Barcelona Wine Week, a gathering of wine giants and smaller producers

Barcelona Wine Week, one of the Spanish wine industry's most important professional fairs attracting big and small wineries alike, opened its doors on Monday morning.

Taking place at the Fira Montjuïc convention center, the third and biggest edition to date of the event focused on attracting buyers, especially foreign ones as 70% of Spanish wine is exported, will showcase wines from 828 cellars – 27% more than last year –  from 70 different vineyard seals and designations of origin (DO) until Wednesday.

"Barcelona Wine Week is growing and we're happy to once again host Spain's wine sector," Catalan climate action, food, and rural agenda minister Teresa Jordà said. 

"Barcelona Wine Week will be the first big fair event of the year for the industry," said Javier Pagés, the show's chairman and president of the Cava DO. "It aims to give visibility to the great wealth of terroirs this country has, analyze the future challenges of the wine-making industry, and offer business opportunities both in the domestic and international markets."

To this end, 1,800 key buyers have been invited to attend the event from countries such as United States, Germany, the United Kingdom Brazil, Japan, or China, joining the ranks of thousands more from Catalonia and other parts of Spain.

All in all, some 20,000 people have signed up to attend, and organizers expect there to be around 8,000 business meetings with exhibitors and wine purchasers. 

33% Catalan wineries

While the participating wineries are from all over Spain, a third are from Catalonia and include the likes of big household names such as Freixenet or Juvé & Camps, as well as lesser-known small and medium-sized wineries.

These hail from the most prestigious Catalan wine-making regions: DO Penedès, DO Cava, DO Montsant, DOQ Priorat, DO Catalunya, DO Costers del Segre, DO Conca de Barberà, DO Pla de Bages, DO Empordà, DO Tarragona, DO Alella, DO Terra Alta, Corpinnat and Terra de Garnatxes.

A launch pad for small Catalan wineries

Sanui is a small, relatively new winery from western Catalonia's Costers del Segre wine region that has set up its first-ever Barcelona Wine Week stand.

"We are looking to export," the company's Pere Escudé told Catalan News, explaining that, for now, only around 10% of their wine is sold abroad.

Escudé believes "it is very difficult for new bodegas to sell wine," but if he has his way, the Barcelona event will be a first step towards achieving that goal, especially since the winery will also be present at the London Wine Fair this May. Small wineries' "quality is the best, the highest," he argued.

Similarly, Èric Grau from Celler Rialla in southern Catalonia's Terra Alta wine region, said that their goal was "to expand to other countries." Celler Rialla was founded in 2016 and makes organic grenache wine, and like Sanui, is only just discovering the Barcelona Wine Week world.

"We try to put happiness in a bottle," he said – 'rialla' means laughter in Catalan. "And we're trying to export this fun."

Sanui and Celler Rialla could indeed soon find success abroad as the small Priorat winery Celler Hidalgo Albert is proof that size is not an impediment.

"We've been here [at the Barcelona Wine Week] since the beginning since we have lots of visitors from all around the world," the company's Manel Hidalgo said.

Celler Hidalgo Albert now has well-established customers abroad, especially from Germany, the US, and Switzerland. "Every time that we come we get at least one new distributor so we are very happy with this fair," he said.

Catalan wine-making "institutions"

Larger, well-known brands are also at home at the Barcelona Wine Week.

Founded over 150 years ago, Freixenet is an "institution" in the world of cava, Catalonia's sparkling wine. "It is very important for us to be present in this kind of fair first of all to support the wine sector," Gabriela Rivieccio, Freixenet's marketing director for Spain, told Catalan News.

And even though Freixenet is a well-established company that is recognized around the world, Rivieccio says the Barcelona Wine Week is key for Freixenet as it allows them to "make consumers and potential clients aware of all our novelties." The company recently launched a line of 'Selección Especial' still wines that it now has on display.   

Talks on sustainability, innovation, and haute cuisine

As is the case every year, Barcelona Wine Week will host talks and roundtable discussions with a special focus on sustainability, innovation, and digitalization.

Because of "the synergies of wine with haute cuisine," eateries with the Restaurants from Spain international gastronomic quality distinction will also be invited to participate in talks about food and wine, while visitors will be able to delight in some of the country's best tapas at the venue's Gastronomy, Food & Wine Restaurant.