Schedule

Monday, September 16, 2024
5:30 p.m. Registration
6 p.m. Wine Education
7 p.m. Networking and Social Hour

Wine has long been a part of Australia's history, with grapevine cuttings brought over by ship from South Africa in 1788 and domestically produced wine available for purchase by the 1820s. Now one of the world’s largest producers of wine, Australia is home to over 6,000 grape growers and 1,000 wine exporters. In 2023 alone, the country produced over a billion liters of wine, with over 600 million liters exported to countries around the world.

Few know their way around Australian wines better than Mark Davidson, a sommelier and the head of Education for Americas for Wine Australia. Join Asia Society Texas, Australian American Chamber of Commerce Texas, and Wine Australia for an evening of Australian wine tasting and education with expert sommelier Mark Davidson as he guides participants through an educational and delicious tasting of wines that represent different Australian wine-producing regions.

Guests must be ages 21 and up and will be required to show valid I.D. upon entry.

About the Speaker

Born in London and raised in Sydney, Mark Davidson has over 40 years of experience in the hotel, restaurant and wine business, 15 of those as a sommelier. In 2001 he was named Sommelier of the Year at the Vancouver Wine Festival and also won the Spirited Industry Professional award in 2014. As a Department Head and instructor with the International Sommelier Guild he was instrumental in the on-going development of the curriculum and has taught classes in Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Las Vegas. Mark is an annual judge at the Texsom International Wine Awards and has judged many other competitions in both Canada and the United States. His Wines of Australia book for Classic Wine Library was published in 2023. Mark is currently Head of Education Development for Wine Australia in North America.

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Asia Society Texas Business & Policy Programs are endowed by the Huffington Foundation.

Business and Policy programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Bank of America, Muffet Blake, and ExxonMobil. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, The Brown Foundation, Inc., and Houston Endowment Inc. Generous funding provided by bp America, Inc, Anne and Albert Chao, ConocoPhillips, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Regions Bank, and Stephanie and Frank Tsuru. Additional support is provided by the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing the best in public programming.

Business & Policy Presenting Sponsors

Program Partners

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.

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