New stage: Marta Vidal (Vallformosa) will be the first woman to chair the DO Cava

BarcelonaThe Designation of Origin (DO) Cava closes a cycle of eight years marked by the presidency of Javier Pagés and opens a new stage. This Thursday, the twelve members who make up the plenary of the regulatory council, the body that represents the different agents of the sector, have chosen the CEO of the Vallformosa wineries, Marta Vidal, as the new president of the DO for the next four years. Vidal, who has had majority support from the plenary members, thus becomes the first woman to hold the presidency of the DO since its foundation in 1972.

In the meeting held this same Thursday at the headquarters in Vilafranca del Penedès, the plenary also appointed the representative of Unió de Pagesos within the regulatory council, David Sendra, as the new vice-president for the term.

In statements to ARA shortly after learning of her victory, Vidal acknowledged that she feels "very happy" with the result and expressed her willingness to continue "prestiging cava" with an "alignment" of all sensitivities within the sector.

Faced with the most immediate challenges ahead for the DO, the CEO of Vallformosa pointed out that cava has "an opportunity ahead" and that, "with everyone's effort," she is confident that the DO "can be a benchmark." "The important thing is to explain the value proposition of cava very well and to work to revalue the territory and unity, which is the key to success for a leading DO in the world," she summarized.

A five-way dispute

Vidal has emerged as a consensus figure in the most disputed elections at the DO. After the period for submitting candidacies closed yesterday, Wednesday, a total of five people aspired to occupy the position of maximum responsibility within the designation of origin, more than on any other occasion. Besides Vidal – who was the first to express his intention to occupy the position – the founder of the Pere Ventura Family Wine Estates group, Pere Ventura; the owner of the Pagès Entrena winery, Marc Pagès; the president of the Alt Penedès Regional Council, Xavier Lluch; and the president of the Cevipe cooperative group, Joan Pons, also presented themselves.

The board of the cava sector now has four years ahead to address some of the main challenges facing the DO. Even during the weeks prior to the elections, some of the candidates had stated that the designation of origin was going through a "critical" moment and that the need to act was "urgent".

Among the multiple open fronts, the drop in cava sales stands out, which has already accumulated two consecutive years of decline. Also the trickle of wineries leaving the DO –Juvé & Camps, the most relevant–, which in recent years have joined other brands such as Corpinnat and Clàssic Penedès, or have decided to go it alone.

At the same time, Vidal – along with vice-president Sendra – will have to work to offer more protection to winegrowers, who are demanding more protection and compensation for grapes, at a time when the price of some bottles of cava in supermarkets barely exceeds three euros.

All of this, in a context where the two great giants within the DO, Freixenet and Codorníu, are in the hands of foreign investors. The former is 100% owned by the German company Henkell, while the latter – 60% owned by the American fund Carlyle – is looking for a buyer.