Wine and Tourism in the Dominican Republic

Ocoa Bay, Azua Province-- With the planting of a "Mission grapes" vine President Danilo Medina inaugurated the Ocoa Bay Project, the first wine tourism development in the country and in the Caribbean area.

It is an initiative of U.S. and Dominican investors which has a total investment of $167,000,000, and created in the construction phase about 1,500 jobs.

This has been the result of the implementation of the "Ventanilla Única" (Single Window) program, created by the Government to attract such investments, and which drastically reduces the time of obtaining licenses and permits required by the state to start an investment project.

The area initially involved in the complex, is 1.4 million square meters in the Bay of Ocoa.

The first phase consists of 140,000 meters square, whose main attribute a vineyard capable of producing high quality wine and table grapes.

In this context, the Minister of Tourism, Francisco Javier Garcia said that this initiative is the beginning of a series of major investments to be made ​​by investors and that will benefit the Tourist Pole 8 comprising the South region.

He said the project will mark a before and after in the tourist development of the region and urged businessmen to come to this land where the conditions ripe for investment.

photo: presidencia.gob.do

About the Mission Grape vine
Mission grapes are a variety of Vitis vinifera introduced from Spain to the western coasts of North and South America by Catholic New World missionaries for use in making sacramental, table, and fortified wines ... (wiki).

Wine and the Dominican Republic
When it comes to spirits the Dominican Republic is best known for the award winning line of Brugal rums, and of course, Presidente Beer.

There is literally no wine story to attribute. Our most popular wines are "Vino Tinto La Fuerza" and "Festival 18."

Both products are produced by the same company, Vincola del Norte, and neither product can actually be credited as a fine wine.

To get an idea of what "Vino Tinto La Fuerza," get yourself a bottle of Manischewitz concord grape wine. Or just get a bottle of Welch's grape juice and add a little vodka — same thing.

Hopefully, the Ocoa Bay Project can help place the Dominican Republic on the map of credible global wine producers.