Alsace Festival
Welcome
May I wish you a warm welcome to the EAZ Alsace Festival. We have a great programme of events lined up for you, and I hope that you will have a wonderful time.
I should like to express my particular thanks to David Ling, the Alsace wines expert on the IWFS Wines Committee, and his son Pierre, who have opened many doors for us, and without whom this festival would not have been possible. We are delighted to have many particularly distinguished members of IWFS with us on this occasion, including Ron Barker, Ian Nicol, and John Nicholas as well as several members of the EAZ Executive Committee.
Stephanie Shepherd
EAZ Events Co-ordinator
David Ling
Son of a Chester wine merchant, David Ling’s childhood was steeped in wine and hospitality. Plan A (fighter pilot) failed so plan B (wine trade) followed. After a WSET diploma, in 1973 he went to Alsace for 6 weeks at Hugel but stayed until retirement 43 years later as export director. Married in 1978, his wife Mimi’s family has made wine in Eguisheim since 1653. In 2016 David was the first-ever foreign Grand Maître of the Confrérie Saint-Etienne d’Alsace, oldest wine guild in France, and co-ordinates their overseas events promoting Alsace wines. www.confrerie-st-etienne.alsace