- As part of the 12th Cava Table that took place today in Vilafranca del Penedès, the Department of Climate Action, Food and Rural Agenda has presented the third study of grape production costs and the production of cava-based wine
- In the 2024 study, the inclusion of family labour and the increase in the sample of wine farms stand out
- The estimated cost of production 2024 has predicted an increase in yield per hectare of around 25%
The Minister for Acció Climàtica, Alimentació i Agenda Rural, David Mascort, presided over the 12th Cava Table where, for the third year in a row, the study on the costs of grape production and the production of the cava-based wine of the year 2024 was presented. This study, commissioned by INCAVI at the Centre de Recerca en Economia i Desenvolupament Agroalimentari (CREDA), has been worked on jointly with the Federació de Cooperatives Agràries de Catalunya (FCAC) and the Associació d’Elaboradors del Cava (AECAVA) and determines a range of production costs for the three major varieties in the production of the base wine cava (xarel·lo, parellada and macabeu).
The data estimated by the study serves as a guide to determine approximate reference costs taking into account the production of each farm and the expenses inherent in the characteristics of each wine campaign. This year, as a novelty, the study has taken into account the cost of family labour, which has thus responded to a request from the sector.
Councilor Mascort emphasized: “We continue to build essential tools to deal with the future of the cava sector. Today we are consolidating the structure of the Cost Observatory with the presentation for the third consecutive year of the study of average production costs. We are moving forward in our goal, to achieve fair prices for the entire sector.”
Family labour is included in the 2024 cost estimate
From the average annual cost per hectare for the period 2018-2022 for each cost indicator in € base 2020, it is updated with the available price and wage indices for the year 2024. This year there is an increase of around of 25%. As a result, the production cost for the macabeo variety is 0,45 €/kg, for the xarel·lo 0,46 €/kg and for the parellada 0,50 €/kg, with the hand of family work included which is between 0.10 and 0,13 €/kg.
Costs per hectare (2024 euros):
| MACABEU | XAREL·LO | PARELLADA | |
| General + specific production costs + family labour (euros/ha) | 3.530 | 3.992 | 3.316 |
| Estimated returns (average 2018 – 2023) | 7.754 | 8.634 | 6.660 |
Costs per kg (2024 euros):
| MACABEU | XAREL·LO | PARELLADA | |
| General + specific production costs + family labour (euros/kg) | 0,455 | 0,462 | 0,498 |
| Production cost (€/kg) | 0,190 | 0,190 | 0,190 |
| Total cost (€/kg) | 0,646 | 0,653 | 0,688 |
80 wine farms provide data to the XCAC
The cost study sample comes from the Agricultural Accounting Network of Catalonia (XCAC). This sample has increased the number of holdings registered until reaching the threshold that was set when asking for participation in the study. Currently, there are eighty wine farms that provide accounting data annually.
Nearly 9 million euros of support to the sector
As part of the Table, the general director of Empreses Agroalimentàrias, Joan Gòdia, has updated the data on the different lines of aid and the results of fraud inspections.
The Department of Climate Action has granted, for this 2024, grants for the use of rectified concentrated must (MCR) in the production of quality sparkling wines for an amount of 321.162 euros which corresponds to 150,000 kg of single must· tendered, and which have benefited 24 wineries.
The new call will include the exceptionality caused by the drought that was already introduced last year, and therefore the must obtained from the second pressing will be accepted on a timely basis.
In addition, Acció Climàtica has also granted 6 million euros in aid to the promotion of wine in third countries corresponding to the 2024-2025 campaign with the aim of improving the competitiveness of Catalan wines, which includes opening and diversifying wine markets. This year, these grants will benefit 69 wineries and represent a total investment of 12 million euros.
With regard to aid to improve the production or marketing of wine products, this year 2024 it is expected that 2.4 million euros will be granted to 24 applicants, which will mean a total investment of 6.05 million euros.
First year of the specific unit to combat fraud in the wine sector
Regarding the controls carried out by the inspection unit focused on compliance with the regulations of the wine sector, the general director of Empreses Agroalimentàrie, Joan Gòdia, reviewed the controls carried out in 2023 and the breaches detected. In 2023, inspections were carried out at 12 wineries which entailed 98 controls, of which 40 were non-compliant. Of these controls, 17 were related to labelling and 8 non-compliant were detected. Of the 6 samples that were taken as part of these inspections, all turned out to be in compliance with the regulations. The detected violations correspond to the area of the product balance, where the fictitious existence of products or the lack of justification of movements has been detected. There are also violations detected due to lack of documentation and irregularities in the records, in the labelling or in the production process.
In the year 2024, there are 14 planned inspections of wineries out of a total of 115 inspections scheduled in the field of the fight against agri-food fraud. Thus, the wine sector will receive the most inspections this year. These inspections are complemented by numerous exploratory controls in which the wine is also the protagonist.
All these inspections have represented 85.000 euros in direct sanctions and 400.000 euros in indirect ones.
Extension of the replanting period
Catalonia has accompanied the claim of the winegrowers to ask the European Commission for an extension of the vineyard authorizations expiring during the years 2024 and 2025 due to the severe drought situation we were suffering. Unlike other years, when extensions were authorized due to COVID and drought (always the Commission publishing a European regulation), an extension was requested for two consecutive years, as it takes a long time to get a response to requests of extension by the Ministry of Agriculture, which affects the planning of the winegrower staff at the time of carrying out the plantings that take place agronomically during the first months of the year. The European Commission has voted in favour and there will be a 12-month extension that will be applied retroactively. However, since it will only apply to regions that have experienced drought, the Ministry of Agriculture will first have to issue a royal decree.
INCAVI’s 2030 research and innovation plan
In the framework of the 12th Cava Table, the general director of the Catalan Institute of Vine and Wine, Alba Balcells, wanted to explain the INCAVI LAB’s commitment to research in the field of sparkling wines in order to be able to mitigate the effects of climate change.
For example, within one of the 5 major areas covered by the Plan, there is the area of oenology and biotechnology. The Plan will develop microbiological tools such as the search for yeasts to increase acidity, decrease pH and reduce the alcoholic strength of sparkling wines in order to maintain the organoleptic characteristics of our wines, among other aspects.
The 12th Cava Co-Management Table has had the participation, apart from councillor David Mascort, of the Secretary of Food, Carmel Mòdol; the director general of INCAVI, Alba Balcells; the general manager of Empreses Agroalimentarias, Joan Gòdia; the director of Territorial Services for Acció Climàtica, Alimentació i Agenda Rural in Tarragona, Glòria Tibau; the agricultural organizations Unió de Pagesos and JARC; Revolta Pagesa; the Associació de Viticultors del Penedès; the Federació de Cooperatives Agràries de Catalunya; the Consell Regulador del Cava; personnel representative of the AECAVA, and processors. The Table also had the presence in the scientific and technical field of CREDA.