Current political events have once again brought to the fore a term forged at the beginning of the first decade of this century, but which gained special prominence following the beginnings of the processeshe Catalan boycott. Faced with a resurgence of this movement, Valencian cava producers fear a general drop in sales that could affect the entire country.
The Requena Cava Producers Association has spoken out on this matter, which, in statements collected by The vanguardstates that a boycott campaign of this type “is never positive and ends up hurting everyone. “Conflict is not a flag for us.”
The Designation of Origin Cava, which for years has been facing its own internal crisis due to a devaluation of the product mainly due to falling prices, is made up of 159 municipalities, of which 132 belong to the four provinces of Catalonia. The rest are distributed between La Rioja (18), Álava (3), Zaragoza (2), Navarra (2), Badajoz (1) and Valencia, with the municipality of Requena being the only one that can produce cava in the Valencian Community.
Despite the fact that in the face of similar episodes, sales of sparkling wines from other provinces experienced notable growth, from the Valencian association they don’t trust and they prefer to be cautious, since a drop in sales of Catalan cava ends up negatively affecting the entire DO.
The great Catalan dominance of the Regulatory Council, based in Penedés, implies lower sales of sparkling wine in Catalonia ends hindering production throughout the country, as already happened in 2018. To protect Catalan producers, on that occasion the Council intended to reduce national production by stopping other producing regions with room to grow, arguing the risk of a overproduction.
Faced with the Christmas campaign, a key time for sales in the sector, the producers of Cava de Requena see the near future with uncertainty. Although positive figures are expected to close the year, similar to that of 2022, They fear that 2024 will not be so rosy. It will then be when the cava reflects the increase in prices derived from inflation, which implies a higher cost of raw materials and materials.
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Photos | DO Cava – Cava de Requena
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