Albacete was once again the chosen venue for a new edition of the DO Almansa Conference: ‘Discover a frontier of flavours’. This past Monday, June 3rd, the event took place during the whole day, starting in the morning with an informative table that continued with a showcooking with DO Almansa wines.
In the afternoon, a showroom was held by all the wineries that make up the DO Almansa, followed by a gala in which awards were presented both to the wines that will represent the DO in 2024 and to the people and institutions that have contributed to the development and growth of the DO Almansa.
The conference kicked off at Casa Perona by Adolfo Cano, president of DO Almansa, who highlighted the importance of ‘repeating a new edition of this conference to promote our DO Almansa and our wines’. Adolfo Cano underlined that ‘we have a huge projection, because we are sure that our DO Almansa has the growth potential to exceed 10 million bottles’.
The presentation of the conference was also attended by the delegate of the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha in Albacete, Pedro Antonio Ruiz Santos, and the provincial delegate for Agriculture, Ramón Sáez. Both highlighted the great potential and recognition that DO Almansa wines are having and the exports of their wines at an international level.
Information Day: ‘The D.O. Almansa and possible tools for growth’.
The morning day of talks counted with 5 speakers of excellent level, starting with the intervention of Mari Beni del Rey (field technician in Tintoralba), Diana Granados (director of the Tierra de Viñedos Foundation), Concepción Villegas (Technician of the Wine and Food Promotion Department of IPEX- CLM) and Carmen Díaz Maroto (Manager of Tourism and Crafts Promotion of CLM- Eturia).
The morning session ended with a showcooking by the +Ideas Restaurant in Higueruela. In it, the chef Antonio González presented 4 dishes paired with DO Almansa wines.
Success and great reception of the wineries’ showroom
During the afternoon showroom organised at the Casino Primitivo in Albacete, the DO Almansa wineries presented their wines to professionals and the public, with more than 200 people in attendance, who were able to taste the quality of DO Almansa wines and the types of wines produced in our production area.
At the end of the showroom, the Gala of the D.O. Almansa took place as the end of the conference. On this occasion, the communicator Joaquín Tomás was the master of ceremonies in charge of the speeches and presentation of the most outstanding pillars of our DO Almansa. He revealed the names of the wines that will represent the DO Almansa in all the promotional actions to be carried out in 2024, in the red, white and rosé categories. The wines were selected in the blind tasting held by professionals of the sector last May in Almansa:
- Best white wine: Cueva del Chamán Sauvignon Blanc 2023 – Bodega Santa Cruz de Alpera.
- Best Crianza white wine: Hoya Mañas Sauvignon Blanc 2022 – Bodegas Cano.
- Best rosé wine: Altitud 1100 2023 – Tintoralba.
- Best young red wine with Garnacha Tintorera base: Cueva del Chamán 2023 – Bodega Santa Cruz de Alpera.
- Best Monastrell red wine with more than 6 months of barrel ageing: Cueva del Chamán Monastrell 2022 – Bodega Santa Cruz de Alpera.
- Best Garnacha Tintorera with more than 6 months of barrel ageing: PURE Santa Cruz 2022 – Bodega Santa Cruz de Alpera.
Afterwards, various awards were presented to personalities and institutions that have contributed to the growth and expansion of our DO Almansa. The role of Globalcaja as a collaborating entity was acknowledged. The emotional recognition of Juan Aparicio, who passed away last March, for his contribution to the agricultural development of the region during so many years of work in Tintoralba, stood out.
Winemaker Pedro Sarrión was also recognised for his professional career as one of the most outstanding winemakers in Castilla-La Mancha and for his work with Garnacha Tintorera wines. Furthermore, the fundamental role played by Bodegas Piqueras over the decades and its contribution to the development of the DO Almansa was also recognised.
Adolfo Cano warned of the ‘drought that is affecting the countryside and vineyards of DO Almansa’.
Adolfo Cano, president of DO Almansa, closed the event, saying ‘we would like to thank all the attendees, people and companies who attended the gala as well as the winners of this new DO Almansa Conference. We look forward to sharing many more moments with you over a glass of wine and, if possible, a glass of Garnacha Tintorera”.
Adolfo Cano also wanted to emphasise the ‘urgent situation that the countryside is going through due to the drought and the lack of rain that we have been experiencing in recent months. The southeast of the province of Albacete is drying up. We have had 100 litres since the 1st January and we can see that the vineyards could be lost if the situation continues like this. We need water to maintain the vineyards or we run the risk of disappearing”.
