Spanish minister in Bordeaux gaffe
January 11, 2005
Oliver Styles, and agencies
Spanish wine producers are up in arms after the foreign minister said Bordeaux was his favourite wine.
In an interview for Spanish broadsheet El Pais, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, a self-confessed Francophile with personal ties to Bordeaux, said his favourite tipple was red wine. 'I know the most about Bordeaux,' he added.
The Spanish Wine Federation (FEV) responded angrily to the admission. In a press release issued on Monday, the Federation chided Moratinos for being unaware of his responsibilities.
'To admit that one has no knowledge of Spanish wines is regrettable enough for a Spanish ambassador,' it said, 'but when the Minister of Foreign Affairs admits that he knows French wine best, this is a real setback for Spanish wines.'
The president of the FEV, Pau Roca, offered Moratinos the freedom to enter any Spanish cellar and taste any of his country's wines, 'to remedy his ignorance'.
'The Minister must remedy his ignorance of our wines. We open our cellars to him and offer all the tastings necessary,' he told Spanish newspaper Expansión.
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