With Christmas approaching and data only up to September, the designation of origin cava (DO cava) signaled a challenging year for 2023. Three months later, with the full picture in hand, the trend remains. The companies under this umbrella, including Codorníu, Freixenet, Juvé & Camps, among others, sold about the same number of bottles as the previous year, with a slight decline on the international level. The president of the DO cava Regulatory Council, Javier Pagés, stated that the focus now is on value creation and that sales volume cannot grow much further. The aim is to boost earnings by enhancing the perceived value of the product.
The year’s final balance aligns with this view. Even with just a 1% rise in bottles sold compared to the prior year (252 million bottles), the DO cava generated 8% more revenue from this activity (2.2 billion euros). This increase is linked to higher prices driven by general inflation, a drought that sharply reduced available stock—the latest harvest in Catalonia was nearly 40% below 2021, the last year without adverse climate effects—and the effort by bodegas to position products as higher quality, a central objective of the Regulatory Council.
Pagés highlighted the positive performance of the represented companies in 2023, noting that they again reached a record figure after several years of growth. This is seen as meaningful and positive, especially in the context of a global economy slowing down and exports in volume and value declining in the wine segment.
In fact, the modest sales growth is largely explained by a 13% drop in demand in the United States, the second-largest export market for this sparkling wine group. Pagés linked this decline to a broader slowdown in the U.S. market for sparkling wines, including champagne and prosecco, due to an inventory misalignment. In other words, anticipatory supply concerns in Europe during multiple geopolitical and macroeconomic crises led the U.S. to disproportionately stock up in 2022.
It is also worth noting that the DO cava exports nearly 70% of what it produces, and international activity contracted by 0.25% in 2023. Meanwhile, domestic activity rose by 4%, a contrast the DO cava attributes to strong domestic tourism and growing acceptance of cava within Spain.
A notable trend is the price increases that are anticipated to persist. The emphasis on higher-quality cava coincides with a decline in sales of the Guarda Superior category, down 13% versus 2022. Pagés explained that this is less about demand or price and more about new regulations that prevent selling products as Guarda or Reservas without proper commitment to that category. He also highlighted the rising importance of ecological offerings.
Regarding the future, Pagés predicts little change in volume in the coming year, but improvements in value. He stated that the aim is for consumers to recognize the exceptional product and assign it the value it deserves. Regardless, he sees continued price increases driven by grape shortages.
No one has a crystal ball, Pagés said, but the evidence points to solid sales and gradually tightening supply in bodegas. With a harvest that reached about 40% less than 2021, he concluded that product scarcity will force higher prices as supply tightens and demand remains resilient.
At its core, the cava sector continues to balance quality investment with market realities, aiming to preserve brand prestige while navigating a market environment marked by inflation, shifting demand, and geopolitical uncertainty. Attribution: Official statements from the DO cava Regulatory Council and company reports.