As a prelude to the upcoming patron saint festivities, the Juventud group revived its Rioja Showcase project.
The dates changed, but at least it was able to be held again. After a year of being unable to do so and having postponed it for a few months, from April as a prelude to the San Prudencio festivities to September as a prelude to the festivities of San Juan Mártir and Santa María la Real, the Peña Juventud, with the collaboration of the Nájera City Council, once again made one of its many projects a reality, created to try to revitalize the city and its various sectors.
Thus, the Rioja Showcase was able to hold its seventh edition. It did so with some variations compared to previous editions and, as usual, with some new features, something that has become customary to avoid repeating itself. Instead of placing the winery stalls around Descampado Street, given that we are living in a pandemic and, even though the worst has passed, it is imperative to carry out any initiative that brings together people, organize it with the utmost caution and try to avoid undesirable crowds that could ultimately lead to undesirable results in terms of infections.
For this reason, the fourteen stalls, plus the one selling tickets for wine tastings and the one set up to pay tribute to Valentín Pascual, a winemaker from Céniceres who sadly passed away and a great supporter of the club’s initiative, were widely distributed. Some were located parallel to the left bank of the Najerilla River in its urban stretch, another on the right bank, and the last group around the bandstand—the epicenter of the much-missed June tours—on Paseo San Julián.
With everything thus arranged, a brief but moving tribute to the aforementioned winemaker took place shortly before noon. A stand was set up with wine from his winery and a number of photographs and other mementos of the honoree. The representative of the Peña Juventud, Rafael Tremps, briefly praised Pascual and emphasized his willingness to collaborate with the Escaparate del Rioja since its inception. His family, present at the event, were deeply moved by both the event and the member’s words.
The process was simple: staff purchased tickets to redeem for five wine drinks. These tickets were accompanied by a glass with a pouch to wear around their neck, as well as a small package of cured meats and some mini breadsticks to aid in the tasting. In this regard, the winery halls had various food products freely available to staff.
In the end, everything went smoothly, and it became clear that wine is a great way to get people to enjoy themselves. More than 900 people purchased tickets to take part in the pre-holiday event.
