Wine Law

BRIEF NOTES ON VENEZUELAN WINE LAW 515 It should also be mentioned the Centro Vitícola del Zulia, created in 1977 in order to “carry out research aimed at optimising the farming of grapes and the search for alternatives for its products” 21 . This centre has specialists from Spain, the United States, Germany and Italy and currently produces Viñas del Sol wine Finally, the perhaps most important initiative in Venezuela crystallised with Bodegas Pomar, created in 1985 by Empresas Polar, in collaboration with Casa Martell in France, being “the first winery producing wines on a commercial scale, in Venezuela and the tropics; made with grapes from their own vineyards, located in Altagracia (Carora), Lara state” 22 . After several studies in different Venezuelan regions, Carora has been a chosen place for its climatic and soil conditions. Of the 22 grape wine varieties of high lineage brought from Europe, with which the tests were carried out, Bodegas Pomar works today with eight, which have “sprouted with vigor: Syrah from Côtes du Rhone, Petit Verdot from Bordeaux, Tempranillo from La Rioja, Sauvignon from Bordeaux, Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley, Macabeu from Penedés, Malvoisie from Languedoc-Roussillion and Muscat D’Petit from Frontignan” 23 . Bodegas Pomar has state-of-the-art technology and specialists in field and winery work, which combine with a hand-made harvest: “one by one, the bunches are harvested in special baskets and quickly transported to the winery, where they are vinified, immediately” 24 . Pomar wines are of high invoice and have been awarded in numerous international competitions 25 . 21 Source: http://elvinoenvenezuelahotelescuela.blogspot.com/2018/04/normal-0-21-false-false-false-es- x-none.html; according to its document of incorporation, its objective is research and provide technical assistance to farmers and industrialists, producers and processors of grapes harvested by themselves or through third parties. 22 Source : http://www.bodegaspomar.com.ve/conocenos/historia. 23 Source : http://www.bodegaspomar.com.ve/conocenos/capital-de-la-uva. 24 Vanessa Gómez, spokesperson for the Communications Management of Empresas Polar, in: https://revistaelconocedor.com/lo-tropical-tiene-sus-encantos-vinos-y-vinedos-venezolanos/. 25 “Viña Altagracia hung her first gold medal at the VII World Wine Competition in 1992 in Brussels. Both medals – gold and bronze – were won by Viña Altagracia and Pomar Brut at the Challenge International du Vin Blaye-Bourg that year. Both were raised again in 1993 with gold and bronze, respectively, in the framework of the famous Vinexpo. In 1994, at the most famous wine competition in France, the jury awarded Pomar Reserva the golden crown. Once again Viña Altagracia prevails in France over the best European wines, with Silver, in 1997. Pomar Reserva had a great mention at the VI International Oenological Contest of the World Fair of Liquors and Wines of Italy in 1998. Pomar Brut repeated in Verona with the highest laurel and was awarded the silver of Vinalies in 2000. Eight medals for our great vintage guarantee the competitiveness of our wines on a world scale. Gold and silver medals respectively crowned our premium wines Pomar Petit Verdot 2008 and Pomar Tempranillo 2008 in the seventeenth- seventh edition of the Sélections Mondiales competition held in Quebec, Canada, in 2010. In that edition of the competition, 1,789 wines from more than 600 wineries were presented”; in: http://www.bodegaspomar.com.ve/conocenos/medallas.