FENAVIN WILL BE THE CHOSEN SEAT FOR ACEVIN'S FIRST EDITION OF THE 'RUTAS DEL VINO DE ESPAÑA' (ROUTES OF SPANISH WINE) WINE-TOURISM AWARD CEREMONY

The reason of being of this contest is to recognize the merit of the best wine-tourist initiatives that have been put underway in this country, the same within the frame of the 'Rutas del Vino de España' project

The Award Ceremony will be taking place on May 10th, at 1.00 p.m. at the National Trade Fair on Wine (FENAVIN) in Ciudad Real

The 'Asociación Española de Ciudades del Vino' (ACEVIN) (Spanish Association of Cities of Wine) will be hosting the first edition of the Wine-Tourism Awards "Routes of Spanish Wine" during the celebration of FENAVIN 2011, the internationally renown wine trade fair that will take place in the Ciudad Real trade fair grounds on the upcoming May 10th at 1.00 p.m. These awards represent a new proposal to promote and encourage development of wine-tourism, which counts with the support of Turespaña and the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs. The ceremony will be hosted by José Fernando Sánchez Bódalo, President of Acevin, along with Gonzalo Ceballos Watling, Assistant Director General for Tourist Development and Sustainability (General Secretariat for Tourism - TURESPAÑA) and Josefa Lueso Sordo, Assistant Director General for Food Promotion (of the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs).

The event, which will be taking place at FENAVIN 2011, National Trade Fair on Wine, in Lecture Hall 2, represents an institutional event in the shape of an award ceremony for the first edition of the Wine-Tourism Awards 'Rutas del Vino de España'. The laureates will be toasting this initiative along with many institutions, personalities from the world of academics, viniculture, tourism and journalism, with the basic goal of the awards being to stimulate the important effort made by all the actors involved in this Product Club, which has already become the most important quality wine-tourism project in our country.

These awards will be handed over by José Fernándo Sánchez Bódalo, President of ACEVIN and they will be taking place on an annual basis. Since the year 2001 the Spanish Association of Cities of Wine (ACEVIN) and the Secretary General for Tourism have been jointly working on encouraging viniculture tourism, the same with the creation of the Product Club "Routes of Spanish Wine". This club currently groups together a total of twenty-one routes, which in turn involve more than 400 municipalities representing thirteen of the Autonomous Communities and about 2000 companies (winemaking and tourist companies). All of this highlights the tremendous efforts that have been made in wine-tourism matters in the last few years. It is precisely within this frame that ACEVIN has promoted the creation of the Wine-Tourism Awards "Routes of Spanish Wine" as a system that acknowledges and stimulates the important work that is being carried out by all those involved.

The award ceremony will take place within the frame of FENAVIN 2011, trade fair that will be held from May 10th to the 12th in the capital of the world's greatest wine producing area, Ciudad Real. There are two crystal clear goals in its sixth edition: to promote, even more, the possibilities for the offer and demand to come together and to propose new paths so that consumption of wine can acquire the prestige it deserves.

Hence, the confirmed attendance of more than 700 international buyers, from more than fifty countries, comes to prove that both goals can indeed be achieved. The professionals that will be coming in on their own must also be added to this figure, currently estimated for this edition at almost 2000. Another great development of the trade fair will be the start-up of the 'Contact with…' program for national buyers, which is a computer tool that in previous editions has been working beautifully in the establishment of contacts between exhibitors and foreign buyers and that this year aspires to bringing in about 4500 Spanish distributors from all the country's regions.

The Secretary of State supports the Product Club "Routes of Spanish Wine" for Tourism and by the Ministry of the Environment, Rural, and Marine Affairs, currently counting with twenty-one routes. Bullas Wine Route, Jumilla, La Mancha Wine Routes, Wine and Brandy from Jerez Route, La Garnacha Wine Route (Campo de Borja), Lleida Wine Route, Montilla-Moriles Wine Route, Navarre, Penedès Wine and Cava Route, Rías Baixas, Ribeiro, Ribera del Duero Wine Route, Rioja Alavesa, Somontano, Tenerife Wine Route and Utiel-Requena Wine Route. All these representing sixteen certified routes, while Alicante, Bierzo, Condado de Huelva, Ribera del Guadiana and Rioja Alta are currently immersed in the certification process.

Awards corresponding to the First Edition of the Wine-Tourism Awards "Routes of Spanish Wine"

- Best Wine Producing Establishments:

BODEGA GONZÁLEZ BYASS (JEREZ).

Special mentions to the wineries Bodegas Aranda (Ribera del Duero) and Comenge Bodegas y Viñedos (Ribera del Duero).

- Best Tourist Establishment:

HOTEL WINE OIL SPA VILLA DE LAGUARDIA (RIOJA ALAVESA).

Special mentions to the restaurant El Lagar de Isilla (Ribera del Duero) and the Hotel Eguren Ugarte (Rioja Alavesa).

- Award to Innovation, Quality and Sustainable Development:

PALACIO DE CANEDO (EL BIERZO).

Special mentions to the wineries Monje (Tenerife) and Celler Lagravera (Lleida).

- Award to the Socially Responsible Wine-Tourist Territory (TESR):

'GRUPO DE ACCIÓN LOCAL DE LA ZONA MEDIA DE NAVARRA' LOCAL ACTION GROUP OF THE MIDDLE NAVARRE AREA (NAVARRE WINE ROUTE).

- Best Wine-Tourist Initiative:

THEMATIC WINE-TOURIST OFFER OF THE PENEDÈS WINE AND CAVA ROUTE (ALT PENEDÈS TOURIST PROMOTION CONSORTIUM).

Special mention to "Music Amongst Wine" (Jumilla Wine Route).

- Best Promotional Campaign:

THE COLLECTOR OF WINE-TOURIST EXPERIENCES (LA MANCHA WINE ROUTES).

Special mention to the 'Stations of Wine' (Somontano Wine Route).

- Award to Wine-Tourist Merit:

MIGUEL TORRES, for his leadership capacity, entrepreneur spirit, visionary nature, and work carried out in the dissemination of the culture of wine and wine-tourism at both a national and international level.

ANTONIO GÓMEZ and JORGE PASCUAL, for their leadership capacity, conciliator spirit, and work carried out in the promotion of wine-tourism within the frame of the Jerez Wine Route.