The Catalan wine sector
Wine culture, tradition and landscape are such an inherent part of Catalonia's history that it has become a symbol of our nation. The Greek and Roman civilisations brought vine-growing to the Mediterranean. Since then, vines, vineyards, wineries and wines have been part of our history.
Industry
The Catalan wine sector has a very robust and competitive structure with over 600 bottling wineries, 8,359 winemakers, and 42,822 hectares of arable land with a Catalan DO.
Most Catalan wine has a designation of origin. The current DOs are:Alella, Catalunya, Conca de Barberà, Costers del Segre, Empordà, Montsant, Penedès, Pla de Bages, Priorat, Tarragona i Terra Alta, as well as the DO Cava.
The wine-making industry employs some 4,800 people, a figure that rises to 25,900 if we include the people who work in vineyards, wineries and the service sector.
Catalan Designations of Origin
*DO CATALUNYA: in addition to the wineries that are exclusively registered with the DO Catalunya, this also covers wineries with other designations of origin, the total of which gives the figures on wine production in this DO. The total figures for the DO Catalunya are: surface area: 42,431 ha; winemakers: 5,459; wineries: 202. The DO Catalunya wine production figures include all wineries registered under this DO (whether exclusively or not).
Surface area
Catalonia is the fifth-largest autonomous community for vineyard surface area, with 55,118 hectares (5.77% of the total)
Catalonia is the second-biggest autonomous community when it comes to organic vineyards, and the third in the proportion of organic hectares as compared to conventional (27.1%). In terms of the number of organic wineries and organic wine bottlers, Catalonia is first, with 205 businesses.
55,118 total ha
(SOURCE: MAPAMA – Arable Land and Yields Survey ESYRCE, 2016)
42.822 Ha with registered DO
(Source: INCAVI, 2016)
14.877 Ha organic
(Source: MAPAMA - Sub-directorate General for Differentiated Quality and Organic Farming, 2017).
Production
Production has remained very steady over the last decade at some 3.1 million hectolitres, due to increased yield per hectare.
NEWS FROM SECTOR WINE
07.26.22
The Festival ‘Catalonia in Mexico’ promotes more than 100 gourmet products from 23 Catalan companies
The Delegation of the Government of Catalonia in Mexico, El Palacio de Hierro, and Prodeca have joined forces to celebrate the "Festival of Catalonia in Mexico " under the slogan "Catalonia, where food is culture" in different parts of the Central American country.
06.07.22
The Catalan wine sector grows for the first time in exports since the pandemic
Wine and cava from Catalonia are recovering from the pandemic. The Catalan sector's exports are growing for the first time in the last two years, experiencing an increase of 18,97% in value and 11,42% in volume compared to 2020.
05.01.20
Catalan wine and cava - a symbol of the region's natural wealth
This long track record utilises the most innovative production techniques and methods.