An amazing welcome for Rioja’s new image in Mexico

This week Rioja presented its new global creative brand concept. Saber Quién Eres, in Mexico during the third edition of the Feast of Mexican Food and Rioja Wines.

The general public, the wine sector and the media all applauded the creativity of the campaign.

There are already more than 90 wineries exporting to Mexico, which, as a country, accounts for slightly more than 2% of Rioja’s total exports.

For the third year running, the DOCa Rioja organised the event known as the ‘Feast of Mexican Food and Rioja Wines’, a meeting where wines from the DOCa Rioja, along with Mexican gastronomy, were the main protagonists of this fusion of culinary and oenological culture.

The event also served to present the new global brand message, Saber Quién Eres, a polysemic concept that defines the identity and origins of the region and which, since March, has been rolled out in various key markets for the Designation of Origin, such as Spain, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. This action forms part of the Control Board’s ambitious promotional campaign in Mexico, a country that accounts for just over 2% of Rioja wine exports and is already being supplied by more than 90 wineries.

Hacienda de Los Morales was the chosen venue to host this gastronomic proposition, basing the experience on the pairing of ‘small plates’ from Mexican cuisine, with their typically exotic touches, with up to 30 Rioja wines specially selected for the occasion. The dinner was designed by Rioja Wine Educators Claudia Ibarra, Pilar Meré, Marcos Flores and Raúl Vega.

The presentation was attended by Spain’s ambassador to Mexico, Luis Fernández-Cid de las Alas Pumariño; the Economic and Trade Councillor, Jorge Mariné; the Councillor for Tourism, Isabel Alonso Piñar; the Councillor for Culture and Director of the Cultural Centre, Miguel Utray; and the deputy director of cultural promotion, Eva Bañuelos, who were keen not to miss out on this exceptional event. During the event there was also a live painting exhibition by Riojan artist Carlos Corres, the creator of the campaign’s visuals, who completed a painting featuring Rioja wine that the general director of the Control Board, José Luis Lapuente, presented to the Ambassador.

More than one hundred trade professionals and journalists applauded the creativity and slogan of the new global campaign. Lapuente remarked on “how the affection, appreciation and reverence that the Mexican market feels for Rioja wines never fails to surprise me,” and also explained the latest decisions taken by the Board that will “help to reinforce this trust and loyalty.”

The visit to Mexico was rounded off with a meeting at which the latest news and the campaign were presented to almost forty importers, who also considered the latest decisions taken by the Board to be “absolutely the right ones, and augur an even more promising future for Rioja in the Mexican market”, according to the Board’s general director.

Worth highlighting is the growing interest of Mexicans in wine, as demonstrated by the gradual increase in consumption per capita which goes hand-in-hand with greater knowledge about the product, also very closely linked to the significant presence of Rioja wines in the country. “Additional bonds such as the culture, language and lifestyle of Mexicans forge a sense of appreciation and belonging that transcend the wine itself,” claims José Luis Lapuente. This was very much corroborated in the various interviews that the Board’s representatives held with the city’s news media.

In addition to the general director of the Control Board, the campaign launch in Mexico was also attended by Iñigo Torres, the president of the Promotional Committee; Ricardo Aguiriano, marketing manager; and Rebeca Gómez, from the international marketing department.