Wines of Spain

Main article: Economy of Spain

2022: Wine producers in Spain underestimate alcohol degrees on label

If the wine tastes more alcoholic than stated on the label, then the sensations do not deceive. For 2022, manufacturers in Europe lie about the content of alcohol in drinks, deliberately underestimating its indication on the bottle. Why are they doing this, said a Russian sommelier tourist.

The expert explained that this trend appeared in Europe relatively recently, half a century ago, winemakers could only rejoice if there was more alcohol in the bottle. At the time, high levels of alcohol were considered an indicator of high quality wine. "A lot of alcohol meant that the grapes matured well and gained a lot of sugars, which then turned into percentages on the label. But in the last ten years, everything has changed exactly the opposite, "the author noted.

To underestimate the level of alcohol on the label to modern manufacturers was prompted by the climate and the trend towards a healthy lifestyle. Global warming has caused the appearance of sweeter grapes in the usual European regions (Italy, Spain, Portugal, France) and, in principle, vineyards where no one could even think of growing them (Sweden, Norway, Baltic states).

Let's explain the sommelier: "In traditional warm and hot wine regions such as the Spanish Meseta or Italian Sicily, grapes are already gaining too much sugar, which at the exit gives 15.5, 16, or even 17 degrees of alcohol in wine. This is already some kind of fortified wine without attachment! Meanwhile, the trend towards a healthy lifestyle is growing and expanding, forcing people to think about how much and what they drink... More people are monitoring the amount of alcohol consumed per week according to the system of "units" (alcoholic units). "

Followers of healthy lifestyle understand that drinking a glass of wine with 11% alcohol or another wine with 16% is a big difference for health, so in the European market, where every second considers himself a healthy lifestyle activist, the demand for light, low-alcohol wines is active, which do not load the liver and do not force it to process too much ethanol after drinking alcohol. In order not to deter consumers, producers of bulk table wines without specifying geographical affiliation are often cunning, slightly underestimating the level of alcohol on the label, but leaving it high in wine. This is not about colossal numbers, but just one degree, which for some can become critical when choosing alcohol.

"It will be problematic to underestimate the level by two degrees, but you can almost always steal a degree. At wineries operating under DoC, DOCG, AOC and their counterparts, such tricks do not pass, because there is control from the inspection authorities..., "the tourist urged.

2013: Record €2.62 billion worth of wine exports

According to data for November 2013 Spanish , the volume of wine exports for 2013 broke a new record and reached the mark of 2.627 billion euros.

This figure increased by 880 million compared to 2009, when, after a serious global consumption crisis, a massive process of internationalization of Spanish wines began. In addition, a good harvest in the fall of 2013 allowed to increase the volume, which by January 2014 reached 1.851 billion liters.

After the problems that arose in 2012 due to the meager harvest and not only led to a noticeable rise in the cost of Spanish wines, but also limited the growth of exports in liters, in 2013 there were significant improvements. Spanish wine prices abroad have remained fairly steady and are up 22% compared to the same period in 2012.

As for export directions, in the first 11 months of 2013, the volume of supplied wine in the leading markets still fell: by 12.9% in France, by 15.3% in Italy, by 40.4% in China and by 45.7% in Russia. However, all these countries buy Spanish products at higher prices, so they recorded an improvement in monetary terms. This is especially true for France, where the amount of exports increased by 21.6%. However, the restoration of supply volumes is very likely - thanks to a good harvest, a larger volume of products has become available. It is also worth noting the good sales dynamics of Spanish wine in the Netherlands, Mexico and Belgium. The leading product in the field of export remains wine in containers, marked by the quality mark "Guarantee of authenticity of origin" (D.O.)^[1].

See also

• Russian wine

Notes