Alejandro Fernández, named ‘Honorary Winemaker’ by the Castilla y León Wine Academy.

The founder of Pesquera received the distinction in Valladolid on 3rd May

As explained by Manuel Rodríguez de la Iglesia, chairman of the Castilla y León Wine Academy, this institution was founded 22 years ago, when the grape and wine-making sector in the region could only lay claim to one or two great bodegas, renowned both at home and abroad. Objectively, Alejandro Fernández, by creating Tinto Pesquera and with its subsequent expansion, was one of the foremost promoters of the good reputation that the Castilian-Leonese wines now enjoy around the world. Thus, the Medal of Honour and the appointment as ‘Honorary Winemaker’ awarded by the Academy is fair acknowledgement for many years’ hard work.

At the ceremony held in Valladolid, the same honour was awarded to former Prime Minister José María Aznar who, in his speech, emphasised the need to defend the grape and wine-making sector and highlighted the profound change that the region’s wine sector has undergone in the last 20 years. “When I governed in Castilla y León, the bodegas were quite unimportant with the exception of a prominent few”, he stated. Together with Aznar, the ex-president of the Regional Government of Castilla y León and deputy Speaker of the Senate, Juan José Lucas, and the Mayor of Valladolid, Javier León de la Riva, also attended the awards ceremony.

Other outstanding grape and wine-making entrepreneurs, such as David Álvarez, Benjamín Pérez Pascuas, Fidel Arzuaga, José Luis Solaguren and Eduardo Santos, as well as a chef, two film industry representatives and Manuel Juliá, chairman of FENAVIN (Spanish Wine National Trade Fair), were also acknowledged as ‘Honorary Winemakers’ by the Academy. The prize, which is awarded to ten celebrities around the world every year, is granted for “an outstanding contribution to wine and soil culture”.

After the ceremony, Alejandro Fernández presented José María Aznar with a magnum bottle of Pesquera 1996, a gift that without doubt the former PM, a self-confessed wine lover, will know how to appreciate.