Por un producto identificado .... Comment of/ Comentario de Wines Inform Assessors

Por un producto identificado

Salvador Manjon
Comparar 25,39 millones de hectolitros, que ha sido el volumen de lo exportado por nuestro país durante el año 2018 de total de productos vitivinícolas (incluidos vinos aromatizados, mostos y vinagres), con lo importado en el mismo periodo y para las mismas categorías y cuyo volumen apenas supera los 1,5 millones de hectolitros resultaría, sencillamente, absurdo. Pero sí nos ayudaría a entender, o al menos en eso confiamos, un poco mejor qué consumimos y qué buscan los compradores de vino.
Lamentablemente, disponemos de poca y mala información sobre el consumo de vino en España y, por enclenque que pueda resultar cualquier conclusión que obtuviésemos de las estadísticas, siempre es mucho más que nada de cara a plantear posibles estrategias de recuperación incentivación del consumo.
Aunque no sea necesario, sí conviene recordar que somos el primer país del mundo en superficie, que ocupamos el tercer puesto (creciendo) en producción, que nuestra viticultura ha experimentado un cambio espectacular en los últimos lustros aumentando rendimientos y apostando por reestructuraciones a variedades internacionales o simplemente más productivas. Que nuestro consumo interno se mantiene estable en el entorno de los diez millones y medio de hectolitros, que cada uno decida si quiere tomarlo como estimado, aproximado, per cápita o cómo quiera calcularlo. Y que el comercio exterior no deja de crecer desde hace más de veinticinco años, habiéndonos convertido en el primer país del mundo en volumen de exportación.
Y digo que no conviene olvidar estos datos, porque si nuestra producción aumenta y el consumo se mantiene estable; no cabe otra que vender fuera lo que no somos capaces de vender dentro. Y que solo cuando las cosechas se ven afectadas por los envites de la naturaleza y descienden bruscamente, aumentando los precios, que tengamos que importar encuentra explicación.
Bajo este paraguas se puede entender más fácilmente que durante 2018 el primer país del que nos hayamos abastecido sea Argentina con el 24,5% del total de vino y que su precio medio haya sido de 0,51 €/litro cuando el precio medio de lo importando ha sido de 2,35 €/litro. Pero aún hay más y es que si nos fijamos en que los vinos más importados de Argentina han sido los “sin D.O.P. y a granel” y su precio medio ha sido de 0,42 €/litro, el más bajo de todos, podríamos aseverar que el motivo de la importación de más de un cuarto del volumen total no lo ha sido porque los consumidores españoles están deseosos de vinos argentinos, sino porque han sido utilizados por los operadores para presionar sobre los precios.
Especial mención merecen los casos de Francia, primero en precio medio con 12,08 €/litro; e Italia, segundo en volumen (solo después de Argentina) con 22,8 millones de litros. Ambos casos con los vinos espumosos como principal objeto de deseo. Champagne con un alto valor en el caso de Francia y una gran estabilidad que pone de manifiesto la fidelidad de los consumidores de este vino. Así como el gran interés que están despertando en el mercado español los espumosos italianos, ocupando el primer puesto entre los proveedores de vino espumoso a España con un precio medio de 2,38 €/litro.
Recibir y consumir vinos de otros países y estilos es enriquecedor y favorece el consumo de vino. Es un requisito básico para adquirir esa cultura vitivinícola necesaria para que el consumo sea sostenido, moderado y enriquecedor. Si estos vinos nos llegan a granel y son empleados por nuestras bodegas para abaratar el coste medio de sus comercializados, la gran mayoría de esa riqueza se pierde.


Comment of/ Comentario de Wines Inform Assessors:
In a country where public funds are spent to extract wine from the market and turn it into alcohol, bulk wine imports at low prices should be controlled not only by the public administration but also by the sector itself and the media.
Knowing if they are re-exported, who imports them and their impact on prices in the sector are fundamental elements for a sectoral policy
In favor absolutely of knowing and consuming products from any place, but always that they contribute knowledge or solve supply problems - and this last one is not the case of the wine in bulk in Spain, perhaps if in Germany or other countries-
Wines Inform Assessors
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En un país en que se gastan fondos públicos para sacar vino del mercado y convertirlo en alcohol, las importaciones de vino a granel a bajo precio debieran ser controladas no sólo por la administración pública si no también por el propio sector y los medios informativos.
Saber si se reexportan, quienes las importan y su incidencia en precios en el sector son elementos fundamentales para una política sectorial
A favor absolutamente de conocer y consumir productos de cualquier lugar, pero siempre que aporten conocimiento o resuelvan problemas de aprovisionamiento -y éste último no es el caso del vino a granel en España, quizás si en Alemania o otros países-
Wines Inform Assessors
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Orígen información: Salvador Manjón 

