He opened the fair with the President of Castilla - La Mancha

09.05.2005 | 

The president of the Provincial Government, Nemesio de Lara, has requested a strategic plan for wine in Spain, a firm stance in view of the Organización Común de Mercado (Common Organization of Agriculture Markets) (OCM) and the creation of a professional front to favor the development of a National Plan to raise public awareness for wine consumption.

De Lara confessed, when opening the trade show this morning with the President of Castilla - La Mancha Autonomous Community, José María Barreda, and the General Manager of MAPA, Jorge Antonio Santiso, that he would be very pleased if, by the end of the fair, actions to promote the wine sector actually happen, for instance the creation of national bodies to promote the wine sector such as proposed by himself, and, above all, if the business contacts and contracts happening in FENAVIN help open "a horizon of better and bigger Spanish wine sales volumes on foreign markets"

De Lara has specified that Feria Nacional del Vino (National Wine Fair) is actually happening because it is organized in a very professional way, with a lot of effort and "because people have been very brave" both technically and at a political level. He added that, in this important event, not only the Team from the Provincial Government has played a major role but also the whole Provincial Council. "We have not organized the event to make a good impression, we have done so to be the best".

On the other hand, he pointed out that in 1999 during his investiture speech, he announced what was a dream. "In politics, dreams are important" he said and then added that dreams come to nothing if one does not, straight away "roll up one's sleeves and start working". To achieve this, he looked for the "right person to be in charge" of the fair, Manuel Juliá, FENAVIN's director "a man with ideas who is able to grasp other people's proposal and manage them in a comprehensive". He has also qualified the work of FENAVIN's institutional coordinator, Ángel Amador, as "very efficient for the organization" and "priceless".

WINE AND WINE PEOPLE, FENAVIN'S ONLY REASON TO EXIST

"The only reason for FENAVIN to exist are the people who live on vine and wine in Castilla - La Mancha and Spain", said De Lara who added that "the main objective is to make more profitable the economic and human cost of the fair by helping sell more Spanish wine in Spain and abroad, because there is an excess of wine production, sold at a loss and burnt".

As for the president of Junta de Comunidades de Castilla - La Mancha (Castilla - La Mancha Communities Body), José María Barreda, he asserted that before FENAVIN "there was a imperative need to create a major wine fair at national level. It was logical to make it happen in Castilla - La Mancha, and more specifically in Ciudad Real, as it is the biggest vineyard in the region". During his speech, Barreda has paraphrased a line from a great poet who said about Castilla - La Mancha that it was "a broad cosmic breadth" and a "landscape of green proportions".

The president of the Castilla - La Mancha Executive highlighted that people coming from other regions should know the eloquent figures from Castilla - La Mancha: 6 000 vineyard hectares, i.e. 50% of the total Spanish vineyards, 9% of the European ones, and 6% of the world's. From these data "one can infer the importance of the Castilla - La Mancha vineyard for Spain".

FENAVIN. BEFORE, A DREAM, NOW A SPLENDID REALITY

"FENAVIN started as a dream and it is now a splendid reality, something impressive and useful" he said. "Wine does not get sold just like that, it is not easy. From the Castilla - La Mancha government we proclaim optimism and hope for the sector, though perfectly aware of the difficulties. We want to see the glass half full, instead of half empty. We have a great potential and we are ready to use it".

Likewise, he informed that 9,5 million day laborers live on vine and vineyard; the wine sector has created 38 000 permanent jobs and gives work to another 70 000 people. Barreda has asserted "we are talking of a crop with an economic, social and ecological impact. This greenery invading our land during summer would not exist without our vineyards".

The president said about FENAVIN "it is a trade show answering a need in an intelligent manner. It is paradoxical that wine has never been in everybody's mouth as much as it is nowadays when it is less and less consumed". Likewise, he highlighted "this is a product which is part of our essence, our culture. We are not talking about just any crop, vine is part of our identity, our diet, and it is a healthy ingredient which improves our lifestyle when consumed moderately".

Lastly, José Mª Barreda pointed out "FENAVIN has reached consolidation in a very short span of time. This is due to correct management, focused on professionalization, and the reason why it has now become a world reference in the wine sector". Furthermore, he has promised that the Ciudad Real Provincial Government will count on the help of the Castilla - La Mancha government and the complicity of the entire sector to build a new trade show center since "FENAVIN's success has rendered these premises obsolete in terms of size".