In parallel, this year's harvest has closed in Ribera del Duero with more than 109 million kilos of grapes, including a lower production of the white variety Albillo mayor (almost 786,000 kilos) due to the drought and the absence of rain at the time. start of the campaign.
Then there were optimal temperature conditions with cold nights and mild days, which allowed the red grape harvest to be lengthened so that each winegrower could mark their collection time.
The President of the Regulatory Council describes the harvest as "fantastic" and anticipates that it will lead to "very long-lived and high-quality" wines.
Then they will have to be placed in a market that seems to be recovering from the crisis after the damage caused by the temporary closure of the hotel business, especially at the national level, which represents 81% of Ribera del Duero's sales.
The remaining 19% is destined for the foreign market, to countries where catering has less weight and where activity in supermarkets and electronic commerce helped to cushion the blow, according to the CEO, who specifies that the United States, Mexico and Switzerland they performed "very well" in terms of consumption.
A positive aspect of the crisis has been, in his opinion, learning towards a greater diversification of sales channels to better resist future crises.
Circumvent the crisis
In the Denomination of Origin they created a platform to help their more than 300 wineries to continue selling during the crisis, although they have later seen how each winery has developed its own strategies, being more active in promotions and on social networks.
As in other sectors, an obstacle they are now encountering is linked to supplies, whose costs have risen 25%, coupled with the large increase in freight, a threat to exports, according to Pascual.
The president affirms that they have not yet transferred these increases to the price that consumers pay, although he recognizes that they will not be able to hold on like this much longer either.
For the moment, he points out that if a winery wants to buy in certain countries, it will have to do so much earlier than expected to avoid delays, so "planning is essential."
Despite the logistical problems, the DO Ribera del Duero wines face good prospects for recovery in the national market and in wine tourism, taking advantage of the “desire for normality” of consumers and their interest in living experiences and getting to know such a wine-growing region. heterogeneous, highlights Sanz.
Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Denomination of Origin, which wants to make a difference after having grown to bring together 307 wineries and some 7,900 winegrowers.
Among the latest developments, the Regulatory Council has officially implemented this year a self-control system with which producers enter the data of the grapes collected for the control of the harvest and other procedures, in an attempt to guarantee the traceability and quality of Ribera del Duero wines.