We export wines and food from Spain. Demand it to winesinform@gmail.com
Puede pedir vinos y alimentos de España a winesinform@gmail.com 
 Pot demanar vi i aliments de Espanya  a winesinform@gmail.com

El granel español incrementa los precios hasta 0,45 con menos oferta

El granel español incrementa los precios hasta 0,45 con menos oferta

                            

Las ventas españolas de vino a granel han experimentado en los cuatro primeros meses del año 2017 (enero-abril) un retroceso del 11,6% al pasar de 4,40 a 3,89 millones de hectolitros y un incremento del precio superior al 6% al ir desde los 164,33 a los 174,5 millones de euros, con un incremento del precio medio superior al 20% con 0,45 euros el litro desde los 0,37 euros de 2016, según datos procesados y analizados por el Observatorio Español del Mercado del Vino (OEMV).

           

José Luis Murcia Periodista. Presidente de AEPEV-FIJEV.

Pero la noticia está, sin duda, en que las ventas de vino a granel de calidad (con denominación varietal, IGP o DOP) han escalado hasta el 25% del total al acaparar 0,97 millones de hectolitros frente a los 2,92 millones de hectolitros de granel genérico, que ha alcanzado un precio medio de 0,42 euros el litro, con un incremento del 23,5% del precio medio, aunque las ventas en volumen cayeron un 15,4% y se incrementaron en valor un 4,4%.

Los vinos con indicación de variedad se incrementaron un 10,5% en volumen hasta los 0,77 millones de hectolitros, con un precio medio de 0,46 euros el litro, superior en un 14,6%. Los vinos con IGP cayeron un 20% en volumen hasta los 0,14 millones de hectolitros por importe de 8,4 millones de euros y un precio medio de 0,62 euros el litro, un 6,3% superior. Los vinos a granel con DOP cayeron casi un 22% en volumen hasta los 0,063 millones de hectolitros y un 11,4% en valor hasta los 7,3 millones de euros. Eso sí, a un envidiable precio de 1,15 euros el litro.

Los informes de vino a granel se dividen claramente en dos desde la creación del nuevo capítulo de bag-in-box para todas aquellas ventas de vino en envases entre dos y diez litros. Mientras, a partir de esa cantidad se sigue considerando granel como tal. La realidad es que el vino acapara en la primera de las categorías el 2,3% del volumen y el 6,2% del valor, dada la escasísima tradición en España del uso de este tipo de envases, mucho más común en exportadores como Chile o Sudáfrica.

Las compras de granel español las ha liderado claramente Francia con 1,44 millones de hectolitros por valor de 57 millones de euros, seguido de Alemania con 0,68 millones de hectolitros por cerca de 25 millones de euros, Portugal, que crece cerca de un 54%, con 0,34 millones de hectolitros por casi 15 millones de euros.

Incrementa sus compras de manera increíble China con 18 millones de litros por más de 8 millones de euros, con subidas del 208% en valor y del 275% en volumen. Algo parecido le ocurre a Canadá, que aumenta un 59% en valor hasta los 2,6 millones de euros y más de un 44% en volumen hasta los 5,5 millones de litros. Rusia, tras la escalada de 2016, se desinfla y cae casi un 23% en volumen hasta los 26 millones de litros y un 7% en valor hasta los 10,6 millones de euros. En resumen, unos buenos datos que si se consolidan ubicarían al granel español cerca del lugar que le corresponde.


