The presidents of the 11 Catalan wine appellations from origin winemaking, accompanied by Salvador Puig, general director (CEO) of INCAVI, have met this morning in Can Feixas to put on the table the situation that goes through in the Catalonia wine sector, as well as to make  balance of the years vintage beginning.

Bernat Andreu, President of the Conca de Barberà origin Appellation, has contextualized the situation in the sector, with wineries arriving at the most important time of the year for the wine’s world in extraordinary circumstances as a result of the health crisis caused by Covid-19.

Falling sales, caused by the closure of the Horeca channel (which represents approximately a 60% of the Countrys wine) has been, with the stop of exports, one of the numerous prejudices. 

In this situation, some wineries have been forced to take advantage of the extraordinary measures approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, among which stand out green harvesting

or  distillating crisis. In addition, some DDOO have created personal solidarity bags and technical equipment to give support to those wineries that, for possible positive quarantines or contacts with positives in the most important months of the year, will seen their teams depleted or even seen forced to close.

Balance of the start of vintage

Andreu has done balance too of the start of vintage in this extreme and exceptional vineyard year. The elevated pluviometry during autumn and spring seasons it has contributed to a very good Recovery of the plants, even of those that dragged yet aftermath of the intense drought that affected to the harvest 2017. Notwithstanding, this abundant Water it also had had negative consequences, with a important incidence of mildew, especially accused in the ecological viticulture.

Since the denominations of origin, with approximately a fifty% of harvested vines, according to the zone, it is estimated that the global reduction of the vintage 2020 respect to the past year

might settle down around a 30-‐35%, and in some zones and concrete varieties the reduction might  overcome to a fifty%. “so despite that -has said Andreu- the quality is not being impaired and the phytosanitary status of the grape it is just right”. Therefore the presidents wanted to clarify that the mildew is a fungus that affects the amount, and not to the quality of the grape.