The General Assembly of the F.I.C.B. was held on Saturday, January 26, 2019 at the Maison des Associations near the Paris Wine Museum. At the beginning of 2019, the Federation comprises 57 member confederations or national federations, from 20 countries, i.e. 7 members and 2 more countries than in 2018.

The main points discussed and decisions made were :

• Approval of the President’s Report and the Financial Report for 2018;
• Approval of the project for the development of a dynamic database to allow a consolidation and an on-line friendly use of our lexicon in 5 languages of the main terms used for the production and the tasting of wine, in collaboration with the University of Burgundy at Dijon :
• Promotion of the 1st International Wine Tasting Challenge of the F.I.C.B. which will take place in Finland from 6 to 9 June 2019, organized by the Knights of the Vine of Finland
• Finalization of the program of the 2020 F.I.C.B. International Congress which will take place in the region of Alba and Piedmont in Italy from 4 to 7 June 2020, followed by an optional extension on 8 and 9 June, organized by the Ordine dei Cavalieri del Tartufo e dei Vini d’Alba. Attendance to this Congress is limited to 180 participants (outside the host), due to the limited capacity of the prestigious venues on the programme. The Executive committee was therefore requested to design and approve before 1 April 2019 a fair procedure to select participants with the assistance of the F.I.C.B. members themselves, allowing for a good distribution and taking into account participation in the three previous F.I.C.B. international congresses ;
• Green light given to the Hong Kong Wine Society to propose at the next General Assembly a detailed programme for the organization in 2021 of the 2nd International Wine Tasting Challenge of the F.I.C.B. in Hong Kong, with an extension to Macau, in collaboration with the Confraria de los Enofilos de Macau;
• Progress of the program of the International Congress 2022 of the F.I.C.B. in Portugal, organized by the Federation of Portuguese Wine Brotherhoods;
• Exchanges and promotion of the concept of “F.I.C.B. sponsored wine discovery tours” sponsored by the F.I.C.B. with a possible first edition in 2020;
• Promotion of the “Diplomas of Honor” of the F.I.C.B. ;
• Approval of the Budget for 2019, maintaining the membership rates (150 € for active members, 100€ for associate members and 50 € admission fee);
• Confirmation of the composition of the Board of administration and of the Executive committee, with no change;
• Continuation of the partnership with “Wine-in-Moderation- Art de Vivre” to promote responsible consumption;
• Approval of the date of the 2020 General Assembly, to take place at the Maison des Associations in Paris on Saturday 22 February 2020 starting at 10:00, preceded by the meetings of the Executive committee and of the Board of administration on Friday 21 February and followed by a lunch and a Gala dinner in the evening.

A convivial lunch was shared after the General assembly at the Paris Wine Museum, where the wines served and appreciated were offered by the Slovenian wine brotherhoods, the Order of the Knights of Alba (IT), the Knights of the Vine of America (U.S.A.), the Ordre de la Channe (CH), the Hungarian wine brotherhoods and the Baillis de Lalande de Pomerol (FR).

In the evening, about 40 participants took part in the St Vincent Chapter of the Conseil des Echansons de France, also at the Paris Wine Museum, where they shared a gastronomic dinner around a selection of the food and wine products of the Region Ile-de-France (region around Paris).

Clck here for the President’s 2019 Report

Click here for the full G.A. 2019 presentation

Click for the composition of the Board of Administration and Executive Committee at 1.02.2019

Click here for the approved minutes of the 2018 General Assembly