Unió de Pagesos blames the DO Cava for the "pressure" that winegrowers are experiencing
The organization points out that the price of cava base wine has not recovered and that the increase in production costs compromises the farms
BarcelonaUnió de Pagesos criticizes the Cava Designation of Origin (DO) for the "pressure" that winegrowers are experiencing, even though the DO stated yesterday that itwill maintain the price of grapes during the 2026 harvest. After the Cava DO published its estimates on remuneration to farmers – based on information provided by 70% of the market – the agricultural union criticizes that the data "only reflects a part of the market reality".
According to the statement published this Thursday by the national head of the vineyard and wine sector of the farmers' organization, David Sendra, the price of base cava wine experienced an "important" drop during the first months of 2026, a situation that, as the union points out, has not yet recovered.
The decline, as the statement continues, was directly transferred to the price of grapes. As a consequence, many winegrowers have received settlements around 30 cents per kilogram, a figure "far below production costs and insufficient to guarantee the economic viability of the farms," they denounce. To this situation must be added the increase in production costs, a fact that "further compromises the profitability and economic viability of many wine-growing farms".
Harvest with no outlet
In parallel, Unió de Pagesos also qualifies that the grape purchase situation is unequal. While some companies maintain similar prices to the past campaign, they argue that others "have reduced prices or contracted volumes." This drop has caused an "important" part of the harvest to not find a market within the DO Cava and to be destined for other designations of origin or table wine, markets where prices are lower.
For all these reasons, Unió de Pagesos considers that the economic situation of the winegrowers cannot be valued solely on the basis of the price of grapes or the base wine intended for cava. "We must take into account the evolution of the base wine market throughout the campaign, the prices actually received by producers, the contracted volumes, the destination of production outside the cava circuit, and the increase in production costs," summarizes the organization.
In this regard, Sendra – who precisely holds a seat on the DO's regulatory council representing Unió de Pagesos, and is its vice-president – demands an evaluation of the campaign that incorporates "all elements" to offer a "complete" vision of the market.
