... by the D.O. Ribeira Sacra came to a successful conclusion
The holding of the Assembly of the C.E.C.R.V. ...
The Consejos Reguladores VitivinÃcolas de España (the Spanish Regulatory Wine Bodies) at the assembly held by the D.O. Ribeira Sacra, insisted on their disagreement with the liberalisation of vine plantations. According to the C.E.C.R.V.,the liberalisation plans that are being put forward by the E.U. would cause de localisation and vineyards that are currently profitable, would stop being so.
The Spanish Regulatory Wine Bodies are also asking to be able to do promotional campaigns on their wines in Europe. They insist that wine is a food item and as such they should be able to advertise it.
At the assembly, that took place in the Ribeira Sacra Wine Centre, it was explained to the participants the procedure for certification 45011 as a quality guarantee and, they were informed of the latest sales trends by the Observatorio Español del Mercado del Vino (the Spanish Observatory of the Wine Market). Last year saw an increase in bulk buying of wine, something that usually occurs during times of economic crisis, and which caused a general down fall in other sales, but the good news was that this year sales were returning to normal.
The workshop of the Regulatory Bodies was opened by the Environment Minister of the Galician Government ,Samuel Juárez, who praised the work of the Regulatory Bodies, stating that wine was one of the pillars of the Galician economy and urged the Regulatory Bodies to discuss any concerns with the administration so that they could work together to improve things.
In conjunction with the workshop, around a hundred people participated in the Assembly of the C.E.C.R.V., there was a meal held with the President of the Galician Government, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, at the Hostal de los Reyes Católicos. Núñez Feijóo stated during his speech that 'wine is a pillar of the industry and a delicious tasting ambassador of our land'. He praised the hard work of the bodegas and the skills of the professionals working within the sector, both in Galicia and Spain. ' Authenticity and quality define the Galician and Spanish wines. We are the country with the biggest wine production and we are a land that has always known how to value its wines. We have increased our stronghold and in this way we should go forward', stated the President of the Galician Government.
The visit to Santiago de Compostela began with the representatives of the Spanish Wine Regulatory Bodies attending the pilgrim´s mass, where the President of the C.E.C.R.V., Fernando Prieto, read out, in the name of the association that he represented, an offering to the Apostle, St. James. A part of the prayer to Apostle, St. James went as follows 'We entrust you with our mission, we entrust you with our daily work in the countryside of Spain as wine producers and wine growers'.
The agenda of the representatives of the C.E.C.R.V. was completed by visits to highlights of the Ribeira Sacra region such as the area of A Cova and Doade, at Doade they were able to enjoy a boat trip along the river. The partners of the representatives were able to take the opportunity on Friday morning, whilst their partners were attending a work meeting, to visit the Colegio Nuestra Señora de la Antigua, the Ribeira Sacra Wine Centre, and the Museum of Sacred Art of the Clarisas.
The members of the C.E.C.R.V. were accompanied by the President of Lugo County Council, José Ramón Gómez Besteiro, and the President of Ourense County Council, José Luis Baltar, at a lunch in the Rectoral de Amandi and a dinner at the Parador de Santo Estevo, respectively.
This assembly was one of the most well-attended of the assemblies held by the C.E.C.R.V. and there was great interest amongst representatives to know more about the hosting D.O., the Ribeira Sacra. The difficult terrain and the hardships in working it were the issues most commented upon by the visitors. Following the assembly, the Secretary of the C.E.C.R.V., José Alfonso Sierra, wrote in his blog: 'Wine production can be geometric, linear, polygonal, spherical, pentagonal, quadrangular, rectangular; it can be arithmetic, mathematic, geographic, musical, festive....but architectural??? There is only one place it is architectural and monumental: the Ribeira Sacra.'