Catalonia’s wine sector has a turnover of more than 3.2 billion euros and employs almost 10,500 people. This value chain has doubled since 2016, turning it into a global benchmark in wine quality, cultivation, production, and distribution.

Catalonia has a rich winemaking tradition that is reflected in its twelve designations of origin (DO): Alella, Catalunya, Cava, Conca de Barberà, Costers del Segre, Empordá, Montsant, Penedès, Pla de Bages, Priorat, Tarragona and Terra Alta. These territories are recognised both nationally and internationally for the production of quality wines and form part of a wine-growing ecosystem that continues to grow in all its specialities.

This is what can be gleaned from the latest study on the wine value chain in Catalonia, elaborated by the Catalan Government’s Department of Business and Employment through ACCIÓ, the Agency for Business Competitiveness, which analyses the state of health of the Catalan wine and Cava sector.

According to this report, the turnover of this sector has doubled since 2016, when it was last analysed, with 62% more companies turning over €3,267 million a year (an increase of 104%), equivalent to 1.2% of GDP, and employing 10,460 people.

This is a fully consolidated business fabric, where the majority of companies, 81.2%, are more than 10 years old. The document also points out that 95.7% of Catalan companies in this sector are SMEs with a turnover of less than €50m. Alt Penedès, Priorat, Barcelonès, Vallès Occidental and Baix Llobregat are the regions with the highest concentration of businesses related to the wine value chain, with the Barcelona area accounting for 55.6% of the total.

Catalonia, an export benchmark

The report notes that almost half (49.5%) of the companies in the wine sector are exporters and more than a third (35.4%) are regular exporters, making Catalonia the region with the most regular exporters of wine products. Last year alone, exports of wines and caves from the Principality totalled 615 million euros, five times the volume of imports of these products.

Over the last 10 years, Catalan companies have accounted for 21.1% of total Spanish wine and cava exports, consolidating its position as the leading region both in terms of the number of companies doing international business and the volume of business generated. It is also the leading region in terms of regular exporters of wine products, accounting for 30.6% of Spain’s total.

The document also stresses that the Catalan wine sector is a global benchmark in terms of wine quality, cultivation, production, and distribution. In this sense, it highlights the importance of the Vi de Finca Qualificada (VFQ) distinction, which is the highest recognition that a Catalan wine can receive from the Government of Catalonia and a very useful in improving the ranking of these producers in key markets around the world.

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