Yesterday evening professionals from the hospitality industry gathered at the Casino Mediterraneo in Benidorm for the 4th Champagne & Cava Fair. The annual event was organized by Fransisco Cano, President of the Federation of Sommeliers in the Valencian region. 28 different bodegas, wineries and suppliers showcased over 100 different products, which were all available to sample in preparation for the festive season – which will quickly be upon us!
The suppliers were predominantly Spanish such as Grupo Freixenet, Bodegas Hispanosuizas, Juve y Camps and a bakery which supplies nibbles, but there was also a selection of real French Champagne and Italian Spumanti – the equivalent of our Spanish Cava. Experts from the bodegas were able to talk about the grape varieties, blends and flavours, thus helping those that have to sell and recommend the wines to their customers a greater depth of knowledge.
There was a heavy presence from the Catalonia region, which is where the world´s number one sparkling wine comes from – Freixenet. Most people recognize Cordon Negro by the distinctive matt black bottle which has been around for over 150 years and is available at every supermarket in Spain and in the UK – although significantly cheaper here! The suppliers were taking orders from restaurants, hotels and bars and you could even purchase any favourites you had tasted to take away with you.
Gema Amor, Councillor for Tourism and Sebastian Fernandez, Tourism Minister for the Valencian Region both attended and spoke with many of the participants –also sampling some of the wines on offer. In her speech Gema said that Benidorm was proud to host the event and that it was a great opportunity for professionals to learn about new products on offer.
This was the first trade fair hosted in the upstairs function room of the Casino since it opened in the Summer and was a great success - hopefully the first of many more. It certainly showed that Benidorm is an ideal location for such corporate events, with over 700 attending. The casino downstairs is open 7 days a week, from 10am but remember that you must bring photo ID to enter and no shorts allowed.
