written by Boutinot’s Christina Cavender
In a landmark vote for DOCa Rioja’s Reglatory Council has elected there first female President. The vote comes short after the DOC celebrated its 100th Birthday. They have appointed Raquel Pérez Cuevas who had been the CEO of Bodegas Ontañón Familia since 2010.
From the village of Quel in Rioja Oriental, and the daughter of Gabriel Pérez Cuevas who founded Bodegas Ontañón, she is a 4th generation winemaker who studied oenology at the Universidad de La Rioja.
Whilst her brother Rubén is head winemaker, Raquel has been involved in her family’s winery since the beginning, gaining extensive business experience. She has also headed up the development of her family’s new estates in Ribera del Duero and Rueda.
“It’s an honour to be the first female president of the Regulatory Council – although I won’t be the only one… female presence in the world of wine is becoming more important every day, with more and more qualified women.”
As reported in Decanter, ‘During her four-year term as president, Pérez Cuevas will answer to more than 13,000 growers and nearly 600 wineries registered in the Rioja designation of origin. She’ll be tasked with leading Rioja through a tumultuous period. Overproduction and a decline in sales have caused both grape and bottle prices to plummet in the past several vintages, and many growers and producers fear a lack of generational continuity as fewer young people join the wine industry’. In her first speech as president she said:
“It’s important for me to be able to continue counting on all of you in this new era, where I would like to see dialogue, involvement, debate, unity – which is not the same as uniformity – and loyalty to the appellation that has made us who we are, so that Rioja continues to occupy the place it deserves in the world of wine.”
You can read more about this story on Decanter.com
Bodegas Ontañón Familia also own Rippa Dorri which produce their wines in Ribera del Duero and Rueda. We have long been fans of the Rippa Dorri Roble, and are excited to see how the winery continues to evolve.
A huge congratulation to Raquel Pérez Cuevas on her recent election!
