José Manuel RodrÃguez, President of the C.R.D.O.R.S.
It´s now not impossible to be thinking about getting 10 m. k. in the future
In mid October the D.O. Ribeira Sacra brought the grape harvest to a close with provisional figures of more than 5 million kilos of grapes collected. It was the second time the harvest has exceeded 5 million kilos since the start of the D.O., in 1996. The grape quality was also outstanding at this harvest and a good year is expected.
With the increase in the quantity of grapes harvested and the excellent quality of the grapes. This harvest must be very satisfactory for the Regulatory Council and the D.O.?
The climatic conditions were very important for this harvest. It didn´t rain from the first week in August and although it did rain towards the end of the harvest, it wasn´t anything significant and it didn´t affect the harvest. The maturation process was very good, the quality is great and we think it will be a very good year for the wine of the Ribeira Sacra.
At one point it was noted that the degree level was very high, will this affect the final product?
The harvest was brought forward because the maturation levels were earlier, the wine won´t be 2 degrees more than normal. These issues can be corrected by altering the harvest dates.
It was the second time since the start of the D.O. that there was a harvest of more than 5 million kilos of grapes. To what extent did the new areas that were incorporated into the D.O. for this harvest influence the end figures?
The new areas that became part of the Denominación just before the harvest are around 50 hectares in total and represent around 200 thousand kilos in production terms. They helped to increase the quantity, but they weren´t a major factor in the final figure.
The current economic situation is punishing many sectors including the wine sector, however the Ribeira Sacra has sold practically all of its production from last year´s harvest.
Last year we needed the quantity from this harvest and this year we need a million kilos more. We have more market demand than we have grapes. The D.O. Ribeira Sacra is a Denominación atypical, whilst others can´t sell their product and have to take measures such as lowering their prices, with us we need a million kilos of grapes more.
The quantity of the production of the Ribeira Sacra is kept within limits due to the terrain, amongst other things, but independent of the quantity, there must be quality behind the product in order to produce this level of demand in the marketplace?
The D.O. is growing slowly, it has been like this from the beginning. In some places production grew faster than the market demand,there were people that became interested in the business and worked in the sector expecting short term results, a lot of people that entered into the world of wine didn´t know anything about it and were expecting immediate results, these businesses distorted the markets and aggravated the so-called crisis. Wine is a business which requires stability and working towards long-term results, as is done in the Ribeira Sacra. Also in this Denominación this type of short term investment isn´t possible due to our topography, the terrain shields the D.O. from this type of speculation. In short, we have appropriate and stable growth.
In the early years of the D.O. production figures were around 2 or 3 million kilos of grapes, did you ever think you would get to 5 million kilos?
We have to have the philosophy of a long-term business. 7 or 8 years ago to talk about 5 million kilos was only a dream,but now it isn´t impossible to be talking about 7,8 or 10 million kilos in the coming years. Little by little the product has evolved as well as the professionalism of the wine producers and the bodegas. The sector is strong and the wine of the Ribeira Sacra is known and recognised outside of the area and appreciated by the consumers. We continue to work as before ensuring that the people remain confident in us and that we continue making a wine that the consumers like.