FICB International Congress ~ REPORT

By now you are all tired of hearing what a crazy and unfortunate year 2020 was for most. The F.I.C.B. underwent the same turmoil and worse as it was a Congress year!

Undaunted, the 2021 F.I.C.B. General Assembly was held in Paris as scheduled on January 30, 2021 but, of course, was held virtually for most of us and voting was permitted by mail. The decisions made were “teed up” by the Board of Administration which held its meeting virtually on January 21. Fortunately, it was possible to make some adjustments and, ultimately, there was a quorum with 44 members present or represented or having voted by (e)mail, out of a total of 57.

The main decisions of the General Assembly were as follows:

The president’s report, income statement and balance sheet for 2020 were all approved, with ratification of the possibility given to members in difficulty due to the pandemic to pay only one membership fee for 2020 and 2021. The KOV had decided at a previously held KOV Grand Council meeting to pay both the 2020 and 2021 dues as a show of support for this important international benefit of our organization. Eleven international members also decided to pay their dues for both years.

The calendar of F.I.C.B. international events was reviewed and approved as follows (with updates that have occurred since the meeting): 1. International Congress & Extension (Alba & Turin) in Italy, postponed last summer has now officially been cancelled due to ongoing health concerns and travel restrictions. This cancellation by the organizers will result in refunds of 80% of paid fees plus bank transfer fees. Our Brotherhood appealed to Langhe Travel Tour Operator to consider an option to offer full credit for future travel that they may organize on an individual basis as has been offered by other tour operators, hotels and resorts. I am happy to report that they responded positively to this suggestion and are offering a voucher representing 100% of the registration fee paid, to be used for an individual stay organized by Langhe Roero Experience Tours to be used before the end of 2022. Information regarding the cancellation of the Congress and refund options was emailed out directly to those KOV members who were registered for the Congress. Unfortunately, as you will see below, because of the rest of the International calendar, postponing Italy another time was not an option.

2. International Wine Tasting Challenge in Hungary from June 2-7, 2022 - For any of you who attended the excellent Hungarian Congress of 2010 (one of my personal all-time top 3) you can attest to the quality of the wines and the events that will be organized by the Order of Ladies of Pannonia. They plan to revise the order of their past Congress by beginning in Tokaj and Eger regions with extensions to Budapest. Registration information will be coming this summer.

3. International Congress and Extension in Portugal from May 24 to 29, 2023 - The F.I.C.B approved the final dates for the Portuguese Congress to be held in Oporto with an Extension to the Lisbon environs. Moving this Congress to June avoids the very busy, crowded and more expensive end of June dates originally planned. There should be no capacity issues in Portugal. Portugal was my first ever Congress (late 90’s) and Houston members Dan and Debbie Price traveled with us - another favorite trip!

4. Wine Discovery Tour – A new type of event approved two years ago by the F.I.C.B. is a Wine

Discovery Tour with the first one being held in

Madeira. This event is meant for a smaller (4050), more casual group of F.I.C.B. members and is scheduled for the Autumn of 2022. Details will be made available as soon as pandemic abatement allows. The Madeira Brotherhood is relatively new to the F.I.C.B. and is very enthusiastic!

In addition, the F.I.C.B. took care of some housekeeping business with agreement to reevaluate statues, rules and regulations surrounding Board appointments and titles, occasioned by the recent growth promoted by Alan Bryden and his Executive Committee.

Membership fees remain the same at 150E per year.

The F.I.C.B. is looking for other brotherhoods to volunteer for future Wine Discovery Tours (US regions are in play) as well as Wine Tasting Challenges.

Complete details of the meeting are available on the F.I.C.B. website at www.winebrotherhoods.org.