The 'Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino' celebrates its 28th annual

This year, for the very first time, the dinner was graced by the presence of the ¡®Honorary Knight¡¯, a title which is bestowed yearly on the wine sector¡¯s best young hopeful

For yet another year, the ¡®Gran Orden de Caballeros del Vino¡¯ (Noble Order of Spanish Wine Knights) held its investiture dinner in the prestigious Dorchester Hotel in London. On this occasion the two new appointments went to Melissa Draycott, purchasing manager at Gonz¨¢lez Byass, and Abel Lusa, owner of various Spanish restaurants in the prestigious UK capital. With these investitures, the Noble Order recognised the work carried out by both new members throughout their professional careers in contributing value and excellence to Spanish wine in the UK.

With the two new additions ¨C Draycott, who has previously occupied managerial posts in some of the UK¡¯s most important major retail distributors such as Sainsbury¡¯s and Waitrose, and Lusa, owner of restaurants Cambio de Tercio, Tendido Cero, and Capote y Toros ¨C the number of Noble Order members comes to 59.

New to this edition, this year the ¡®Honorary Knight¡¯ award was incorporated to the proceedings; a title which is bestowed yearly on an outstanding young hopeful from the wine sector, which is awarded in adherence to a scholarship programme to the most promising student by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET), the programme¡¯s sponsor, together with Wines from Spain. In 2012, the award went to Nicholas Jackson, who during the training course will be able to visit Spain¡¯s leading wine regions and most representative bodegas.

The event, which brought together 330 guests including the Spanish ambassador in London, Carlos Casajuana, aims to strengthen the relationship between professionals and experts from the sector who have mutual interests in the UK and Spain.

The ¡®Gran Orden de los Caballeros del Vino¡¯, which is formed by individuals who are recognised for their outstanding contribution to promoting Spanish wine in the UK, was founded by Wines from Spain UK in 1984.

The UK market is the second most important destination country for Spanish wines in terms of turnover, only outdone by Germany. In 2011, Spanish exports to the UK registered more than 143 million litres for the value of €312 million, an increase of 6.4 and 12.7 per cent, respectively.