The countdown has begun for the third edition of the Barcelona Wine Week (BWW), which will be held from February 6 to 8 at Fira de Barcelona. The president of the show, Javier Pagés, is convinced that, with this edition, the fair will consolidate itself as "the benchmark for quality Spanish wines" and as the best exhibitor that Spanish wineries and designations of origin can have to project themselves to the world. A good indicator of the "good expectations" that the fair manages is that, this year, several weeks in advance, the sold-out sign has already been hung: "Everything is already full and we have increased both the representativeness and the number of exhibiting wineries," Pagés advances in an interview with The New Barcelona Post.
"The expectations are very positive; we are really amazed, because we see that there is a lot of interest from international buyers who will attend the fair, and because we have increased the number of exhibitors and we expect to grow in visitors as well," assures the also president of the Cava Regulatory Council. According to Pagés, the Barcelona Wine Week will bring together 828 exhibiting wineries ---27% more--- in the Montjuïc exhibition center, where the show will occupy a net area of 10,000 square meters, including the areas destined for activities.
Pagés estimates that 20,000 professional visitors will be reached, although he insists that more than the volume, the quality of the attendees is important. In 2022, close to 18,000 people passed through the BWW, but it must be taken into account that it was held in April, coinciding in dates with the Alimentaria Fair, so some visitors could have been shared with the large fair of the food sector. In this sense, reaching 20,000 visitors in an edition totally unlinked from Alimentaria will be a great achievement. One of the priorities of the BWW is to be held during the first weeks of the year, if possible at the beginning of February, to be in the first position in the fair calendar of the wine sector and not have to compete with other reference European events.
According to the president of the show, the fair "has increased its representativeness this year," with 60 designations of origin (DO) and 10 quality seals ---an 8% increase---, although he admits that there are still DOs that do not participate directly and some reference wineries are absent. "We are gaining followers and the wineries that already know us repeat, but there is always a long way to go. There are a few wineries that are not yet present at the show, but it would be good for the sector as a whole if they also participated, as we would offer an even more robust image of quality Spanish wine to foreign buyers. I am convinced that, little by little, those who are missing will come," emphasizes Pagés.
Again, the Barcelona Wine Week will prioritize the attendance of large international buyers from key markets for participating wineries, mainly European countries, the United States, and some markets in Asia and Latin America. 500 international buyers and 1,800 national buyers have been invited, with whom exhibitors have already arranged more than 8,000 business meetings. In his opinion, Spanish wine "is experiencing a good moment," although it still has much potential for improvement in relation to value, that is, in terms of selling price, closely linked to the brand image that the country projects. "France and Italy can sell their wines in the world much more expensively, because consumers accept that these wines can be more expensive than Spanish ones. We have to continue working on this aspect and increasingly position products in the higher market segments to be able to shorten distances with these competing countries. It is a matter of time," he reflects.
Pagés assures that one of the greatest assets of Spanish wine "is the richness of varieties and the types of soil behind the different designations of origin," a richness that must be promoted and explained to the world. Precisely, this great geological and viticultural diversity of the country will be the main protagonist of this 2023 edition, which will be held under the motto Spain, a unique mosaic of soils.
Sustainability will once again be one of the main axes of BWW which, according to Pagés, will also be marked by the global geoeconomic context, which affects exports. "The last year has been a good year, although not exceptional. Sales have been higher, but the year was complicated by the war in Ukraine, rising costs and tensions in the supply chain, to the point that it has been difficult even to buy glass bottles. There is uncertainty and the economic impact has been especially noticeable in some European countries where we export. In addition, inflation has affected us," he explains.
Program of more than 50 activities and presentations at Barcelona Wine Week
Wineries will take advantage of BWW to present their wine novelties to buyers and sector experts, with thousands of tastings at the stand that will also be a good thermometer to detect the latest trends and discuss the main challenges of the sector. In this sense, visitors will be able to participate in a program of more than 50 activities and presentations. One of the most outstanding areas will be the wine bar Wine Tasting Journey – Soils of Spain, which, with the help of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, will offer a self-guided tasting with 58 wines in which the soil is an element of special relevance.
The BWWHub space will also host conferences and round tables on sustainability, innovation or digitalization. Topics such as vineyard soil management in the face of climate change, the benefits of ecodesign, new ways of reusing bottles, the digital transformation of viticulture, the protection of the country's old vines or how to better communicate Spanish wine will be analyzed.
There will be tastings from about fifteen renowned winemakers who cultivate in unique soils such as René Barbier, Álvaro Palacios and Miquel Torres. Another prominent tasting will be Los 7 magníficos del Priorat (The Magnificent 7 of Priorat), featuring seven of the best wines from the area. The DO Cava, for its part, will also organize a tasting with the most representative cavas from the 14 wineries that have obtained the integral producer seal. These wineries, this year, will also be grouped in the same area at the fair. Finally, the #BWWGastronomy Food & Wine Restaurant space will offer the possibility to enjoy the best dishes paired with great wines for breakfasts, appetizers, and lunches, prepared by three prominent Barcelona restaurants: Bar Alegría (Tomas Abellan), Cecconi's (Alessio Biangini) and Kao (Josep Maria Kao).