GLOBAL NETWORK OF GREAT WINE CAPITALS AND LARGE VINEYARDS
Since October 2003, Bilbao-Rioja has been a part of a network of a select group of Great Wine Capitals and large vineyards, together with Bordeaux, Christchurch-South Island, Cape Town, Florence, Magunica, Mendoza, Oporto and San Francisco-Napa Valley.
This is a project involving international cooperation with the objective of linking large economic capitals located in prominent, world renowned wine-producing areas. Based on a common culture and the worldwide opportunities afforded by the wine trade, each member city both proposes and seeks out economic, cultural, tourism and academic initiatives via this network. The “Bilbao-Rioja” project is led by the Chamber of Commerce of Bilbao (province of Bizkaia) and the respective Chambers of Commerce of the three provinces integrated in the prestigious qualified designation of origin, Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja, namely La Rioja, Alava and Navarre, along with the Association of Growers and Exporters of Rioja Wine and the City of Bilbao. With wine as the common denominator for all of cities involved, this cooperation aims to establish an advantageous network of ties between these cities, and in all sectors of activity.
In October 2004, Bilbao was host city for the 5th Annual General Meeting of the Global Network of Great Wine Capitals and Large Vineyards. A number of activities were organised for this event, among which and of interest from the point of view of tourism, was to invite leading journalists and tour operators of each of the member cities. The objective of this invitation to the AGM was to familiarise them with Basque culture, architecture, cuisine, and the regional wine of course, apart from so much more. With a view to creating projects of mutual interest, this move promotes bi-lateral business relations between the tour operators of the visiting cities and Basque inbound tour operators.
The high point of the AGM was the “Best Of” award ceremony, awarded for wine-growing tourism in which eight awards were handed out, one for each wine-growing zone, in recognition of the best wine-growing and tourism infrastructures. The international competition “Best Of Wine Tourism” prize is intended to acknowledge the outstanding wineries of each member city in terms of the excellence of their facilities. Since its inception, of the 2,099 nominations, 309 wineries have received an award in the various categories, from art and culture to sustainability in wine tourism and sharing quality experiences with the public. For more information about the “Best Of” prizes and Great Wine Capitals in general, please visit their website: www.greatwinecapitals.com.