New legislation aims to boost winemaking sector

The government is to go ahead with legislation governing the winemaking sector originally put forward under the previous executive. The aim is to bring Catalan legislation from 2002 into line with European law and improve the competitiveness of Catalan wines, promote their diversity and quality, improve safety, and boost their international reputation. With the new regulations receiving full approval, they could come into force at the start of 2019.

Apart from allowing the sector to adapt to European norms and improving the legal protection of wine producers, the new legislation includes a catalogue of grape varieties grown in Catalonia for wines with protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication .

There are currently 52,000 hectares of vineyards in Catalonia and the government aims to provide the sector with the support needed to continue the trend of the last few years towards producing quality wines.

In 2015, some 441,000 kilos of grapes for wine production were harvested in Catalonia. The importance of the wine sector for GDP is undeniable, while exports continue to grow. However, the sector needs to update itself and fall into line with the demands of the Common Market Organization (CMO) for wine.