The president of the Regulatory Council of the Rioja Qualified Denomination (DOCa Rioja) Fernando Ezquerro has reported that the Denomination will file an administrative appeal against the decision of the Basque Government to give the green light to the registration of 'Viñedos de Álava'. According to Ezquerro, 98,4% of the council has supported this initiative alone from the Rioja Alavesa Winery Association (ABRA), which is the promoter of 'Viñedos de Álava', and has voted against it. This group has only one representative (3 votes) on the regulatory council out of a total of 16 voices (100 votes). Yes, there have been two abstentions, corresponding to Araex and UAGA.
Ezquerro has defended that "all the resources that are necessary to defend the integrity of the Rioja Qualified Denomination and the goodwill that this brand generates in the last 97 years" will continue. In this sense, he explained that this first administrative appeal goes directly against the decision of the executive shared by the PNV and the Basque Socialists in Vitoria to endorse the split of the Rioja Alavesa. The president of the Rioja regulatory council has acknowledged that, in the event of a negative ruling, they will go to the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque Country (TSJPV).
In this sense, he also lamented that the 'Viñedos de Álava' initiative is already doing "harm" to the Denomination and believes that "it is not good for the brand position that Rioja has in the world". Ezquerro has said that "we are talking about a population in Rioja Alavesa of just 12.000 inhabitants, in a Denomination that is going to generate a value of 1.500 million euros and, transferred to the area, is a third, 500 million euros".
“Political decisions and indecisions”
The head of the regulatory council, has defended that the sector generates in the Alava area of the Denomination an income per capita of practically 40.000 euros higher than the average of the Basque Country and the restaurant of Spain. For Ezquerro, behind all of the above, there are "political decisions and indecisions that are causing damage that we hope will not be irreparable."
Regarding the presence of Víctor Oroz, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Policy of the Basque Country, he has assured that he has tried to be "aseptic" in his statements on this subject. In this line, the president of the regulatory council has highlighted that there is "a large part of the winegrowers and wineries in the area who felt aggrieved by this initiative."
