Interview with Donald Cusimano of Abadia Retuerta

Posted on February 26, 2007

Taken from a recent interview with Donald Michael Cusimano, General Director of the winery Abadía Retuerta

We spoke with Donald Michael Cusimano, General Director of the internationally renowned winery Abadía Retuerta, located in the area known as Ribera del Duero, in the region of Castilla-León, about the grave problem that is threatening to destroy this unique region which produces some of the best wines in the world.

The Ministry of Public Works plans to build a freeway along the Duero River between the cities of Valladolid and Soria, cutting directly across land belonging to the extremely prestigious wineries that make up an area known in the wine business as the Golden Mile of Wine. One of the wineries most affected by these plans is Abadía Retuerta.

Donald Cusimano, the General Director of Abadía Retuerta assures us that “this would deal a fatal blow to the Ribera del Duero region and its wines. The quality of the wines comes from the (soil) erosion that has taken place over millions of years, and if the project continues forward this will be ruined.” Abadía Retuerta could lose up to 70% of its finest vineyards.
The stretch of the very busy National Highway 122, also known as the “Golden Mile” (the priviledged geographic location where the most prestigious Spanish wineries are situated), divides the region and links the two cities of Valladolid and Soria. The existing infrastructure is no longer viable as it is heavily trafficked, which is too much for this local two-lane road to handle. Therefore, the government has considered six different options for dealing with this increased traffic, basing its research on an old map that dates back to the year 1991.
The Government eventually chose the option that by far seems the most destructive, the least reasonable, and the most unpopular solution among the people and businesses in the affected area – the conversion of the National Highway 122 from a two lane road into a four lane freeway.
Read more

Summary of the Problem

Posted on February 20, 2007

A short video about the problem

Posted on February 16, 2007

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