Wine & Culture Commission makes first decisions

THE Vicepresident and Minister for Institutional Relations, Rosa Estarás, presided over the first constitution session of the Balearic Island Wine & Culture Commission yesterday. The aim of the Wine & Culture Commission is to boost the sales and promotion of the local wine. This new commission is made up of Ministers for Industry, Commerce, Energy, Agriculture and Fishing, as well as the Director Generals for Environmental Quality, Coastline, Planning and Tourism Organisation. It also has the support from representatives from local councils, Chamber of Commerce and local wine companies. In this first ever meeting, the Commission decided to hold meetings every three months which will be used “to agree actions, policies and strategies which will help to improve the production quality and sales”, said Rosa Estarás. Although the Balearic wine quality is of a very high standard, currently “production is greater than sales”, she quoted as the main problem which faces the wine industry. Therefore, the wine sector needs to “invest in marketing and image”, the Minister added. As a result, the first decision of the Commission is to “ask the Ministry for Agriculture and Fishing to carry out a study” in order to determine “the current sector conditions, grape offerings and wine demands”. In October the Commission will develop the measures to take with the results from the study.