From Fitur to Madrid Fusion from one day to the next almost by magic. Ifema in the capital of Spain was transformed from a gigantic travel agency, the tourism fair that ended last Sunday, into a world gastronomy scene since Monday. Wines from the six Denominations of Origin (DO) of Tenerife opened the XXI edition of this international showcase of smells and flavors with a masterly tasting. The president of the Island Council, Pedro Martín, highlighted “the great variety of our wines and the quality of the products of the island’s primary sector, which cannot compete in production, but in originality and diversity.”
Tenerife wines inaugurated the Madrid Fusión 2023 International Gastronomy Congress in the Wine Edition national space with a guided tasting by the winemakers of each DO. 45 professionals from restaurants, oenology, sommeliers and specialized journalists participated.
Whites, reds or Malvasías.
Attendees enjoyed wines such as Los Loros Listán Blanco under the direction of Juan Francisco Fariña (DO Valle de Güímar); A clean slate, an aromatic malvasia, with Ángela Delgado (DO Abona); Origin 1989, by the hand of Francisco Borja de Mesa, from Bodega El Lomo (PDO Islas Canary Islands); sustainable selection red wine, whose guide was Yaiza Álvarez Pérez, from Bodegas Insulares de Tenerife (DO Tacoronte-Acentejo); Los Pasitos, with the added value of the teaching of Jonatan García, from the Suertes del Marqués winery (DO Valle de La Orotava) and, finally, Blanco Vidueño, with Borja Pérez (DO Ycoden Daute Isora) as the protagonist.
It is an ideal setting to show new products and thus support the primary sector
Variety and quality.
Pedro Martín highlighted «the great variety and the highest quality of Tenerife wines. He stressed the strength of “our own flavors marked by our different climates, unique grape varieties and volcanic soils.” The Island has its own space of 350 square meters in this prestigious annual congress, the largest of all the attending destinations. It will meet until tomorrow gastronomic media, travel agencies, tour operators, hospitality professionals, sommeliers and purchasing managers of companies and restaurants.
Martín glossed the objectives in this forum: «To value the good that we have in Tenerife and that our gastronomy becomes an element of economic revitalization». He added: “This congress is a magnificent setting to value our products so that they are later in demand and want to be discovered, and that is to support the primary sector.”
Tenerife has also prepared an ambitious program with breakfasts, lunches, snacks and themed workshops. Go to the appointment with a selection of the best products of its primary sector such as wines, fresh meats, honey, cheeses, avocados, potatoes and sweet potatoes or fruits such as mangoes.
The insular Councilor for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Javier Parrilla, for his part, highlighted the opening for the second consecutive year of the Wine Tunnel, which this year has 75 square meters and will offer, throughout the three days of congress and uninterrupted hours, the tasting of 44 of the great wines of the Island.
The tunnel of success.
Parrilla assessed: “The Wine Tunnel has been one of the most visited places on this first day.” The insular director of Tourism, Laura Castro, defends that “Tenerife is a diverse territory with immense natural wealth and our unique gastronomic offer adds incalculable value to the image as a leading tourist destination.” The Tenerife Tourism Minister, David Pérez, recalled that this year everything will revolve around the circular economy, “on how to make the gastronomic ecosystem more sustainable, fair and equitable”.
The nerve center.
The Tenerife stall, also a dining room and tasting room, was inaugurated with a harvest breakfast accompanied by Bodegas Monje. The activity continued at noon with an interactive talk on gastronomy and tradition by chefs Seve Díaz (El Taller de Seve Díaz), Iván Casimiro (El Rebojo), and Fabián Torres and Mario Torres (El Calderito de la abuela, Donde Mario and La Bodeguita). The lunch, dedicated to The origins of the cuisine of the North of Tenerife, featured a menu prepared by the restaurants Mesón del Norte, El Rebojo, El Mortero and Casa Egón. During the snack there was a tasting of cheeses accompanied by wines (DO Valle de La Orotava and Ycoden Daute Isora).
Chef Diana Marcelino, from El secreto de Chimiche, gave a presentation in the afternoon entitled The goat, a gastronomic and sustainable metaphor for Tenerife, in which she showed the importance of this animal in tradition, its evolution, transversality, sustainability and infinite possibilities culinary.
