For those of you who were not present at the 39th Investiture Dinner held at the Landmark Hotel, London on Thursday 13th June 2024, we publish the welcome speech by Sarah Jane Evans MW, Chairman of the Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino:
“Your Excellency, Acting Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, New Caballeros, Caballeros, Ladies and Gentlemen; ¡Bienvenidos!
It’s terrific to welcome you here. And especially all of you who have not attended before – including our Acting Chancellor. You are very welcome.
This is a unique chance for Spain’s wine trade to get together. And it’s a rare event in the calendar of wine trade hospitality. Spain is unique in holding an event like this in London. It has been an especially tough start to the year for wine trade in general. You have all earned a good evening of good company.
The effect of this dinner is that it has been a focus this week for a flurry of London board meetings, masterclasses, importer tastings, and general Spanish wine-trade flag-waving. Plus an important presentation yesterday from International Wineries for Climate Action, with wines from Herència Altés, CVNE, and Familia Torres in the mix. This international activity is co-chaired by Caballero Miguel Torres, assisted by our Vice Chairman Charlotte Hey. I hope we can build much more Spanish wine activity around the Caballeros dinner week, so that it makes full use of everyone’s travel.
Spain has so much to celebrate at the moment:
In tennis – Carlos Alcaraz. Surely the dream tennis doubles at the Olympics is going to be Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.
In football, I’m an ardent Arsenal fan. I used to think Arsène Wenger was irreplaceable, but Mikel Arteta is doing brilliantly to bring Arsenal back up to top form.
In gastronomy, Spain had top place and 3 of the top 4 restaurants in the recent world’s 50 best. No surprise there!
And an important moment – yesterday was the 39th anniversary of Spain’s accession to the European Economic Community.
This is our 39th dinner, though by one of those oddities, it is the 40th investiture.
We have plans to celebrate this anniversary. Don’t be surprised if we call on you for help!
This dinner this evening comes just after the European elections; just before the UK ones. It’s a reminder that votes count. I mention this because this is the hotel where the campaigner for votes for women Emmeline Pankhurst had her ‘Welcome back from Prison’ breakfast in March 1908, after hunger strikes and force feeding. If you came in from the Marylebone Station side, you will have seen the bust of her.
A long way round to say it is great that we have added substantially to the numbers of female Cabs with Almudena Alberca and Amaya Cervera. I started the week near Alicante in a wine fair for Spanish women winemakers. Then on Monday I joined a panel of women in London working with the Spanish wine industry: including Almudena, and of course Monika Linton, who founded Brindisa 20 years ago. Three of the 5 speakers on the panel were Caballeros – showing our relevance. I am the first female Caballero Chairman, but I know I won’t be the last.
Hal Wilson, I’m not overlooking you, who have done so much to speak up for wine trade, especially in the face of these duty reforms. Hal, you used to have an event for the spring at Cambridge Wine Merchants for En Rama Sherries : I loved its name – the En Rama Lama Ding Dong.
That segues nicely into Sherry. I am exceptionally pleased to say that we were able to have Sherry at the reception, with Fino supplied by the Consejo Regulador, and served by the venenciador Jesús Rubiales. There had been some anxiety backstage about whether there was enough headroom for a venencia! This is a very generous and appropriate support for our dinner. Thank you to Consejo President Cesar Saldaña, and I should also welcome former president and Caballero Beltrán Domecq.
Now to the wines for this dinner, they are chosen from those you have submitted. We have two traditional method sparkling wines: a Corpinnat at the reception and a Cava with the Stirrup Cup. A classic Navarra Rosé, and an iconic Rías Baixas from Caballero Marisol Bueno. Then there are no fewer than 3 Riojas. Thank you to Caballero Guillermo de Aranzabal for the Viña Arana, which makes a delightful counterpoint to the Ad Libitum Monastel from Juan-Carlos Sancha. We finish with a really unusual, delicious, sweet Dulce Enero from Alto Landon.
I offer the sweet and the Monastel as great talking points. Just in case you have run out of things to say to each other. Though that sounds unlikely. If you need to revive a conversation I have found that there is one that works everytime when I’m in Spain. If you are looking for something that’s not sex or politics I propose the eternal topic of Tortilla. Simply ask your companions this question – Do you put onions in your tortilla or not? Cebolla ¿Sí o no?
I‘m coming to a close. But I must take a moment to remember Caballero Ramón Pajares who died recently. An outstanding hotelier, one of the greats. For those of us with long memories his hosting of our dinners was something exceptional. A few of us attended his funeral and in the taxi to the reception reminisced about those days. A real Caballero in every fine sense of the word.
There are two more Caballeros I must mention.
First, John Hawes who became a Caballero in 1986 and is the most regular attender at our dinners.
And second, a Caballero from 2023 who could not make it to his Investiture and had to send a video. Here he is – in the flesh – Ferran Centelles.
To conclude, my heartfelt thanks to the team from Foods and Wines from Spain for all their work, and especially to Marianne Rodríguez who could not be here tonight.
To the team here at the Hotel, especially in the kitchen.
To our marvellous toast master Ted Prior, who keeps us all in order.
To my colleagues who tasted every bottle before you tonight.
Thank you to the colleagues from the Spanish Commercial Office here and in Spain.
Thank you to the Ambassador and Mrs Dufort for their presence.
And a very warm thank you to all of you, our guests
Now I’d like to conclude by asking all the Caballeros to stand in toasting our guests.”