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St. Sebastian, December 19,
The wine from terraces becomes the center of debate in a conference with national and international experts in which the aim is to position the island in the European ranking of heroic viticulture. Casimiro Curbelo, and the Minister of Tourism, Yaiza Castilla, coincide in pointing out at the I International Symposium on Uva Forastera the great opportunity it represents to keep rural areas alive and diversify the insular economic model
The forastera grape and the wine from the terraces were established today as an element that generates great expectations for the local economy and for sustainable tourism from the environmental and social point of view that characterizes La Gomera. It was on the first day of the I International Symposium on Uva Forastera Gomera y Vino de Bancales that will be held until tomorrow in San Sebastián de La Gomera, organized by Turismo de Canarias, together with the Cabildo and the Chair of Agrotourism and Wine Tourism of the Canary Islands of the University of La Laguna, with the aim of promoting the training, the conservation of traditions and the promotion of a unique local product and that can be a great prescriptive element of the tourist destination of La Gomera. The Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla, and the president of the Island Council, Casimiro Curbelo, were in charge of inaugurating this meeting in which regional, national and international speakers participate. The academic and expert level already allows for the prestige of the island’s wine model, through a differentiated and high-value product and for which the island aspires to occupy a prominent role on the map of Spanish and European regions of heroic viticulture. Its guarantees are a landscape formed by the hand of man since the fifteenth century and a characteristic grape, the forastera, considered one of the oldest vines in Europe. This project is part of the Plan for the Promotion and Promotion of Tourism of the North of La Gomera, promoted by Turismo de Canarias, in collaboration with the Cabildo, and one of its main objectives is, precisely, the recovery of terraces, vineyards and wineries, and the rejuvenation of the people who dedicate themselves to these trades.In In her speech, Yaiza Castilla recalled that in 2020 the Northern La Gomera Tourism Revitalization Plan was launched, “to work on the tourism we want, such as the one represented by heroic viticulture a de la isla “. She explained that” this strategy that we developed has a double benefit: it keeps our rural areas alive and diversifies our economic model, at the same time that it attracts the tourist of the 21st century. A tourist who seeks a unique experience in his travels, who yearns to integrate into the local community and learn about and consume its products, because what moves him, what inspires him is that his trip is productive and that it not only benefits him, but also to the society of the place you visit”. The president of the Cabildo, Casimiro Curbelo, highlighted the singularities of the foreigner grape and its capacity as a tourist attraction, in a context in which the island’s wines have been gaining in quality and ability to boost the local economy, “even with the difficulties that the rugged insular orography marks in the development of the wine activity”. In this sense, he valued the work that the Regulatory Council of the Denomination of Origin and the fourteen wineries that make it up, “and that are the real testimony of women and men who contribute to the excellence of our agri-food products”. In addition, he pointed out the opportunity that the implementation of the main strategic lines of the Revitalization Plan for the North of La Gomera, “which has come to strengthen the economy of rural areas, through the consolidation of the product as a tourist attraction, not only the foreign grape, but also the terraces and the whistle rubber”. For this reason, he appealed to continue on this path and create synergies with other territories of Macaronesia to face common challenges. The General Director of Tourism Planning and Promotion of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ciprián Rivas, who also spoke at the opening of this meeting, highlighted that “this initiative proposes promoting the terraces, not only in La Gomera, but in the entire Canary Islands, due to the high value they have from a landscape and orographic point of view”. “The recovery of heritage through the terraces and publicizing the foreign grape from La Gomera generates an economy for the island and recovers lost trades such as agriculture and stone carving that make people loyal to the territory,” he continued. The symposium brings together up to tomorrow on the island representatives of heroic viticulture and terraces from France, Italy and Portugal who share their experiences in this type of cultivation in steep places during these two days. In this way, the Denominations of Origin of the Ribeira Sacra, Ribera del Duero, or the Ribeira del Alto Douro of Portugal will be present and with the representations of the Azores and Madeira, denominations of origin and wine-growing areas of international reference. La Gomera intends to open a necessary debate on this singularity to put it into circulation as a tourist attraction, as other areas present in the symposium are already doing.
Contact Contact name: Raúl Vega Contact description: Contact telephone number: 928915133
