Re-elected Cava president pledges to build ‘prestige’

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 01 August, 2022

Javier Pagés has been re-elected to the post of president of the Cava DO – a role he has pledged to use to continue to raise Cava’s status to one of “world’s highest quality sparkling wines”.

Pagés was unanimously re-elected to the post as head of the Cava DO Regulatory Council by 12 of his colleagues at the DO’s headquarters in Vilafranca del Penedès, last week.

As part of his continued tenure, he will be focusing on the DO’s strategic plan to ‘raise prestige’ for Cava on the international stage.

There has been a marked increase in Cava’s sales over the course of the pandemic. After falling sales in 2020 due to the loss of celebratory occasions, 2021 closed with a record number of shipments, +17.33% in volume of 252 million bottles – the highest figure in the history of Cava.

Sales to foreign markets showed the ‘universal popularity’ of Cava, the DO said: 71% of the DO’s total sales are international.

Abroad, Germany maintained its position as the main consumer country (+4.23%), followed by the US (+40%), Belgium, the UK and Japan.

A total of 19,918 bottles were shipped to the UK in 2021, slightly down from 2020 (-3.90%).

Now, Pagés is focused on boosting the DO’s Strategic Plan, which includes increased segmentation across the Cavas de Guarda Superior (Reserva, Gran Reserva and Paraje Calificado) designations, sustainability initiatives, and also zoning – emphasising the singularity of vineyards and territories.

“Unity is fundamental at such decisive times for the future of the sector. With it, the sector can achieve all the challenges we have set for ourselves and be a leading global designation of origin for some of the world’s highest quality sparkling wines,” Pagés said.

Boasting more than 70% of international sales, Cava is Spain’s largest exporting DO. The Cava industry has over 38,000ha of vineyards and more than 6,800 winegrowers. Its 370 associated wineries are present in more than 100 countries.

Printer friendly version