Origen información: El Correo del Vino

WBWE 2016: Evolution of Bulk Wine Market ... Comentario de / Comment of Wines Inform Assessors

WBWE 2016: Evolution of Bulk Wine Market

Jan 04: While wine connoisseurs love to flaunt their premium wine collections and reminisce about their visits to wineries, a sizeable chunk of the world wine market consists of bulk wines that are supplied and used by many of those wineries and importers including India, writes Subhash Arora who attended the 8th edition of the World Bulk Wine Exhibition as well as the annual presentation about the current scenario by Rafael del Rey, Director General of Observatorio Español del Mercado del Vino, Spanish Observatory of Wine Markets

World Bulk Wine Exhibition(WBWE) has established itself as a premium wine show on bulk wines and so far has been the only such platform in the world where the buyers and sellers come and valuate the latest in the world market. This is also a very useful and important platform where the two negotiate and finalize deals. The two-day annual Show was held on November 21-22 this year.   One of the interesting aspects of this Exhibition is a string of seminars on topical subjects presented by eminent speakers from different countries. In fact, I had been invited to speak on the Indian market in the 2014 edition. Besides, the inaugural seminar by the Director General of OIV which supports the exhibition (the bulk wine constitutes 40% of world business, the then Director General of OIV Federico Castellucci had told me when I was invited for the first time and had sought to know if I should attend it). Another very interesting seminar is a Presentation by Rafael del Rey, Director General, Observatorio Español del Mercado del Vino (Spanish Observatory of Wine Markets). He gives a detailed statistical analysis of the current market scenario, based on his collection and collation of data, updated till June of the current year. This is a very interesting seminar focused on the bulk market. It was no different this year and was attended with rapt attention by a full house. The general evolution of wine trade remains impressive, although stabilized this year, said Rafael. Within the general evolution, bulk has remained around 10% of total value; now down to 9.5% up to June this year with total business of wines in  €28.725 billion with bulk having a share of €2.732 billion YoY till June, 2016. With a share of 3,850 million liters on YoY basis till 2016 exports of bulk wine out of a total of 9,965 million liters of total wine exported, bulk wine had a substantial share of 38.6%, highest during this millennium. Italy used to be the global leader in bulk wines in value, till 2011 when Spain overtook and is now the leader both in terms of Euros and liters. Spain already overtook Italy in volume since 2003 when Italy cut down heavily on its exports to France. It is followed by Italy and France. Following them are Australia and Chile which are very close. USA and South Africa are the other two important bulk wine suppliers making the Top Seven. Pricing France and the USA are the only bulk wine exporters selling above 1 €/l, with most exporters trading at around €0.70/l. Spain has always been between at the bottom of the list (generally between €0.35 to €0.45, with the exception of 2013, after the short, much less-than-average 2012 harvest. Importers   Germany continues to be the biggest importer of bulk wines followed by France (See Table). The UK, which does not produce much domestic wine relies on bulk imports and bottling within the country to save costs and the carbon footprints. USA, Russia and Italy, Chine Portugal, Canada and Sweden in that order make the Top Ten importer of bulk wines. It is interesting to see Sweden in the list of Top Ten bulk wine importers. With practically no domestic production, Sweden imports large quantity of wine as Bag-in-the box packaging. Under the international convention, any packaging over 2 liters is considered bulk wine and hence the skewed results. Another interesting observation made by Rafael was that China showed a substantial increase both in value (in €) and volume terms in 2016 (YoY-June 2016). With no specific laws in China determining or restricting the amount of bulk imported wine in its domestic wine. This was followed by France, Canada, Norway, Russia and Belgium, with positive rates between 1 and 11%. Denmark and UK grew in volume but not in value (buy more or less the same but cheaper), while Sweden spends more Euros in less wine and Switzerland, Japan and specially Italy reduced purchase in both litres and Euros. It may be pertinent to note that a small amount of bulk wine finds its way either into India indirectly or in the form of BIO (bottled in origin) or for blending. Over a decade earlier, a few Indian companies used to import bulk wine but with the import duty of 150% and the local states not allowing the state duty benefits for such imports, it has been curtailed. However, imports of packaged bulk wines to a small extent is currently possible. For more information, visit www.oemv.es Comentario de / Comment of Wines Inform Assessors: Está claro que conseguir precios rentables en el vino a granel de España, aunque  también en los vinos embotellados es uno de los puntos claves para el sector   -quizás disminuyendo la producción total,ver las cifras económicas en http://spainwinesnews-noticiasdevinoespanol.blogspot.com.es/2017/03/espana-exporta-el-vino-106-euros-por.html y http://spainwinesnews-noticiasdevinoespanol.blogspot.com.es/2017/03/espana-es-el-tercer-productor-mundial.html- Wines Inform Assessors, Barcelona .... It is clear that obtaining profitable prices in the bulk wine of Spain, but also in bottled wines is one of the key points for the sector - perhaps decreasing overall production, see economic figures at http://spainwinesnews-noticiasdevinoespanol.blogspot.com.es/2017/03/espana-exporta-el-vino-106-euros-por.html y http://spainwinesnews-noticiasdevinoespanol.blogspot.com.es/2017/03/espana-es-el-tercer-productor-mundial.html- Wines Inform Assessors, Barcelona ...... See Table Subhash Arora Origin information: Indian Wine Academy

