Cooperativas Agroalimentarias Castilla-La Mancha has just adjusted its harvest forecast for the region this harvest to around 22.5 million hectolitres of wine and must, which would mean a drop of just over 20% compared to the 28.5 million hl obtained in the previous campaign.
The summer heat and the water stress to which the vines are being subjected, as well as bringing forward the ripening of the earliest varieties, which as a whole are entering the winery with a drop of more than 20% compared to last year, will foreseeably bring forward the harvesting of the rest of the varieties, especially the Airén, the white variety par excellence which had an uneven fruit set in its dry areas at the beginning of June, and which will result in a greater drop than the cooperative organisation estimated just a month ago.
With this downward correction in Castile-La Mancha, production in Spain is expected to be around 39-40 million hl of wine and must, which would mean a medium-low harvest that would largely compensate for the excess wine stocks accumulated as a result of the drop in consumption caused by the pandemic last season.
Lower production in Europe
In the European context, harvest forecasts are already being quantified in the main competing countries, such as France and Italy, after the spring frosts that affected a large part of their wine-growing areas. Specifically, official Gallic sources put the production range for this year's harvest at 32.6-35.6 million hl of wine, whereas France usually produces an average of 44-45 million hl. Italy, according to initial estimates that have come to light, is expected to produce around 45-46 million hl of wine, a figure that would be far from the 50-51 million hl that the transalpine country usually obtains on average. Although Germany and Portugal would repeat production levels similar to their historical averages, according to Cooperativas Agroalimentarias Castilla-La Mancha, it is to be expected that the EU would not exceed 145 million hl of wine and must, a far cry from the 168 million hl average of the last five wine years.
Business opportunities
Therefore, the shortage of processed product in Europe in the recently launched 2021/22 wine campaign means that interesting commercial prospects are foreseen for all the products derived from Castilian-La Mancha wine grapes that are obtained, which will help the cooperatives to make progress in higher value markets and their vine-grower members to obtain adequate profitability on their farms.
The spokesman for the organisation's wine sector, Juan Fuente, indicated at the last Assembly that "this is a great opportunity to win markets, increase margins and consolidate customers for successive seasons, with differentiated, quality products, in order to capture greater value and recognition in international wine markets", and he went on to say "but as long as we act with the moderation and the vocation for service and regular supply to our customers that we usually work with"; Therefore, commercial expectations are positive at the start of the new 2021/22 campaign, and not as could be deduced from the grape price references that are being published by other operators in the sector.
