Personal attendance of wine growers and winemakers at the World Wine Festival adds a touch of rarity to this gathering of the world’s wine elite. No fewer than 50 wineries from Europe, North and South America and Africa will be represented at the event cycle about to be staged at Palais Coburg. The list of World Wine Festival guests is peppered with prominent names, amongst them Château Palmer and Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte from Bordeaux, Pol Roger and Billecart Salmon from Champagne, Domaine Méo-Camuzet from Burgundy, Egon Müller and Dr. Loosen from Germany, Gantenbein from Switzerland, Feudi di San Gregorio from Italy, Bodegas Roda from Spain and Au Bon Climat from the USA. South Africa, currently in the public spotlight because of the World Football Championships, will be represented by four of its elite wineries. Half a dozen premium wineries from Austria will line up in honour of this country’s viticulture, their names being Alzinger, Feiler-Artinger, Kracher, Moric, Polz and Schloss Gobelsburg.

At the heart of the World Wine Festival is the Wine Forum where 50 wineries will be introducing their fine wines between April 22 and 24. The World Wine Festival is to be complemented by a programme of more than 20 tasting events staging some of the world’s most renowned wine connoisseurs whose comments will greatly enhance these gatherings. South African Master of Wine Lynne Sherriff, Master Sommelier Frank Krämmer, Austrian wine journalists Dr. Michael Pronay and Dr. Viktor Siegl, Willi Klinger, head of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, and others more have agreed to moderate this year’s events.

The chefs starring at the World Wine Festival do not rank at all behind the wine growers when it comes to representing world class. Dirk Grammon, shooting star of the German haute cuisine, will deck the culinary stage setting for the event. 25 years of age, Dirk Grammon has already been awarded three chefs’ hats from Gault-Millau and delights even the most discriminating gourmets with his creative cuisine inspired by French classics. At the World Wine Festival Dirk Grammon will compose the opening dinner for the “Grande Soirée with Château Palmer“ and lend a hand to make other events at Palais Coburg a culinary success. The gala dinner “Wine and Stars“, set for April 23, will draw a good many highly decorated chefs to the cooking pots at Palais Coburg, among them Christoph Rainer from Villa Rothschild in Königstein, Swiss master chef Marcus G. Lindner from the restaurant Mesa in Zurich and South Tyrolean star Norbert Niederkofler from the restaurant St. Hubertus (Hotel Rosa Alpina, St. Kassian).

Following the path of tradition Vienna’s top restaurants will be tied into the World Wine Festival programme at Palais Coburg. On April 22 the restaurant Steirereck is to give a set dinner accompanied by wines from the Château Cos d’Estournel. The same evening the restaurant Schwarzes Kameel will host an italophile event featuring as its main attraction wines by Braida, Guado al Tasso, Feudi di San Gregorio, Peter Zemmer and the Ticino winery Gialdi. April 23 will be an opportunity to enter a “liaison française“ with wines by Chapoutier and Smith Haut Lafitte at the intimate and exquisite restaurant Walter Bauer or during a gourmet set dinner accompanied by excellent wines by Méo-Camuzet and Bonneau du Martray at the restaurant Meinl am Graben.

To maintain an atmosphere of exclusiveness most of the events at the World Wine Festival 2010 are limited to a restricted number of participants. As past festivals have shown demand frequently exceeds the supply of tickets. Seats may be secured as of now through our website at www.weltweinfestival.at, via e-mail at tickets@weltweinfestival.at or by telephone at +43/1/518 18 – 855.