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Date Published: 25/09/2024

The rise of white: The wine scene in Spain swings away from reds

More than half of the wine produced in Spain in the last 12 months was white due to this changing trend

For centuries, Spain has been synonymous with red wine. From the rich, full-bodied Riojas to the bold, fruity Tempranillos, red wine has long been the country's drink of choice. But times are changing, and a new trend is emerging: white and rosé wines are overtaking red as the preferred choice among wine drinkers in Spain.

According to Rafael del Rey, general director of the Spanish Wine Market Observatory (OEMV), this is not a passing fad, but a stable long-term trend.

“They are easier to drink and are more popular, especially among young people and women,” he explained, adding that the popularity of “low-alcohol, fresh, pleasant, fruity and refreshing wines, such as whites, rosés or sparkling wines, is increasing in Spain and around the world.”

The numbers back up this trend. According to official data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the average price of white wine in Spain has soared, even surpassing that of red wine.

In the first week of September, the average price of white wine was 48.24 euros per hectolitre, compared to 42.71 euros for red wine. This means that white is almost 27% more expensive than this time last year.

Unsurprisingly, vineyard owners are following the markets and they’ve altered their wine production tactics to cash in. As a result, between August 2023 and July 2024, of the 27,827,661 hectolitres of wine produced in Spain, 14,950,384 were white (53%) and the remaining 12,877,277 were red and rosé.

“There is now a greater demand for white grapes, especially from Castilla-La Mancha - the main wine-growing region in Europe - because wine producers think that they will sell better than red, something that has not traditionally been the case, and that is why prices at source are rising,” Rafael del Rey confirmed.

Sources in the wine sector have also highlighted that the increased demand is accompanied by a lower supply due to a "historically low harvest" in the 2023/2024 campaign due to the long period of drought. As we’ve seen with other produce like fruit and vegetables, this supply-demand disparity usually causes the prices to shoot up.

The days of red wine aren’t over, however, as there’s still a huge demand for high-quality Spanish vino tinto in the Asian and British markets. However, closer to home, unsold bottles are piling up.

According to the Ministry, there are “exceptional difficulties for certain wine producers in different regions of Europe, who are faced with an unprecedented accumulation of stocks in their cellars.”

This situation has led Brussels to allow the application of extraordinary measures since 2023, such as green harvesting - removing bunches of grapes when they are still unripe to reduce the yield of the plot - and crisis distillation - converting surplus wine into alcohol for industrial use - to avoid oversupply and adapt production to demand.

Despite all this, official data from the government indicate that in Spain there is still a majority preference for red wine over white. Thus, more than 65% of the wine consumed in homes is red, compared to 29% that is white. Rosé wines account for the remaining 5%.

In other news: Mercadona announces surprise opening hours for Spain Day

Image: Pixabay

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