Rosé is perhaps the most misunderstood wine in Catalonia, but the habits of young consumers, who prefer fresh wines, are helping it, and it's becoming increasingly popular. The confusion begins with the winemaking process itself: there's a mistaken belief that it's a blend of white and red wine, but this practice is completely prohibited in the European Union. Rosé wine is made from red grapes or a blend of red and white grapes. To obtain that attractive rosé color, precise control of the maceration time between the grapes and their skins is essential. It's one of the most difficult wines to produce.

Catalonia has a long tradition of white wines, and in fact, all eleven Catalan designations of origin produce them. The main native white grape varieties are Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Parellada, Garnacha Blanca, and Moscatel, but there are also many foreign varieties present in Catalonia, such as Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. All of them are capable of producing high-quality white wines with a myriad of nuances. Despite this long tradition with white wine, many consumers still confuse some of the most common characteristics of this type of wine. Much of the information we need to understand what kind of wine we have appears on the label, but it is necessary to know how to interpret it. The young people, fruity

Wine faces major challenges ahead. Added to the challenge posed by climate change for grape cultivation is the decline in wine consumption. While some indicators suggest that Spain is one of the few countries left out of this global trend, the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV) has estimated that global consumption will fall to 214.2 million hectoliters in 2024, 3.3% less than the previous year. This figure represents the 9% decline in the 19th century, and the Catalan Institute of Vine and Wine (Incavi) wants to reverse this trend.

The DO Empordà has just turned fifty, and for the first time, local grape varieties are gaining ground over foreign varieties. There are even more developments in these five decades, such as the fact that Empordà restaurants preferentially offer wines from the Designation of Origin (DO) on their menus. And this is true despite the intensely competitive market. "It's impossible to compete with the offerings from Spanish Designations of Origin (DOs), which give you another for free when you buy one pallet," says the president of the DO Empordà, Carme Casacuberta, who notes that this practice is known in the industry as the 1+1 offer. "Our artisanal production has a tough time with these offers, but I maintain that in the last ten years, restaurants have fully invested in our wines," she adds.