SEMINCI will toast to the 40th anniversary of Ribera del Duero

Ribera del Duero is Gold Sponsor of the major international film festival held in Valladolid

The reds, whites and rosés of the Designation of Origin will be the official wines of the 67th edition of the competition, which will take place from 22 to 29 October

The DO will give exclusive personalised bottles to all VIP guests at SEMINCI. In addition, Karra Elejalde will receive his weight in wine

Valladolid is getting ready to celebrate a new edition of Seminci, the most important independent and auteur film festival in Spain and one of the most important in the world. In this 67th edition, the Ribera Spirit will once again be present to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Designation of Origin in an exceptional combination of culture, cinema and talent.

The wines of Ribera del Duero, Gold sponsor of the Valladolid International Film Week, will once again be the official wines of the festival. A large selection of reds, whites and rosés, from more than seventy wineries, will be the stars of the opening and closing parties, the director’s cocktails, official dinners and lunches and VIP meetings. But wine will be present throughout Seminci. There will be parallel events paired with Ribera del Duero, special prizes and an exclusive space for guests to enjoy, the Ribera Space.

A Seminci with a lot of Ribera Spirit

Seminci will once again have a special edition of Ribera del Duero red wine, dressed with an exclusive label commemorating the 67th edition of the event. A bottle that guests will receive in their welcome pack, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the DO.

On Saturday 22 October, on the opening day of the festival, the Espacio Ribera will open its doors, a place with exclusive access for the festival’s VIP attendees, where they can enjoy a selection of wines from Ribera del Duero wineries. A corner where cinema and wine go hand in hand, where interviews, meetings and presentations are also held. And where national and international celebrities enjoy the moments of relaxation that their busy schedules leave them.  

On this occasion, wines from Martín Berdugo, Emilio Moro, Avelino Vegas, Piedras de San Pedro, Resalte, Santiago Arroyo, Valparaíso, Bardos, Neo, Tamaral, Protos, Vega Clara, Viña Arnáiz and Dominio Fournier wineries will be served in the Espacio Ribera. 

 Ribera del Duero will once again give personalised bottles to all the VIP guests at the event, in an exclusive single-edition format. Special editions for the national and international productions presented at the show, inspired by the image of each film or documentary. Or exclusive bottles whose label follows the professional career of the protagonist. A luxury gift that all Seminci guests will receive, with which Ribera del Duero recognises their talent and commitment to art.

The charismatic and brilliant Karra Elejalde, who is presenting two films at the 67th Seminci, will receive his weight in wine from DO wineries. A prize that presents this renowned and beloved actor with a hundred bottles of red, white and rosé from the wineries San Andrés Coop, Grupo Yllera, Nabal, Piedras de San Pedro, Resalte, Santiago Arroyo, Servilio Arranz, Thesaurus, Vega de Yuso, Valdrinal, Martín Berdugo, Finca Rodman, Sarmentero, Nexus, Protos, Valtoñar and Vega Clara.

In addition, Ribera del Duero will once again sponsor the Ribera del Duero Award for Best Direction, endowed with 6,000 euros.

The gastronomy of Valladolid and Ribera del Duero, together in Seminci

The opening and closing parties of Seminci incorporate for the first time a Ribera del Duero wine bar, offering guests the opportunity to enjoy an exquisite selection of red, white and rosé wines from the wineries Martín Berdugo, Viña Arnáiz, Piedras de San Pedro, Restalte, Bardos, Dominio Fournier, Chapourtier, Bela, Vegaclara, Emilio Moro, Marqués de Valparaíso and Neo. 

Premium dinners will also be held on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday at Suite 22 Restaurant, with the presence of the most distinguished guests of each day, paired with wines from Neo, Martín Berdugo, Santiago Arroyo, Sarmentero, Aalto, Piedras de San Pedro, Resalte, Tamaral, Convento Oreja, Vega Clara, Viña Arnáiz, Viña Mambrilla and Emilio Moro.

