30.10.15 Sanlúcar Bodegas: “We Won’t be Trampled on”

At yesterday’s press conference in Sanlúcar the majority (10) of the bodegas announced that they will go ahead with selling DO qualified Manzanilla in BIB despite the Opposition of the Consejo. The event was held in the bodega La Gitana and the speakers were Fermín Hidalgo, Francisco Yuste, both with bodegas of that name, and Carlos Garrido of Argüeso.

L-R: messrs. Hidalgo, Yuste, Garrido (fot:diariojerez)

They made their position clear: “After the complaints made by Fedejerez against the Sanlúcar bodegas who use BIB as an alternative packaging in place of the old garrafa and the prosecutions instructed by the Junta for supposed infractions of the rules as the Consejo sees it, the wine trade in Sanlúcar has decided to continue with the use of this modern and practical container for DO wines for public consumption, a container which in no way harms the wines’ organoleptic qualities and at the same time fulfils the requirements of the regulations. This fact means that from now on the bodegas will no longer feel obliged to declassify wine in this shameful way in order to sell it in BIB.”

These bodegas, who will shortly announce the constitution of a new professional association, maintain that “Manzanilla can no longer remain in the hands of a Consejo controlled by bodegas who do not share the legitimate interests of the Manzanilla producers.” This was a thinly veiled reference to Fedejerez.

(foto:sanlucardigital.es)

The decision to sell DO Manzanilla in BIB “is motivated not only by trends in the market and consumer demand which is causing ever more quality wine to be packaged in this modern and practical alternative to glass, but also by the search for innovative solutions to the stagnation and conservatism which the Sherry market suffers from and which is causing the constant degradation of the trade. Those who have been responsible for the continual disappearance of bodegas and vineyard do not have the moral right to talk about the image and future of the trade, those who by their mistakes have seen thousands of jobs lost, have been selling our wines abroad amongst the cheapest in the world, competing on price in supermarkets with other products like beer.”

Yuste asserted “We will not be trampled on,” and Hidalgo affirmed that “the Junta has expressed its total support against this flagrant attack which we are suffering.”