España exporta el vino a 1,06 euros por litro ... Comment of / Comentario de Wines Inform Assessors



España exporta el vino a 1,06 euros por litro

Castilla-La Mancha, a un precio inferior a 0,50 euros por litro, es  la comunidad autónoma que lidera las exportaciones españolas

Según el análisis de los datos de Aduanas realizado por el Observatorio Español del Mercado del Vino (OeMv), las exportaciones vitivinícolas españolas, que reúnen vino, mosto y vinagre, registraron caídas en 2016, más en términos de volumen (-9,2%) que de valor (-1,2%) al subir el precio medio un 8,8% hasta los 1,06 €/litro, frente a los 97 céntimos de 2015.

En cifras absolutas, las exportaciones se situaron en los 2.757,4 millones de litros y en los 2.917,3 millones de euros, 280 millones de litros y 36,4 millones de euros menos que los comercializados el año anterior.

En general, España exporta menos litros de productos vitivinícolas en 2016, a precios que suben ya bastante por la mejor evolución de los vinos con mayor valor añadido unido al encarecimiento de los graneles, minimizan la pérdida de las ventas exteriores españolas en valor durante 2016.


Sólo cinco comunidades registraron precios más baratos el pasado año, lo que hace que el precio de venta global sea el más elevado desde 2013.


Castilla-La Mancha y Valencia, lideran las exportaciones españolas

Graneles y mostos llevan tiempo cayendo en exportación, consecuencia de unas cosechas más "normales" que la histórica de 2013.


Castilla-La Mancha dejó de exportar 184 millones de litros el pasado año (-11,3%), aunque lideró las ventas con el 53,3% del total.


Extremadura lideró junto a CLM la caída global al perder 86 millones de litros (-32%), superada por Cataluña como tercera proveedora.


CLM y Extremadura, muy enfocadas a los graneles, registraron los precios más económicos para el conjunto de vinos, las dos por debajo de los 50 céntimos/litro. Son junto a la Comunidad Valenciana (72 céntimos) las únicas que muestran un precio inferior a la media nacional; la suma de las tres representó más del 70% del volumen total exportado.


En términos de valor, fue Cataluña la principal protagonista de la caída global al reducir en 38,7 millones sus ingresos respecto a 2015, seguida de Extremadura y La Rioja, ambas con pérdidas que rondaron los 18 millones.


Andalucía, la que más aumenta su facturación

Son más, no obstante, las Comunidades que crecieron en valor que las que cayeron: especialmente Andalucía, región que más ha aumentado su facturación (+13 millones de euros) así como su volumen (+30,8 millones de litros), particularmente por unas ventas de granel (quizás coyunturales) desde Málaga a Rusia.


Destaca la subida de la Comunidad de Madrid (+7,8 millones de euros), País Vasco (+6,4 millones) o Aragón (+5,4%), con datos positivos también para Baleares, Canarias, Galicia, Asturias o Cantabria.


Por el contrario, Murcia y Navarra redujeron sus ventas, en el caso de Navarra por la fuerte caída de mostos y vinagres.
Castilla y León exportó menos litros pero facturó más al subir de precio, siendo el cuarto más elevado con 5,15 €/litro. En este aspecto, Canarias (8,41 €) y Baleares (7,48 €) vuelven a registrar precios muy superiores al resto.


Comment of / Comentario de Wines Inform Assessors:


Two observations.

