Dear Participants,

I have the pleasure of inviting you to the 2nd International Congress of Mountain and Steep Slope Viticulture, which will be held in Ribeira Sacra, in Monforte de Lemos, Galiza, from 13th to 15th March 2008.

The Congress is organised by CERVIM and sponsored by O.I.V., in collaboration with the Regional Government of Galiza and the Regulatory Council for the Ribeira Sacra Designation of Origin.

CERVIM (Centre for Research, Study, Safeguarding, Coordination and Valorisation of Mountain Viticulture) is an international body that was created with sponsorship from the O.I.V. (International Organisation of Vine and Wine).

The Centre, with its headquarters in Valle d’Aosta (Italy), has been in operation since the end of the eighties in pursuit of the following objectives:

The first Congress was held in Saint Vincent (Valle d’Aosta) and exceeded our expectations in both numerical terms and as regards the quality of the participants. Our objective to hold a reciprocal and enriching debate about the different problems of mountain and steep slope viticulture remains unaltered; indeed, a technical tour has been organised for the second day of the schedule. On Saturday 15th March politicians, specialists and experts from the sector will participate in the meeting.
Galiza, the final destination of St. James’ Way, which has helped the many countries of Europe come together since the Middle Ages, the finis terrae of Europe, is a unique land full of evocative landscapes, including those of the Ribeira Sacra. I hope that we will be able to meet up in this very special land.

With kind regards,

The President of CERVIM
Francesco Stevenin

Dear Participants,

Galiza is an important wine-producing country and also produces other vine-related products such as Aguardiente (marc brandy). And within Galiza, production in mountain and steep-slope areas takes on particular relevance as it is present in three of the five Galizan wine-producing areas protected by the Valdeorras and Ribeira Sacra Designations of Origin as well as a small part of the Ribeiro Designation of Origin.

These areas have spectacular mountain landscapes, which impress due to their great beauty but also due to the tremendous difficulty involved in extracting from this land such high quality wines and Aguardientes as those produced by our world-renowned wine producers.

For this reason, I feel particularly pleased that Monforte de Lemos will be the venue for the 2nd International Congress of Mountain and Steep Slope Viticulture, which will be held from 13th to 15th March 2008, promoted by the Centre for Research, Study, Safeguarding, Coordination and Valorisation of Mountain Viticulture, CERVIM, in collaboration with the Regional Ministry of the Rural Environment of the Regional Government of Galiza, under the sponsorship of the O.I.V. (International Organisation of Vine and Wine.

The Congress will bring together in the historic land of Lemos an important group of experts from around Europe, who will analyse the history and the future of these areas of production, as well as the best formulas to increase the value of mountain viticulture as regards its landscape and its historical-cultural and economic aspects.

I would like to wish all the Participants of this 2nd International Congress an enjoyable stay in Galiza, and hope that the contributions and research presented at the encounter will be of use to you in order to continue working in favour of these areas of production.

Alfredo Suárez Canal
Regional Minister of the Rural Environment