Cava sales declined last year for the second consecutive year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Cava Designation of Origin Regulatory Board. The total number of bottles sold fell by 12.88% year-on-year to 190 million. Revenue reached €2.048 billion, 10% less than in 2014. This drop is attributed to the drought, according to Javier Pagés, president of the Cava DO. "The decline is not due to a lack of demand, but rather a lack of product," he stated. This decrease stems primarily from exports, which fell by 18.68%. In the Spanish market, the reduction was much more moderate, at 2.48% in volume. It should be noted that of the 190 million bottles sold, 60% of the Cava was destined for export. The first market was Belgium, the second the United States, and the third the United Kingdom. Of all the cava sold in Spain, 33.7% was in Catalonia. Germany, traditionally the first or second largest market, fell to fifth place.

Wine is such a passion that it inspires generational succession, but making it a reality isn't always easy. Barcelona Wine Week (BWW), the professional trade fair for Spanish wine, which celebrated its sixth edition this week, explored in depth how wineries and winemakers manage to persevere through the decades. Almost everyone wants their wines to have their own character, something that might not be so easy when it comes to a family-owned winery. That's why some have projects outside the family business to make wine with greater freedom.

The wine world gathered on Friday night at the Casal Theater in Vilafranca del Penedès to attend the 13th edition of the Vinari Awards, the Catalan wine competition. This event awards silver, gold, and grand gold medals in various categories, as well as special prizes, such as Best Wine of 2025, which this year went to Gran Murallas from the Torres family, and Best Sparkling Wine, which went to Corpinnat Maria Bernet from the Júlia Ber winery. We review each of the awards.

The words of the founder of the Peñín Guide of wines, José Peñín, recently expressed in a interview with the newspaper ARA have not been liked in the Cava Designation of Origin (DO). Peñín and talk about the crisis of that sparkling wine.

"The last 50 years have been the most important period in the millennial history of wine," says the founder of the Peñín Guide of wines, José Peñín (Santa Colomba de la Vega, León, 1943), because "there have never been so many changes" as in recent decades. With the aim of giving back to wine everything it has provided him and nourishing new generations with his experience, the veteran wine writer has just published the book My memories of wine (Planeta Gastro): In 700 pages, he recounts 50 years of experiences in the wine-producing regions of Spain and other countries, as well as with some of the most prominent wine personalities.