- Is there an excessive production of wine?

Spain produced 3,780 million liters in 2016 and exported 2,757.4 million liters. The remaining 1,022.6 million liters were consumed in the national market, with the average consumption per inhabitant of about 16 liters and the Spanish population of about 47 Millions, the Spanish consumption would be about 752 million liters, leaving 270.6 million liters of which we do not know where they end up

Anyway seeing the numbers, which is exported a lot and at a low price and with numerous export marketing financial aids I keep asking the question of whether there is an excessive production of wine.

- The price disparity corroborates my opinion in avoiding the standardization of advertising based only on Made in Spain or D.O and on the importance of the wineries reinforcing their individual image although this should include their link to the territory and the authenticity of products and producers as emblem


Wines Inform Assessors, Barcelona
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Dos observaciones:


- ¿No hay una producción excesiva de vino?


España produjo en 2016 3.780 millones de litros y exportó 2.757,4 millones de litros. Los 1.022,6 millones de litros restantes se consumieron en el mercado nacional , siendo el consumo medio por habitante de unos 16 litros y la población española de unos 47 millones, el consumo español sería de unos 752 millones de litros con lo que quedan 270,6 millones de litros que no se sabe donde acaban
De todas maneras viendo los números, que se exporta mucho y a bajo precio y con numerosas ayudas monetarias de comercialización a la exportacion me quedo con la pregunta de si no hay una producción excesiva de vino.


- La disparidad de precios corrobora mi opinión en evitar la uniformización de la publicidad basada sólo en el Made in Spain o en la D.O. y en la importancia de que las bodegas refuerzen su imagen individual aunque esta debe incluir su vinculación al territorio y la autenticidad de productos y productores como emblema


Wines Inform Assessors, Barcelona



Origen información: Vinetur y Wines Inform Assessors

Vino ... Sempre più imbottigliato “a destinazione”

Sempre più imbottigliato “a destinazione”

Dai romani ai giorni nostri, il vino ha sempre viaggiato per nave. Un legame che oggi si ripropone con dinamiche in parte diverse.

Con il vino che (nella fascia medio-bassa), parte sempre più sfuso e, grazie alle tecnologie di trasporto, viene sempre più imbottigliato nel mercato di destinazione, o durante il tragitto.

Sfruttando ancora una volta la grande “deregulation” che vige nei Paesi del Nuovo Mondo enoico, in Australia la quota di vino sfuso esportato è passata dal 10% degli anni ’90 al 60% del 2010, e la Nuova Zelanda ha visto crescere dal 4 al 30% la quota di Sauvignon Blanc sfuso nell’arco di pochissimi anni (con meta top la Gran Bretagna).

E non fa specie che proprio da qui arrivi con una forza non trascurabile questa nuova tendenza. Un “escamotage” ulteriore per ridurre i prezzi dei vini di quei Paesi, che continuano ad essere quelli più a buon mercato e quindi “naturali” protagonisti del consumo di vino più largo e del suo impiego come materia prima nell’industria enologica. E gli aspetti positivi, secondo alcuni, non sono pochi: da una maggiore flessibilità di gestione sul
mercato, tra costi e packaging, ad una riduzione delle emissioni di Co2 se il vino viaggia in flexitank piuttosto che in bottiglia.



Fonte informazioni: WineNews

Spain’s Wine Industry Is Hiccuping From Its Excesses



A vineyard in Spain’s largest wine region, Castile-La Mancha, where bulk production predominates. Credit Samuel Aranda for The New York Times



TOMELLOSO, Spain — For many, winemaking conjures up images of rolling vineyards, oak barrels and cavernous cellars.

But here at Virgen de las Viñas, or Virgin of the Vineyards, the biggest producer in Spain’s largest wine region, production comes in the shape of giant steel vats and hoses connected to tank trucks. Employees work three shifts to keep the place running 24 hours a day.

“We don’t elaborate wine here — we produce wine,” said Isidro Rodríguez, the company’s technical director. “This is really a factory.”

This is the unromantic side of winemaking in the region of Castile-La Mancha, which accounts for half of Spain’s wine production. Most of it is sold in bulk and transported abroad, where it can be mixed with other wines and even re-exported.

