Non-alcoholic, organic wines and 5 other trends of the Barcelona Wine Week

The first edition of Barcelona Wine Week (BWW) showcased the potential of Spanish wine in the international market

A new international trade show was organised by Alimentaria Exhibitions and Fira de Barcelona. The Barcelona Wine Week showcased Spanish wine from 3 to 5 February at the Fira de Barcelona venue and at various locations throughout the Catalan capital. 

Spain is currently the world's leading wine exporter, with more than 21 million hectolitres per year, according to data from the Spanish Wine Market Observatory (OEMV).

The BWW was an excellent opportunity to showcase new trends that are transforming the wine sector, introducing alcohol-free, organic, biodynamic and high-mountain wines. 

As Faust said in one of his most famous tragedies, “Spain, the beautiful country of wine and song,”...

Transition to organic wines

Spanish wineries are focusing their strategies this year on the fight against climate change, which threatens to destroy the acidity of the wines. A sustainable alternative that many producers are already implementing is, for example, to plant vineyards at other latitudes or to try varieties that previously showed difficulties in maturing and where the solution could now be found.

Barcelona Wine Week committed to one of the greatest global trends of the moment: organic products, which were reflected in the wide presence of natural and biodynamic wines at the exhibition.

In 2019, the Tarragona winery suffered the consequences of a flood that destroyed its facilities and left hundreds of bottles under the mud. These wasted bottles have become a symbol of the fight against climate change. So much so that even the Roca brothers used those bottles in the menu they designed for the recent Climate Summit in Madrid.

Reinventing one’s self in the face of adversity and the climate crisis. That is precisely what Rendé Masdéu has done as he presented his new creation at the Barcelona Wine Week. 

New wine trends, a constant in 2020

The wine industry is constantly evolving and changing according to its environment both literally and metaphorically. The latest trend is non-alcohol or low-grade wine. 

The truth is that non-alcoholic wine is born to respond to a booming health-conscious market, which targets the reduction and suppression of the consumption of alcoholic beverages. That is why many wineries are looking for ways to lower the alcohol content of their wine and reducing the sugar content in them. Non-alcoholic wines start with an early harvest, which prevents the grapes from being loaded with the sugars that are fundamental in the world of traditional wine.

The less alcoholic wines (alcohol content around 6 per cent) and less sweet wines are also in full swing. Tastes are moving towards more acidic or natural flavours with no added sugars, which is why sweet wine-producing regions are trying hard to start producing popular dry white and sparkling wines such as prosecco.

High mountain wine

This is where the next trend comes from, high mountain wine. This is one of the most widely used systems to prevent production from being affected by global warming. One of the techniques that are giving the best results so far is raising the level of the plantations. Produced at higher altitudes than usual, wineries such as Batlliu en Sort or Celler de Auvinyà present wines with lower alcohol concentration and less acidity loss.

In its first edition, Barcelona Wine Week brought together hundreds of wineries and distilleries to present the sector's latest developments. Five hundred and fifty companies participated in this great wine fair, in which 40 Spanish Designations of Origin (DO) were represented. 

When art meets wine

One of the great exhibiting wineries, Jean Leon, launched the vintage version of one of its iconic wines, Vinya La Scala Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva, with a label featuring the work of artist Gloria Muñoz, which captures the landscape of the Penedès vineyards.

Tasting sessions, music, painting, literature... all paired with the best wines in the world. Marta Macías, Project Manager of Barcelona Wine Week, said that the fair sought to ensure that the activities of the show were to "observe wine from all its angles, to provide the most complete experience possible". 

Fabulous 50 by Women was the hit of the event as the self-guided tasting area highlighted around fifty wines in which women producers were the protagonists. These were incredible women who were also the stars of two artistic installations that presided over the show. 


All this sensory experience took place in the BBWHub, a space for training and experimentation. The Tasting Area was a section where dozens of tastings were organised, such as the one led by Pedro Ballesteros, Spanish Master of Wine, or by Ferran Centelles and David Seijas, sommeliers at El Bulli for a decade. In addition, at BWWHub the wine was linked to other worlds such as literature and music. For example, professionals found themselves browsing in a Books&Wine a bookstore to relax consulting books specialized in wine.

Barcelona, the capital of food and wine

Seven of the great restaurants in the city (Gresca, Xerta, Monocrom, D'Aprop, Casa Xica, 130 and Oriol Balaguer) have designed tapas exclusively for the show, which will be paired with some of the wines on display. In addition, the city will host several workshops and tastings by national and international experts in the world of cocktails and distillates.


Barcelona was and is a key venue for this new show. That is why BWW likes the city! It has designed, a program of activities - such as the Barcelona International Bubbles Awards competition or the G-Night party - with which BWW leaves the fair and impregnates the city with wine, allied with the trade, culture and leisure sectors. 

Barcelona will be that city of wine and music that Goethe dreamed of.

Mane Grigoryan

Mane Grigoryan

Catch my attention with anything that involves politics, travelling and food. Just a curious journalist refusing to identify as a millennial.

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