The strict safety protocols that had to be implemented due to COVID-19 complicated the logistics in the field and at the wineries during “an atypical harvest that will be remembered as a safe one in which the only common objective was to protect the health of the seasonal workers, employees and visitors”, stated José Luis Lapuente, the General Director of the Control Board. “At a critical moment such as the 2020 harvest it was absolutely necessary to design protocols that would establish safe processes and, in turn, guarantee the producers’ readiness for their tasks.”
“These safety protocols have also been implemented in the laboratories and vineyards, where the isolation of the working groups through shifts has become widespread, creating bubbles of individuals who don’t share spaces or working schedules”, explained Lapuente, who highlighted the alignment that has arisen among the various agents, including the public administrations and the various producers of the Designation.
“We’ve worked with a huge degree of professionalism”, emphasised Pablo Franco, the Director of the Control Body, on whose behalf he congratulated the Rioja winemaking industry for the great efforts made by the Designation’s 14,800 vine growers and 600 wineries, as well as the 200 technical and auxiliary employees who worked for the Control Board during the harvest.
