Eva Longoria to receive the Prestigio Rioja Prize

- Philanthropic record and passion for Rioja wines drove jury panel's choice

- Award ceremony will be held in 2016 in the D.O.Ca. Rioja

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Dec 09, 2015, 09:45 ET

From left to right: Control Board marketing director Ricardo Aguiriano, director general Jose Luis Lapuente, Eva Longoria, and president, Jose Maria Daroca at the charity gala held in London on November 30 for the Eva Longoria Foundation.

LOGRONO, Spain, Dec. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Prestigio Rioja Prize is an initiative of the Control Board of the D.O.Ca. Rioja, a pioneer in connecting wine with culture. Its purpose is to reward individuals or institutions whose activities in sporting, scientific, or business fields who have contributed to enhance and share the culture and ways of life of people for whom vines and wine are part of their identity, culture and history.

The Prestigio Rioja Prize jury panel unanimously decided to grant the award to the Eva Longoria for her exemplary life devoted to advocating the Latin cause and also for the great recognition she has achieved within the performing arts since her participation in the television series "Desperate Housewives." Her international recognition makes her a superb ambassador of values in the world, just like Rioja wine within Spanish wines.

A Latina by birth, but considering herself "75% Spanish," Eva Longoria conquered Hollywood with her cheerful, seductive and festive personality —three traits that fit perfectly with Rioja wine. But beyond this, her life is deeply committed to philanthropic activities related to Latin causes. Her time away from the cameras is devoted to issues such as immigrant social integration and the inclusion of women in working life. Her struggle led her to produce the documentary The Harvest, which reflects the situation of 500,000 immigrant child farmworkers in the United States.

She also has her own Foundation, the Eva Longoria Foundation, which seeks to help the social integration of disadvantaged people. The D.O. Ca. Rioja supports this cause, most recently through charity galas held in Miami and London. At the London event, the Control Board provided a collection of six wines from great old vintages (1951, 1964, 1970, 1973 and 1978) that were donated by Rioja wineries for an auction. These rare and remarkable wines were sold for £50,000, which will be earmarked for the Foundation's charitable purposes.

The 18th Prestigio Rioja Prize will be given to Eva Longoria in Logrono in 2016 at an event attended by panel members, previous award winners, authorities of the three communities in which the D.O.Ca. Rioja is present, and a broad representation from the wine sector, institutions and media. Previous prizes have been presented to other artists, including Antonio Banderas, Alejandro Sanz and Sara Baras, and noted personalities including Ferran Adria, Ana Patricia Botin, Theresa Zabell, Carlos Sainz, Pedro Duque, Cristobal Halffter, Isidoro Alvarez, Valentin Fuster, Placido Domingo, Eduardo Chillida, Mario Vargas Llosa, Francisco J. Ayala and Federico Mayor Zaragoza.