Bye bye 2021

As we all do, we close a new chapter in the great book of life. Another year passes, leaving behind its legacy of joys, sorrows, fulfilled illusions and longed-for challenges. As if that were not enough, wine continues its unstoppable cycle and, of course, humanity with it. The culmination of a year always leaves a legacy of reflection and analysis.

Peñín closes this year with a big smile on its face despite the circumstances. It has been another year of pandemic, and a complicated one at that. However, it has also been the year in which we have been meeting many of the challenges we had set ourselves, some of which came a long way back. We bid farewell to 2021 with recognition for our Peñín Guide to the Spanish Wine, a prize awarded by the International Wine Challenge, which encourages us to continue working even harder for wine. The Peñín Guide 2022, arrived as usual in bookshops in Spain and in many other countries despite the shortage of supplies, a circumstance that did not prevent us from fulfilling our commitment as always, something that never ceases to make us very happy.

After a long absence, we once again opened our doors to professional events, which allowed us to meet the sector once again at the Salón de los Mejores Vinos de España, which shone brighter than we had ever seen before. The show was celebrating its 21st edition after a year's hiatus due to the COVID, the first break in our history since the creation of this quality Spanish wine event. From the very moment the doors of this event opened, it was clear that we all needed to return to the normality of wine, its tastings and its journeys.

It was also the year in which a large part of the Peñín Guide tastings were open to the public at no cost to the user. The idea was to reinforce the commitment to disseminate the benefits of wine, its areas and varieties to the general public. For this reason we decided to open the ratings of the last two editions tasted, leaving the most up-to-date scores for our premium users, as well as access to our entire history, etc.

This change has been frankly important in this house, as it has helped us to gain massive access to the general public, who are not so much interested in the technicalities of wine, but rather in accessing it from the most enjoyable side. Moreover, this year, the term "disfrutón", with which we identify this more playful side of wine, has been officially accepted by the RAE (Spanish Royal Academy), a sign of things to come.

This is how other new changes came about; first we rejuvenated Peñín's image, adapting it to the new times, but without losing the essence that has accompanied us throughout the more than 30 years we have been in business. We remodelled the website according to these criteria focused on the more entertaining side of wine, opening new sections and incorporating an important section dedicated to bars, the true temples of wine consumption and enjoyment. We have also added a new section on wine tourism, where everyone can organise their own journey through the world of wine, with information on more than 450 wineries throughout Spain. Of course, we do not leave out the most critical and detailed information about wine news and its repercussions, a key point of this house since its origins.

I don't know what you think, but for us this has been a year of vital importance. 2021 will be remembered by each and every one of us as a year of special significance. We can already tell you that 2022 will be just as intense, as we continue with important challenges and projects that will see the light of day in this nascent year.

All of us who are part of this house wish you a successful end to this year that we are saying goodbye to, and that you will be armed with strength and energy for the year to come. Wine must shine as it deserves to in 2022 and we at Peñín will do everything in our power to make it so.