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The wineries of the Spanish red wine appellation Ribeira Sacra in the northwest of the country are struggling with massive surpluses. The officials of the DO are forced to distill larger quantities of wine for the first time. The Galician regional government has made 2.4 million euros available for crisis distillation. Only in this way can the balance between supply and demand be restored after many years. Especially winemakers had warned in recent months that their existence would be seriously threatened if they could not find buyers for this year's grapes.
The largest winery in the region did not extend contracts with over 400 winemakers for the 2024 vintage. It justified this with surplus stocks and declining sales figures.
Despite the promises of support, many winemakers feel insufficiently supported. Protests took place in front of the headquarters of the control board. The current economic situation is leading to the abandonment of vineyards and offers no incentive for the younger generation to continue farming the land, according to the criticism from the winemakers. In the past ten years, DO Ribeira Sacra has already lost 700 hectares of vineyards.
(ru / Decanter)