While Spain’s producers churned out vast quantities of wine, some began to reconsider whether sheer volume was the best strategy, as overproduction sank both prices and the country’s wine reputation.

“Castile-La Mancha ticks all the boxes as a bulk agricultural region, but perhaps not all of them for higher quality wine,” said Miguel Ángel Benito, a sommelier and technical director of a wine museum in Peñafiel, in Castile and León, another wine region.

“Spain has been tapping into a growing market for bulk,” he added, “because there are millions of people who love wine but can’t afford an expensive bottle.”    



A worker at Virgen de las Viñas, the biggest producer in Castile-La Mancha. Credit Samuel Aranda for The New York Times

Yet even some bulk producers in Castile-La Mancha are feeling a hangover from too much of a good thing.

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“We’ve boosted our exports significantly, but probably too rapidly, so that we’ve now got the wrong price pyramid, with a lot of wine sold very cheaply,” said Rafael del Rey, the director of the Spanish Observatory of the Wine Market, an institute that researches and promotes the country’s wine.

In recent years, France and Italy have jostled for the top spot as the world’s biggest wine-producing nation, with Spain third, well ahead of countries like the United States, Chile and Australia.

The bulk producers in Castile-La Mancha are understandably proud of the state-of-the-art irrigation, harvest mechanization and storage systems that they put in place, with help from European Union subsidies. Coupled with relatively low labor costs, their infrastructure has allowed them to lower the price of their wine to half that of France’s.

But Mr. del Rey offers a telling comparison between Spain and Italy. In 2000, both countries exported their wine at the same average price, 1.41 euros per liter. By 2014, Italy was selling its wine for an average of €2.5 per liter, or $2.78 under the current exchange rate, while Spain’s sold for €1.17, or $1.30.

In that period, Italian exports rose 15 percent in volume and Spain’s 154 percent. But Spain’s export revenue reached only €2.6 billion, about half the value of Italian exports.

Spain’s bulk wine has displaced Italy’s on the European market, particularly in France. Spain now sells about 500 million liters to France, 90 percent of which are bulk exports, at an average price of four-tenths of a euro per liter.

France has recently been exporting almost 250 million liters of bulk wine, at an average of €1.24, three times Spain’s price, Mr. del Rey said.   



The laboratory at the El Progreso wine factory. Credit Samuel Aranda for The New York Times



                   

“I’m not saying that exactly the same liter that left Spain is then re-exported from France,” he said, “but it’s undeniable that some Spanish wine becomes part of French exports, with a lot of added value.”

But even Spain’s neighbors are beginning to complain that the country is producing too much wine — and dumping it in their markets.

In April, French farmers stopped five Spanish trucks near the border and drained their wine onto the road, to protest what they see as unfair competition. Spain’s Foreign Ministry then complained to France, saying it needed to prevent such attacks.

Cesáreo Cabrera del Prado, the president of El Progreso, a large producer in Castile-La Mancha, said he could understand that some French farmers were upset, “but each country has its strengths.”

While Spain has been undercutting France’s production costs for wine, he said, “French dairy farmers have done the same to our Spanish milk.”

El Progreso bottles only about 5 percent of its wine, the most expensive of which retails for €6, or $6.67, a bottle. Most of its wine is instead poured into the tanks of trucks, and some is then packaged through the bag-in-box system. A plastic bag of as much as 20 liters is placed inside a cardboard box, which sometimes already carries a foreign name.

In one corner of the El Progreso warehouse, for instance, there are boxes marked as an American brand, but they also carry a “Product of Spain” label of origin.

Some Spanish wine regions, however, have changed their ways.

Two decades ago, the authorities in La Rioja, in northern Spain, introduced legislation requiring producers to bottle their wine. The measure was challenged, going as far as the European Court of Justice, which in 2000 rejected a case brought by somebody who still wanted to import bulk Rioja wine.

Could Castile-La Mancha follow Rioja’s lead? That “sounds right but is simply not practical,” mainly because of the size of Castile-La Mancha’s vineyards, said Javier de la Fuente, the general manager of the Rioja wine regulatory council.

When Rioja introduced the ban, bulk wine accounted for only 5 percent of its production, he said, while in Castile-La Mancha, “a lot of big producers absolutely rely on bulk and its economies of scale.”

