“Time and uncertainty: the keys to great wine”

The conference opened with a speech by Benjamín Lana, who structured his address around a central idea: the value of time in life and in wine. After thanking the Tenerife Island Council and the organising team, he emphasised that great wines, like the truly unique things in life, can only be created with time and patience, in contrast to a society that wants everything to happen quickly. He recalled that wine teaches humility: not everything depends on human beings, and it is necessary to accept uncertainty if one aspires to a reasonable degree of happiness. He argued that nature is not merely a backdrop, but a teacher that compels us to learn to observe, listen and collaborate – something well understood by those who work in vineyards and wineries.

He also championed identity and experience in the world of wine, encapsulated in the thousands of ‘corks’ uncorked over the course of a lifetime. To conclude, he drew on the idea that time can only be mastered with time, linking the past and the future in the creation of great wines, and officially welcomed everyone to the conference.