THIS YEAR AT FENAVIN RENOWNED JOURNALISTS WILL BE ENHANCING THE PRESTIGE OF WINE AND CHAMPIONING ITS MODERATE CONSUMPTION

The round table "Wine and Journalists", moderated by Juan Ignacio Gallardo, Assistant Director of the daily sports newspaper Marca, will be held on May 12th at 1.00 pm.

Juan Ignacio Gallardo, Assistant Director of the daily sports newspaper Marca, along with Paco García Caridad, Director of Radio Marca, Roberto Gómez, sports journalist for the same daily newspaper and for Marca TV, Ángel Cabeza, Editor of the daily sports newspaper Marca and Juan Carlos Rivero, sports news anchor for TVE, will all be participating in the round table "Wine and Journalists" that will be held at FENAVIN 2011, during which they will all put forward what their perception of Spanish wine actually is.

The veteran journalist Paco García Caridad, who along with the painter Antonio López and Vicente del Bosque, Manager of the National Spanish Football Team, were appointed Ambassadors of Wine at FENAVIN, defines wine as a food product that represents both the Spanish land and its culture. He considers that mankind, since ancient times, has always been closely connected to wine, as is duly made manifest in the Bible, for example. He highlights the social values that wine has as a product that is to be tried, shared and talked about, likewise mentioning its healthy aspect due to its antioxidant properties, polyphenols and resveratrol (a type of natural phenol), among other components that are very beneficial for the human organism. As a great connoisseur of wine, he feels that there is a lack of unity between the designations of origin and non-existence of a Spain wine label, this as opposed to other emerging countries such as South Africa, Chile, Argentina or Australia.

He is also categorical, stating that "wine is a business, but not a business at any price." Above all, the winery owner-winemaker must also be a farmer who takes good care of the soil and who controls the entire production process. Hence the reason why it worries him that lately Spanish red wines are losing out in nuances and in their attachment to the land, as recently most wines seem to be monotonous and it is impossible to observe the peculiarities of each variety and of the terroir itself.

On his part the sports commentator Roberto Gómez will be explaining the social values of wine as a standard of reference in Spanish culture and more particularly in the culture of La Mancha, land of vineyards par excellence. "Wine is an element of unity, of friendship. A glass of wine is synonym of good vibes."

Juan Ignacio Gallardo, Assistant Director of the daily sports newspaper Marca, will be responsible for moderating the round table, during which different aspects of wine will come under analysis, along with its gastronomic, social, cultural and economic values, among others. This round table is indeed an interesting proposal that FENAVIN has made in order to become acquainted with the opinions that some of our outstanding sports journalists have about the world of wine.