Although many experts believe Spain should reduce its reliance on bulk wine, such an overhaul could be harmful, they said, particularly to the thousands of farmers in Castile-La Mancha who sell their grapes for bulk production.

Castile-La Mancha’s producers began to emphasize bulk wine in 2009 after the European Union decided to end subsidies for distilled alcohol.

Strong harvests since then have pushed Spain’s pricing toward record lows, and Virgen de las Viñas is hoping to break even this year, after reporting a loss last year, said Enrique Cepeda, its chief executive. He does not expect prices to rise soon.

“Somebody who makes a Seat would be happy to sell instead a Porsche,” Mr. Cepeda said, comparing bulk wine to Spain’s household car brand. “But you can’t make such a switch easily.”

Still, some smaller producers in Castile-La Mancha are gaining recognition for the quality of their wine — and finding it increasingly uncomfortable to cohabit with their giant neighbors.

Carlos Falcó, a Spanish aristocrat whose family runs the Marqués de Griñón wine estate, recently began lobbying politicians to help shift this region away from bulk wine.

“When I have a foreign customer visiting my cellar and I want to sell him a bottle for 20, 30 or 40 euros, the fact that he might know that there are bottles sold nearby for just a few cents doesn’t really help,” Mr. Falcó said.

Origin information: The New York Times

Ataques a las cisternas cargadas con vino procedente de España ...La UE, de nuevo, en evidencia

La UE, de nuevo, en evidencia

 

 

 

salvador manjón

Que la Unión Europea hace agua por todas partes resulta evidente a poco que reflexionemos sobre cómo está resolviendo la crisis de los refugiados, cómo ha actuado con la crisis financiera, o los privilegios que está dispuesta a conceder a los países que considera de primera. Incluso tirar un poco de hemeroteca bastaría para comprobar que los mismos problemas que nos llevan a analizar este asunto desde una publicación como esta, especializada en el sector vitivinícola, vienen repitiéndose desde nuestra misma entrada en esta especie de club que tantas ventajas presenta, pero que está a años luz de conseguir ser una verdadera Unión Europea, donde impere el principio de libertad de circulación de personas y mercancías.

Pasando por alto que los únicos responsables de las barbaries que se cometen son los que las realizan y que no podemos, ni debemos, responsabilizar a las autoridades de las atrocidades cometidas por unos pocos energúmenos (de los que no nos libramos nadie). La vuelta a los ataques a las cisternas cargadas con vino procedente de España y el derrame de su mercancía nos devuelven a tiempos que creíamos superados y ponen de manifiesto que el hecho de ser el primer país suministrador de vino al país galo tiene algunos inconvenientes, especialmente económicos. 

Venderles 6,51 millones de hectolitros como hicimos en 2015 no parece que haya sido ningún problema, y mucho menos los que les enviamos con D.O.P. (2,2%), Envasados (5,26%), espumosos (3,28%) u otros vinos (12,12%) a unos precios de 2,2 €/litro, 0,73 €/l, 1,25 €/l y 0,66 €/l respectivamente. Todos ellos a años luz de los precios a los que venden los suyos, pero con escasa relevancia.

El problema está en los vinos a granel sin D.O.P., que en 2015 fueron el 77,13% (502.142.743 litros) de lo que les vendimos y a un precio medio de 0,32 euros litro. Claro que cuando el mercado interior es fluido y la producción propia va encontrando acomodo a precios que se sitúan, en esta categoría de vino, entre los 80 y los 90 euros hectolitro, no hay problema. Lo que sí sucede cuando, como en estos momentos en el que los precios están en el entorno de los 70 €/hl., no consiguen venderlos porque las bodegas embotelladoras o comercializadoras están abasteciéndose de vinos español a unos precios similares a los de año pasado.

El caso es que nada de todo esto es nuevo, los precios no son tan diferentes de los que se operaba hace unos meses, los volúmenes tan diferentes, ni los compradores otros que no lo hicieran ya. El “único” problema está en que antes los viticultores mantenían los precios más altos porque había mercado, y ahora el escaso movimiento comercial les está obligando a bajar sus cotizaciones hasta los 70-75 euros hectolitro y aun así les está costando vender.

