'The Great Priority for Spanish Wine Must Be Moving from Selling Volume to Building Value'

After six editions at the helm of Barcelona Wine Week (BWW) and amid the handover of both the show's presidency and that of the DO Cava, Javier Pagés takes stock of a period marked by the consolidation of the show as an international showcase for quality Spanish wine. According to Pagés, BWW has helped strengthen the sector's confidence in its own potential, offering a more cohesive, modern and demanding image of Spanish wine focused on quality, origin and the richness of its regions. The key to success, he notes, was not wanting to be the largest fair but one of the most relevant for quality wine, with a business- and internationalization-oriented model built together with the sector: designations of origin, wineries, institutions and professionals. Facing a context of declining consumption and generational change, he remains optimistic thanks to the talent of the new generation of producers and the growing sensitivity toward origin, sustainability and authenticity. Regarding the DO Cava, he highlights the structural changes promoted — zoning, qualitative segmentation, the strengthening of Cavas de Guarda Superior and organic viticulture — and identifies deepening value creation as the great challenge ahead. His priority for Spanish wine over the next five years is clear: 'moving from selling volume to building value', because the future will not be decided by who sells more bottles, but by who generates more value with them.