authorisations for new plantings of vineyards destined to the production of cava in 2020 will amount to only 0.1 hectares, as has been decided by the Council Regulator of the denomination of origin, and as also provided for in the resolution of the Ministry of Agriculture published this weekend in the Official State Bulletin (BOE). This provision is a boon to the interests of the grape growers and winemakers of Almendralejo (Extremadura) and Requena (Valencia), which has been demanding insistently the possibility of increasing the cultivation areas in front of the position of the Regulatory Board. This agency is controlled by Catalan producers after the elections of 2018, who bet on the freezing surfaces with the justification of adapting supply to demand.

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The decision coincides with a strategic plan of their own Regulatory Board that, among other measures, provide policy support to the quality, segmentation of the offer or the zoning of the areas of cultivation to that on the label of the cava figure the point of production.

The struggle is not recent. During the last few years have dramatized the differences between the wine of the cava of Catalonia, which brings together 30,000 of the 38,000 hectares of crop, which have the appellation of origin, and the producers of Requena and Almendralejo, with some 4,000 and 1,400 acres, respectively, although in both cases in expansion.

The regulations in force up to the past month of September was anticipated that, in the regulatory boards with vineyards in several autonomous communities, the final decision on the new plantations proposed by them corresponded to the Central Administration. With the new provision, these powers pass to the hands of each board regulator, which affects the designation of origin Cava, Jumilla and Rioja.

This change has raised protests of the vine-growers of champagne located outside of Catalonia, stating that this is a concession policy of the Government of Catalonia. The agricultural organizations of Extremadura and Valencia have argued that the Regulatory Board of Cava is comprised entirely of representatives of Catalan, radically contrary to increase the area of cultivation of cava outside of their community. In fact, and after many negotiations, three bands, the Ministry of Agriculture decided to increase in 2018 surfaces in 272 hectares (the council proposed the freezing) and in 2019 gave the green light to more than 300 hectares of replanting. This year has been limited to copying the proposal by the Regulatory Board.

New plantations

on the other hand, the Ministry of Agriculture has set at 4.750 hectares the maximum of authorisations for new plantings of vineyards in other appellations of origin in Spain, in accordance with the recommendations of the inter-professional sector.

The community legislation aims to a major adjustment in productive potential to the needs of the demand from 2016. Under this philosophy, the legislation in force allows each country to grant authorizations granted each year up to a maximum of 1% of the area planted as at July 31 of the previous year. Does not allow complete freezing of the permits. In Spain, the area planted to that date amounted to 950.079 hectares and the official decision has been to give authorizations that account for 0.5% of the area planted.

In the face of these new permissions for 2020, Rioja agreed to increase the area of 0.1 hectares; Wheel in 1 hectare, Cariñena in 71, Ribera del Duero in 950 acres, Chacolí alavés in to 0.99 hectares, Chacolí de Vizcaya in two hectares and Chacolí Guetaria in four hectares. Since the implementation of this policy in Spain, in 2016, have been given authorisations for new plantings of 18.860 acres and 35,000 acres for replanting.

In the last decade, the area of vineyards in the country has overcome the million acres to be placed in 950.000. This has not been a hindrance to the productions, by improvements, structures, irrigation, and new varieties, having increased in averages between 35 and 37 million hectoliters average of 40 million, with peaks of up to 50.

But demand has not followed the same path. Located at about 10 million hectoliters, the sector has been forced to export about 22 million hectoliters of media, turning Spain into the first world exporter in volume, with the low prices as a flag. In 2019, these have been located in an average of 1.22 euros per litre and eur 0.40 in the case of the bulk.

Date Of Update: 30 December 2019, 12:00