Last chance to win Rising Stars place at Wine Vision

By Richard Siddle

Published: 09 October, 2014

Emerging talents in the wine trade have the chance to attend this month's world leaders' conference, Wine Vision, by winning a special grant as part of Harpers Rising Stars initiative.

Wine Vision 2013 Wine Vision 2013

Emerging talents in the wine trade have the chance to attend this month's world leaders' conference, Wine Vision, by winning a special grant as part of Harpers Rising Stars initiative.

Harpers is looking to highlight the best emerging talent in the world of wine by offering a special half price grant to attend Wine Vision which will see some of the biggest names in wine travel to London to discuss the key issues facing the industry.

Wine Vision, which takes place at the Hurlingham Club between November 17-19, is targeted at those at board or director level whilst the Harpers Rising Stars grant gives the opportunity for those at managerial level to attend.

The Rising Stars Grant will go to those that can demonstrate the steps they have taken in their career to do and their ambitions for the future. It will provide an excellent opportunity to also network with some of the most influential people in the global wine trade.

Please note the deadline for entries ends on November 4.

Wine Vision speakers

Key names lined up to appear at Wine Vision 2015 include , Jean-Guillaume Prats, president and chief executive, Moët Hennessy Estates & Wines, Mike Ratcliffe, managing director, Warwick Wine Estate, Jaime Araujo, managing director, Terravina, Charles Banks, founder, Terroir Selections, Tesco's head of wine Dan Jago, Tyler Balliet, founder, Wine Riot, Adrian Bridge, chief executive, The Fladgate Partnership, Troy Christensen, chief executive Enotria, Simon McMurtrie, chief executive, Direct Wines, and Mike Veseth, The Wine Economist.

The event will also see experts outside the wine trade share their views and experiences. These will include Professor Barry C Smith of Univeristy of London and Professor Charles Spence of Oxford University who will both examine the academic work that has been done around the sensory nature of wine and what it can tell us about consumer behaviour.

Other non-trade speakers include Channel 4 Secret Millionaire and business entrepreneur, Mike Greene, Barry Clark of the Future Foundation, design expert Kevin Shaw of Stranger & Stranger, Sandra Taylor, chief executive of Sustainable Business International, Dominique Persoone, founder of the Chocolate Line.

The event will also have a dedicated focus on the latest trends and innovations in social and digital media with Jon Morter, dubbed the "social media hellraiser" by the New York Times for the work he did in taking Rage Against the Machine to Number 1 and preventing the X Factor winner from doing so.

How to apply:

The Harpers Rising Stars Grant is open to anyone in the wine and spirits industry and supporting services that currently has managerial responsibilities but does not hold any director or board level responsibilities.

Individuals can also apply directly but must supply an employer or industry reference.

The application must include:

Name, background, job title, organisation name and full contact details

A statement, of no more than 300 words, detailing how the nominee has demonstrated excellence, innovation, promise and talent in their particular field. Additional supportive material such as awards, press coverage, links to webpages may also be submitted.

In 300 words or less the nominee should give their opinion on what they believe is a key challenge the wine industry is facing today and why and how it should be addressed.

All recipients of the Harpers Rising Star Grant will have the opportunity to contribute a short report/opinion piece about the event to be published on the Wine Vision website and Harpers.co.uk.

Note only 10 applications can be made per organisation.

Travel and accommodation is not included.

Please send all applications by email to info@winevision.com before the extended deadline date of October 17. All entries will be validated, reviewed and judged by Harpers and an invited panel of industry experts. Successful applications will receive a confirmation before 24 October.

Nuts and bolts

The Harpers Rising Stars Grant will represent a 50% saving on the full Wine Vision delegate price of £1,696.

As well access to all sessions of the Wine Vision conference at London's Hurlingham Club the grant also covers:

kick-off event at the Shangri-La at The Shard including a keynote talk: Beyond taste: Drinking wine with all your senses with Professor Barry C Smith, University of London and Professor Charles Spence, Oxford University

Wine Vision dinner, Hurlingham Club November 18

networking lunches

kick-off event at the Shangri-La at The Shard including a keynote talk: Beyond taste: Drinking wine with all your senses with Professor Barry C Smith, University of London and Professor Charles Spence, Oxford University