Wine Law

LEGAL PROFILE OF THE IMPORT, PRODUCTION AND MARKETING 429 presence of 40 wineries and 13 companies – both Cuban and foreign –, and brought together producers, specialists, traders, distributors and sellers from the gastronomic and wine sector, as well as companies and wineries like UCSA Freixenet S.A., DITALIA, Export-Duprasa S.L., CAMAX Chile, Havana Club International S.A., Miguel Torres, Joan Sardá, Catachile, EUROCUBA, Bodegas Melgarajo, Modas Artesanías Panamá S.A. and Brisan Exportaciones International S.A. Bodegas Joan Sardá is one of the foreign companies present in Cuba since the first edition of the festival; located in Penedés (near Barcelona), the company presents a catalogue of high-end products, as well as cavas and selections of reserve cavas that are at least 20 years old. Present on the wine lists of Cuba’s main restaurants and hotels, the wines of Alejandro Fernández Mauro, a prestigious Spanish wine, and Viña Morandé from Chile were promoted during the 19 th edition of the International Wine Festival 20 . Another of the founding houses of the International Wine Festival is Bodegas Torres, which, in the Festival’s 19 th edition, presented Argentinean wines that have been reincorporated, into the Cuban market, new labels for Torres’ wines (Pulgatori from the Costers del Segre Denomination of Origin) and the sparkling Vardon Kennett. The winery itself, whose founder, Jaime Torres, seeking his fortune, visited Cuba in 1855, presented during the Festival the app for tablets called Be Wine , a programme designed for the growth of wine culture in Cuba 21 . Still on the 19th edition of the Fiesta Internacional del Vino , the company Havana Club International S.A. presented products of the Campo Viejo brand, which are part of the portfolio of the French partner of that firm, Pernod Ricard. These are the Campo Viejo Tempranillo and Cava Brut Reserva wines, as well as Reserva and Gran Reserva, available in the domestic market. The growth of the wine culture in Cuba in the last decades is not only related to the tourist sector and the public initiatives for the import of wines and the organisation of events. Together with the aforementioned local production and marketing of artisanal wines, the role of the private sector (so-called self- employment) should be mentioned, which, since the end of the 1990s and during the last few years, has made notable progress in sectors such as the hotel and catering industry. The opening of Cuba to international tourism and the existence of numerous manifestations of individual or cooperative 20 LÓPEZ PINO, Maite, “Fiesta Internacional del Vino: Bodegas Joan Sardà y su amor por Cuba”, Excelencias Gourmet , 8-7-2018. 21 LÓPEZ PINO, Maite, “Bodegas Torres presenta aplicación digital en XIX Fiesta Internacional del Vino”, in Excelencias Gourmet , 4-10-2018.