Orígen información: Salvador Manjón

Furious French wine makers hijack Spanish tankers, pouring 90,000 bottles down the drain

French winemakers watch wine flowing from the tap of a Spanish truck's tanker in Le Boulon, ten kilometres from the French-Spanish border, during a demonstration against southern countries' wine imports.  Credit: RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty

• Henry Samuel, Paris

5 April 2016 

 

Wine makers in southern France have hijacked five tankers full of Spanish wine on the border, pouring the equivalent of 90,000 bottles of red and white down the drain in protest at “unfair competition”.

Cheers erupted as around around 150 furious vintners from the Aude and Pyénées-Orientales departments unscrewed the cap on two tankers at Le Boulou, close to the Mediterranean town of Perpignan and less than ten miles from Spain, and emptied their contents onto the motorway on Monday. 

Three other Spanish vehicles were allowed to leave with their tanks half empty after having the words "vin non conforme" (non-compliant wine) daubed on their sides. Local police looked on at the “social action”, while French vintners took samples to check for fraudulent wine.

French winemakers open the tap of a Spanish truck's wine tanker in Le Boulon. Credit: RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty

Many wine makers in the region feel that French wine does not receive enough protection on the home market, and are angry about what they see as a suspicious spike in imports from Spain and Italy, where lower social charges and less red tape enable producers to sell their goods more cheaply.

They also claim that many Spanish producers are fraudulently mixing their wines with South American fare, some even slapping “Made in France” labels on the bottles.
“If a French wine maker produced wine with Spanish rules, he simply wouldn’t be able to sell it,” said Frédéric Rouanet, the president of the Aude winemakers’ union. “Europe’s all very well, but with the same rules for all.”

He added: “We imported 7.2 million hectolitres of wine in all in 2015. We don’t understand how imports rose by two million hectolitres in one go and suspect fraud. Plus the Spanish are selling it at €32 (£26) the hectolitre compared to €78 here. We would go under at that price in France.”
Denis Pigouche, president of Pyrenees-Orientales winemakers said: “These wines have no place in France. What’s more they’re not even necessarily European. I suspect they are from South America and then ‘Hispanicised' in Barcelona and then Europeanised, or even Frenchified in France."

The protest comes after industry figures showed that France is now the biggest buyer of Spanish wine – purchasing 580million litres in 2014, a 40 per cent rise on 2013. France has also lost its status as the world’s biggest wine producer. Last year Italy produced 4,900 million litres compared with 4,700 million litres in France.

French winemakers gather around a Spanish truck in Le Boulou Credit: RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty 

Unions say that French wine makers had been in negotiations for months with the local authorities but had not received sufficient assurances that their grievances were being taken seriously. “So we’ve decided to take matters into our own hands,” said Mr Rouanet.
He said the tanker hijack was “just the beginning” unless their demands were met, threatening action in the nearby port of Sète against the import of Italian wines.
“We will continue until we’ve proved that the illegal traffic of wine is going on. We are going to protect our consumers. You can trace our wine from the vineyards to the bottle and those same rules should apply to all.”

Wine makers in southwestern France are notoriously hot-blooded and even have a shadowy “armed wing” called le Crav – the Comité Régional d’Action Viticole -  that has conducted various commando operations over the years, even laying explosives at “enemy” wine distributors it feels are not supporting local produce.

French winemakers watch wine flowing from the tap of a Spanish truck's tanker in Le Boulon. Credit: RAYMOND ROIG/AFP/Getty

Outrage over such fraud led to the region's first and most deadly wine riots in 1907, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Narbonne, and six people were killed when the army opened fire on the protesters.

Mr Rouanet made a name for himself in recent weeks after threatening to block at least one of the Tour de France race stages when the bike race organisers chose a Chilean wine as an official sponsor. Bicicleta, from Chile's Cono Sur company, will only be advertised at promotional events held when the race briefly enters Switzerland, Andorra and Spain, as under French law no alcohol brands can be promoted during sports events in the country.

The prospect of the the stage between Carcassonne and Montpellier being blocked if the partnership with the New World winemaker goes ahead led to government assurances that local French produce would be given pride of place at stage starts and finishes.
However, the wine makers still say they feel “humiliated” and are due to meet Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme on May 10.

Origin information:  The Telegraph