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The Spanish D.O. Cava recorded a grape loss of between 35 and 55 percent at the end of the 2023 harvest compared to normal years.
According to the president of the DO supervisory authority, Javier Pagés, the reasons for the small harvest are "the extreme conditions that the winegrowers and winemakers had to deal with". The vineyards in the Catalan Cava region of Penèdes were massively affected by the extreme, long-lasting drought in Spain. Vintners recorded the driest start to a year since records began in 1961 in the first four months of 2023, according to Reuters news agency.
The Cava region has 38,000 ha of vineyards with more than 6,200 wineries. The producers achieve more than 70 per cent of their sales abroad. Cava is thus the Spanish DO with the most exports: the DO's 349 wineries are represented in more than 100 countries. In 2022, total sales rose to 249.1 million bottles, an increase of 4.6 per cent compared to 2021.
Germany continues to be the largest importer of Cava with a 2.22 per cent increase over the previous year, followed by the US, Belgium and the UK. Sweden was included in the ranking of the top five export markets for the first time, with an increase of over 35 per cent.
(uka - Source: Harpers, Reuters)