The Control Board Plenary Assembly will consist of 32 members acting in representation of 8 organizations: 3 cooperative organizations, 3 agricultural organizations and 5 organizations from the wine-producing sector. The President of FECOAR (Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives), Fernando Ezquerro, has been appointed as Chairman of the Control Board for the next 4 years
On Monday 21 June, a ceremony was held to induct the new sector representatives and to officially appoint the members of the Governing Board of the Rioja Wine Interprofessional Organization. Consequently, the DOCa Rioja Control Board, whose composition remains unchanged, is duly constituted for a new 4-year term under the chairmanship of Fernando Ezquerro.
The curtain comes down on the chairmanship term of the longest serving member of the Control Board, Fernando Salamero, who has served as chairman for the past four years and who joined the Control Board in 1982. During his farewell speech Salamero said that “this period has been intense and I will never forget our achievements such as the introduction of new geographical indications, the progress made in the field of quality control, the revamp of our promotional campaigns and the launch of a new Strategic Plan”.
The new chairman, Fernando Ezquerro, assumes the chairmanship of the Control Board having been a member since 2008. He is also the president of FECOAR (Federation of Agriculural Cooperatives). Born in the town of Autol, Mr. Ezquerro manages the cooperative winery of Marqués de Reinosa. He has extensive experience in the management of the Designation, given that he contributed to strategic decisions regarding the configuration of the current Rioja model, and has also represented FECOAR and the Technical and Control Committee in the last few years, as spokesman and chairman respectively.
The event was attended by representatives of several authorities including the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the three Autonomous Communities across which the Designation extends.
Ever since the Control Board was initially established on 11 January 1927 under the chairmanship of Enrique Herreros, the position has subsequently been occupied by Antonio Larrea (1945-1971), Eugenio Narvaiza (1971-1982), Santiago Coello (1982-1992), Angel de Jaime Baró (1992-2004), Víctor Pascual (2004-2013), Luis Alberto Lecea (2013-2015), José María Daroca (2015-2017) and Fernando Salamero (2017-2021).
