Inauguration of the exhibition "3000 years of Alicante wine culture"

The mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón, together with the Councilor for Culture, Antonio Quesada, the president of the Alicante Wine Denomination of Origin, Eladio Martín, and the president of the Cajamar Foundation, José Juan Reus, have inaugurated the Paseo Vista Alegre the outdoor traveling exhibition "3000 years of Alicante wine culture", organized by the Regulatory Council of the DOP Alicante together with the Torrevieja City Council and where the vast wine-growing tradition of the area is recreated through contemporary illustrations.

The story is told by three important illustrators born in Alicante: Erre Gálvez, a native of Elda; Miguel Calatayud, one of the emblematic Spanish illustrators, and Paula Alenda, each with their personal style and technique.

The DOP Alicante is one of the oldest in the world. The "Alicante" brand for wines made in this area has been known since ancient times, always associated with a certain quality and style. That makes the denomination have 90 years of recognition.

The verification of the existence of vineyards and wineries goes back thousands of years. And with them the fixation of a culture associated with this crop that together with the olive grove and the almond tree is the basis of an original Mediterranean diet and today also protected.

Amphoras, boats, exports, popular culture, trade unions, the bourgeoisie, recognition... The Alicante wine tradition is marked out by these suggestive themes and important milestones at all times.

Together with them today this culture is people, people, regions, valleys. It is monastrell, muscatel, Mediterranean, Vinalopó or Aitana. And a landscape to protect. A particularly sensitive sustainable crop. And a pleasure to taste with the rich and diverse gastronomy of Alicante.

Today, three generations of illustrators, with different styles and techniques, recreate this suggestive world and increase the historical heritage of more than 3,000 years of Alicante wine history.

Some 10,200 hectares of vineyards, some 2,200 viticulturists and nearly 45 wineries today form the Alicante Denomination of Origin.

Distributed in 7 comic production companies, which include landscapes protected by the regional government, and about 7 natural parks. The vineyard coexists with the almond and olive groves or with other fruit trees, hence the landscape is so different from the imaginary of wine in other countries. The towers of the castles coexist with the mountains near the sea that marks the influence of all the wines.

The soils are dry, calcareous and poor, but the result is vineyards capable of withstanding droughts or extreme temperatures in winter and summer. All survivors. The Alicante DOP Wines are therefore different, expressive, fruitful, suggestive. From the strength of a monastrell influenced by the sea; the softness of a light, aromatic muscatel; the tradition of sweet wines or the purity of a unique Fondillón.

The exhibition "3000 years of Alicante wine culture" will be on Paseo Vista Alegre until May 8.