Lunches and dinners for juries, filmmakers’ forums and director’s lunches, which will take place at Restaurante Ángela, Don Bacalao, Los Zagales, La Mafia, Gabino and Herbe, will also be paired with great wines from Ribera del Duero wineries. Red, white and rosé wines courtesy of wineries Martín Berdugo, Ribón, Avelino Vegas, Coop. San Andrés, Ismael Arroyo, Nabal, Piedras de San Pedro, Servilio Arranz, Convento Oreja, Dominio Fournier, Protos, Señorío de Bocos, Marqués de Valparaíso, Neo and Viña Arnáiz.

Among the many parallel activities, the Cine Gourmet section of Seminci, also supported by Ribera del Duero, is yet to be discovered. In addition, the DO is a sponsor of Bigas Lunas’ Twenty Years of Jamón Jamón Commemorative Exhibition, which will open in Valladolid and tour several Spanish cities.

Ribera del Duero and Seminci have been walking together for twelve years now. A very well-matched marriage that proves that cinema and wine are a perfect marriage. In the words of Miguel Sanz, Director General of the DO, “Seminci is a benchmark as a film festival, but also as an event that promotes the cultural, gastronomic and oenological wealth of Castilla y León. Every guest who attends the festival becomes an ambassador for this land. It is a luxury for the DO Ribera del Duero to be part of Seminci, to be a fundamental ingredient of all those who confirm it as a unique event. Because the Valladolid International Film Festival is much more than cinema”.

Ribera del Duero: 40 years toasting with great wines

It was on 21 July 1982 when the first Ribera del Duero regulations were signed at the El Retiro metro station in Madrid. This was the birth of a Designation of Origin that at the time brought together a dozen wineries and a hundred winegrowers. The commitment of the local people, winegrowers and cooperatives, together with the support of the local and provincial institutions of the time, gave impetus to a dream that today is a consolidated reality: a unique region producing great wines acclaimed throughout the international arena. Since its birth, Ribera del Duero has been pioneering, courageous, vibrant, dynamic and enterprising. As early as the 1990s, the wineries promoted the revolutionary young oak wines, a choice applauded by consumers. Looking for new forms of expression, Ribera del Duero’s professionals are experts in the art of ageing, experimenting with ageing times and creating wines outside the traditional categories, being today one of the most creative and diverse regions in the world.

The Denomination of Origin’s catalogue of reds, whites and rosés offers the opportunity to enjoy all kinds of wines, from those with a more classic tendency to those with more innovative profiles, all of them expressing the character of a unique terroir. And the fact is that the winemakers and oenologists are true masters in seeking out the potential and the different expressions of the main varieties of Ribera del Duero, the Albillo Mayor and the Tinta del País.

Ribera del Duero is a benchmark Designation of Origin, a pioneer in its commitment to culture, in its links with cinema, music and art. The Control Board has been a forerunner in actions aimed at the youngest consumers, breaking down barriers that seemed insurmountable, becoming the first DO to sponsor a music festival (Sonorama Ribera), the first to introduce specific wine bars at large events, starting a path of success that has broken down walls that seemed insurmountable for the world of wine. Ribera del Duero has also created a benchmark literary competition, the most prestigious in the world for short stories in Spanish. The Ribera del Duero International Prize is about to reach its seventh edition, with the satisfaction of having become a springboard for writers from all over the world.

The Control Board’s association with film festivals such as Seminci, the International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia in Sitges, or the Feroz Awards, its commitment to heritage conservation and research, supporting the Atapuerca Foundation and the University of Valladolid and the Pintia Archaeological Site, is an example of Ribera del Duero’s commitment to history, to society and to the future. The Control Board is also involved in everything related to the protection and care of the environment, the wineries being a model of sustainability, with responsible viticulture that minimises environmental impact and integrates with the environment.

Ribera del Duero is an example of sustainable viticulture, oenology and production, of commitment to nature, to consumers and to the legacy of future generations. In the words of Master of Wine Tim Atkin, “Ribera del Duero is one of the most outstanding success stories in the world of wine. Not everything is perfect, but we must admit that in just four decades it has achieved impressive things. And the best is yet to come.