It was seen coming and finally approved. The wine industry in the province of Alicante will have to face its new campaign, with a close to 10% drop in production due to the high temperatures that the vineyards have to endure. The commercial-level panorama isn’t too rosy either, given that everything points to a good summer brought on by the tourist revival. consumption will suffer significantly in the coming months due to inflation that continues to get brutal, as well as the recession affecting markets such as the United States.
Protected Name of Origin (PDO) Alicante Wines this monday celebrated the start of the 90 harvest, an action that takes place on a farm in Villena, where the regulatory council brings together vineyards, wineries and various institutions. Among those present are the regional secretaries of Agriculture and Landscape, Roger Llanes and Inma Orozco, respectively; Sebastián Cañadas, Deputy Publicity and Local Development; the chairman of the council, José Juan Reus; and representatives of the municipalities of Villena, Pinoso, Salinas and Cañada.
This year’s campaign marked a Production reduction of 1.4 million litersThus, the final volume of 45 wineries integrated into PDO will remain at 12.6 million. The heat caused the grapes to not reach the correct size in some areas. High temperatures are also behind the early harvest this year, as the fruits ripen earlier. The positive fact is that the quality will be very high, especially in the star variety of the province, such as Monastrell, which has reached the optimum point.
However, the thing that worries the industry the most at the moment is the developments that sales may continue in the coming months. The industry promised them a lot of happiness this summer, because revival of tourism has strongly attracted national consumption and there were expectations that last year’s figures could be surpassed by recovering pre-pandemic records with a turnover of 34m euros. However, the signs are much more negative for this downturn, which has now begun.
This is stressed by Eladio Martín Aniorte, director of the PDO, that “inflation affects the purchasing power of consumers and may therefore lead to a decline in wine purchases”. The war in Ukraine created an atmosphere of uncertainty at the international level, and this climate It caused recession in some markets, as in the case of the USA.. Miguel Ángel Díaz, a strong exporter and commercial director of Bodegas Pinoso, already warns that sales in the North American region are not as volatile as they were in the first half of the year.
Andrés Carull, manager of the Vinessens winery in Villena, also cites uncertainty and an increase in production costs that are not fully passed on to customers. business margins have narrowed.
In this context, and as Aniorte explains, the industry would already be happy to equalize last year’s turnover to see how things unfold. The PDO representative likewise, once again Continuing to promote the consumption of Alicante wines in the provinceemphasizing the key role that bars and restaurants can play in this regard, incorporating them into their menus and presenting them to diners.
The godfather of the grape harvest, humorist Jorge Cremades
Protected Name of Origin (PDO) Vinos de Alicante has named Alicante humorist Jorge Cremades the godfather of this year’s harvest. The young actress passed the symbolic cutting of the Monastrell grape at the Villena estate hosting the show, during which a minute’s silence was observed for the death of her godmother, the Elderly soprano Ana María Sánchez. 2010 .