom's Harper's, World of Fine World, and Decanter, for which he also writes a column. Ch'ng is also the wine columnist of Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore's largest-circulation Chinese daily. His articles have also appeared in China's Food & Wine and in Wine in China magazines. And in Sommelier India magazine.

•Ch'ng Poh is the Regional Chairman: Middle East, Far East & Asia, for Decanter magazine's World Wine Awards. Founder of Sommelier Seminars and Sommeliers of Asia, he also organized the first-ever sommelier seminar in China in 2004.

•In 2002, Ch'ng was a key-note speaker at the Master of Wine Symposium in Vienna. He was also a speaker at the Twelfth Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference 2004 and has also addressed Wine Australia and the World Inflight Food Service Association's Congress in Osaka. In 2005, he spoke at, and chaired the Forum on Asia in Wine Evolution in Paris.

•Ch'ng was a keynote speaker at the Cool Climate Symposium 2006, Christchurch, New Zealand, and at the inaugural China International Wine Summit and China International Wine Technology, Trade & Investment Annual Conference 2006 in Beijing. In 2007, he spoke at the Pinot Noir Conference in Wellington, New Zealand, and at the Enoforum Congress in Piacenza, Italy. More recently, in January 2008, he spoke at the Pinot Noir Celebrations, Otago, New Zealand, and in June 2008 at the Frankland Estate International Riesling Conference.

•Ch'ng Poh also works as a consultant. His clients include FairPrice & Liberty Supermarkets and Conrad Centennial Singapore. He is also founder of the Lianhe Zaobao Wine Review Annual Wine Challenge, Singapore's first, independent wine competition (since 1999). Ch'ng is also consultant to The American Express Tower Club Wine Awards of Singapore. He lectures extensively on wine including in India, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Singapore. Ch'ng also speaks on the subject to private clients, including international law firms and multi-national banks.

•Ch'ng Poh Tiong also founded ICCCW and held the first International Congress of Chinese Cuisine & Wine, 23 to 25 May 2008, in Beijing, The next ICCCW will be held in Singapore in October 2009. China. He is fluent in English, Chinese, Cantonese and Fukienese.

John Avery MW

•John Avery is the fourth generation in his family wine business in Bristol. He passed the Master of Wine Exam in 1975, which is considered to be the pinnacle of academic achievement in the wine industry. He was Chairman of The Institute of Masters of Wine from 2000 to 2001.

•John has made a considerable reputation for himself as a pioneer in the discovery and importation of non-European wines (he coined the term New World Wines) into the United Kingdom. This started with quality table wines from California in 1965 followed by unfortified wines from Australia in the early 1970s when he also imported a couple of New Zealand wines. In 1979 he expanded this to include a selection of the best New Zealand wines from 7 leading producers. He was, in short, the first person to import New Zealand wines into Europe!

•In 1978 he was invited to be the first European to be the Chief Judge at the Air New Zealand / Tourist Hotel Corporation wine competition in New Zealand and was invited back as Chief Judge in 1981.Since then he has been an International Wine Judge at wine competitions all over the world particularly Australia and the Far East and has judged at more overseas shows than any other European.

•In 1982 with Terry Dunleavy and Don Walker (then Minister for Trade in London) he helped to organise and select the wines for the first of the now annual wine tastings of New Zealand wines in London.
He has been in the U.K. wine trade for over 40 years and is still Chairman of the company formerly owned by his family He still travels to France and the rest of the world to select the wines his company sells and is also still much involved with selling them to his customers. One of principal responsibilities is the tasting and selection of 'En Primeur' wines (i.e. very young wines 6 to 12 months old) which is very important considering that many of the wines in the competition are very young. He travels throughout the U.K. and elsewhere giving tastings and talking about the wines being shown. He writes considerably about wine mostly in his company's literature.

•John was Master of his own Livery Company — The Vintners for twelve months 2004/05 and during his year of office took the Court of The Company to the vineyards of New Zealand.