Wine awareness vs. consumption in Catalunya

A recent study carried out by the Catalan Institute of Wine and Vine shows that consumers here in Catalunya have a positive awareness of regional wines, but that there is a "disconnection between awareness, valuation and consumption" according the Joaquim Llena, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Action for the Catalan Government.

Catalan wine consumers were able on average to name six D.O. regions in Spain and three of the first five mentioned were D.O.s of Catalunya. The D.O. most named was Penedes at 83%, followed by La Rioja (80%), Priorat (66%) and Emporda (34%). 61% of consumers felt that Catalan wines have improved a great deal in quality.

However, in terms of marketshare here, Catalan wines have a 28% share, behind Rioja (36%) but ahead of Ribera del Duero (7%). In restuarants Rioja leads with 43% over Catalan wines at 26%. In the off-premise trade Catalan wines do better at 29% versus 31% for Rioja.

Minister Joaquim Llena pointed to the need of better efforts in the promotion and communication in support of regional wines. He gave present efforts a score of 4 out 10 points.

Exports of Catalan Wines up 18% in 2007

Last month the D.O. Penedes wine association UVIPE released figures showing impressive export growth for Catalan wines. From 2006 to 2007, exports rose by 17.8% in value and by 2.5% in volume, reflecting a 15% increase in prices. According to UVIPE the majority of exports went to other EU countries, while the drop in the value of the dollar and increase in the euro had hurt many Catalan wine exporters. UVIPE estimates that in order to absorb the shift in currency valuations, regional exporters have incurred charges of up to 10 million euros.

EU wine reform: the "last chance" for european wineries says Jose Ramon Fernandez, Secretary General of the CEEV

The CEEV – Comité Européen des Entreprises Vins, which represents 22 European national winery associations is supporting the proposed EU wine reforms. Secretary General Jose Ramon Fernandez was quoted in Expansión newspaper on Friday April 25 as saying that "this is the last chance that we will have for public support".

Even though Europe is the world's leading wine producing area, consumption in the EU has fallen by 20% in the last 15 years. Hence, the proposed reforms aim to restructure European wine production by eliminating non-competitive vineyards and promoting winery consolidations.

The reforms will carried out in two phases. The first phase, to be made over the next three years, will see the destruction of some 175,000 hectares of vines. This would allow, according to Mr. Fernandez, a "dignified exit" for winery owners that are not or will not be competitive. The second phase, estimated to begin in in 2012 and to run for the following three years, will see an end to limitations on vine planting rights in the EU , except in some countries, among them Spain, for whom this system will continue until 2018. This extention is a dubious favor to wineries in Spain says Mr. Fernandez as it will slow the implementation of the restructing necesary to gain international competitiveness.

Wine 2.0 Minifesto >>> Vino 2.0

Still as relevant today, Tim Elliot's "mini-festo" on what Wine 2.0 is all about should be read by all wineries. I've translated it into Spanish for the benefit of wineries here.

Winery blogging on the business side: Tintoralba

It may seem self-evident that companies can use their blog and those of their business partners (or those they'd like to work with) to get in touch, to deepen a relationship, share info, improve their Google ranking, build a reputation, etc., etc., etc. But in the wine industry, this is not always the case. And since no one wants to get a negative comment, its easier to just stay on the sidelines. But... negative comments are (in a way) good: they prove that 1) the company has sufficient confidence in the quality of their products that they can handle a bit of criticism and 2) that the comments are real comments, not paid-for advertizements, hence they are believable.

In a post last week, Emilio of Bodega Tintoralba shares how he made use of blogs (his own and that of Bubble Brothers) to get in touch with a potential importer/distributor for the UK/Ireland.

UK sparkling wine sales up by 44% from '02

In a recent market report from Mintel, sales in the UK of Sparkling wines are up by 44% since 2002, up 13% from last year to reach 42 million liters, outpacing Champagne volumes (29 M liters) by 20% for the same five year span.

In value, sales of sparkling rose to 385 million pounds, up 27% from 2002, led by Cava and Australian sparklers.

The report pointed out that while non-Champagnes are strong in the off-premise market, they need to improve much more in the on-trade, ie. projecting a stronger quality and prestige image.

Quoted in Decanter, Jo Sorensen, brand manager at Codorniu, said 'We see further growth opportunities for the future. UK consumers are ready to try the upper tiers of the sparkling wine category and the statistics show that they are actively trading up.'

Castellroig: the best cava in the world?

In the recent rankings of Spanish wines by The Wine Advocate (a.k.a. Robert Parker), the small family owned and operated winery and cava producer Castellroig (pronounced: cas-TEL-roch) earned the highest point score of all cavas reviewed: 91, for their Castellroig Reserva Familiar Sabaté i Coca.

The points given by Parker were awarded to two separate vintages (the 2001 and the 2003), making this cava (arguably) the best in the world.