Barcelona Wine Week aims to put Spain on the global map

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 30 October, 2023

Barcelona Wine Week is continuing to cement its position as the pre-eminent wine fair for Spanish wine as it prepares for a sold out 2024 event.

Exhibitor tickets for the February fair, which aims to offer the benchmark event for quality Spanish wine, sold out its tickets since last July. At present, more than 850 wineries and 70 DOs have confirmed their participation, as the event looks to analyse the main challenges facing the industry, from valuation to adaptation to the climate emergency.

Javier Pagès, president of Barcelona Wine Week, addressed the effects of this harvest season’s drought, which are currently evident in many areas of the country.

Read more: Spanish wine has potential in diversity

“Drought is putting the industry in great difficulty, although it has not affected all territories equally. This is a serious concern that requires different solutions. Some are short-term, such as those that have had to be adopted for this harvest. But long-term changes need to be discussed and adopted because the wine industry will have to live with climate change and incorporate measures in its future plans,” he said.

Running from 5 to 7 February 2024, the event is now looking to attract major buyers from all over the world. It has advanced its aim to be an internationally recognised event in recent years, by highlighting the ongoing investment in quality Spanish winemaking.

“Spanish wine has been investing in quality for many years, has developed a great deal of knowledge and has also improved its reach to markets and consumers. The results are here, today it is in a better position than ever to compete internationally for its uniqueness, quality and value,” Pagès said.

Cava is in the spotlight, too. With its home in the Catalonian capital, the event is looking to put the focus on the region’s fizz, where the majority of production is concentrated.

Despite the impacts of drought and forecasted shortage, cava is “in a good place”, Pagès commented, with sales and markets are growing, while the category is “gaining in value”.

More broadly for Spanish wine, he added: “Valuing the industry remains the main challenge. It is a marathon and needs to be run with consistency and perseverance… Excellence, diversity, authenticity and quality are levers and attributes that explain what Spanish wine is all about… [But] we have to gamble. We can’t be everything, the market doesn’t understand that. We need to take a stand.”

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