«We deserve public aid, wine has given wealth to Rioja without asking for anything in return»

Fernando Ezquerro believes that Rioja has hit the bottom in terms of sales and hopes that 2024 will be the year of the comeback. “The sector is doing everything on its part” to leave behind a crisis “that is consumer-related and worldwide.” Under his presidency, the plenary session of the Regulatory Council approved on Friday the rules for the next harvest – 90% yield in the field and 69% transformation in the winery, for red grapes – and agreed to send the surplus table wine for distillation. within the Plan to Recover the Balance in the Rioja Qualified Denomination of Origin.

– Why are ordinary plenary sessions not held every month now and do they take longer to meet?

– There have been fewer plenary sessions because we understand that they are for making decisions. But there has been more internal work than ever, the organizations have never met so much and I want to thank them for that extra effort. Yes, there have been fewer plenary sessions, but more interprofessional meetings and more technical commissions that have led to agreements such as those reached on Friday.

– And with the Rioja Denomination in one of its greatest crises – I understand that you will share this statement – ​​you have been practically disappeared from the public sphere except in institutional events. Because?

– The president of the Council is here to work and that is what he has done, not to make noise. The problem many times in this Denomination is the negative noise, which 95% comes precisely from within. The final consumer wants certainty when purchasing a product and noise has a negative impact on a brand that must continue to be defended.

– The same campaign regulations have just been approved as in 2023, although agricultural organizations were in favor of lowering yields as much as possible, to 85% in the field and 66% in the winery. Couldn’t we have been more ambitious?

– One thing is the opinion of the president and another is that of the organizations. In the end, 150 votes are needed to modify an agreement. But sacrifices are being made at the table that affect everyone and brave and tough decisions are being made, like never before, because the crisis in consumption is lengthening.

– And is it reasonable that table wine continues to condition the negotiations to approve these standards when there are more than 100 million liters left, if not 150, of covered wine?

– I repeat, it is the organizations that make decisions and that is difficult. The agreement to distill the surplus production of table wine has forced us to have three technical commissions in the last month.

– But there has been reluctance until the end to eliminate this table wine and even the Federation of Cooperatives of La Rioja that you chair has not voted against but has abstained.

– And it has been difficult to reach abstention to, at least, not endanger the harvest regulations.

– Let’s talk about the uprooting of vineyards, which in France is already openly proposed, with public aid, and here it is difficult to even use that word, which seems taboo. Don’t you think the time has come to address the debate?

– A month ago, Rafael del Rey, who knows the most about the wine market in Spain, said in his newspaper that not even he was clear whether this crisis is temporary or structural. We have created a commission to study the plant mass. Talking about cold starting is not easy. It seems that the neighbor is always going to start it and not oneself. And where? Because it is still uprooted where it does the most damage to the vineyard landscape. The topic is complex.

Maintain market share

– At the moment the main rescue measures to tackle the crisis are coming from public administrations, with up to 90 million euros in aid for green harvesting and distillation provided by the governments of La Rioja, around 58, Country Basque and Navarre. Doesn’t that seem like an excessive amount to you?

– Part of the aid comes from what was previously called the Support Program for the Spanish wine sector and is now the ISV (Vine Sector Intervention), which are funds that correspond to the sector and which has decided not to spend on vineyard restructuring or investments in wineries , for example, and are used for this. Not everything is money that comes directly from public administrations but we appreciate the effort and the help, because we also deserve it. This sector has generated a lot of wealth for the region and has put Rioja’s name in the world without asking for anything in return.

–And what is the sector doing now to reverse the crisis?

– Hard decisions are being made because no one likes to pick fewer grapes, for example. As president I would ask the sector for responsibility and loyalty. The producer has to carry out responsible viticulture and the wineries have to pay for it in the same way, so that the business is profitable.

– What will happen in 2025 if there is no longer public aid?

– I don’t know, I’m not going to make futures. There are people at the table who believe that we are going to re-emerge when there is a favorable economic situation because Rioja is a very powerful brand. Other people think the opposite. Yes, I tell you that we are making an effort in control, in marketing, in communication… like never before. We are not losing market share although there is a current problem worldwide that causes less wine to be consumed. I hope that the situation in 2025 improves and that we sell more, which is the important thing. We have to put all our efforts there.

– Marketing took a break in April but there is still a significant gap between stocks in the warehouse and sales, the famous ratio. Where is Rioja and what forecast do you have in the short and medium term?

– I do not dare to make futures, I repeat. But May has also performed very well, but we cannot live looking at the data every fifteen days or every month. The feeling is that we have hit the ground. If we manage to sell more, the feeling will change. We have to be able to convey positivity and animosity because we are a Denomination that continues to make a lot of money for the three communities in which we are present.

– In 2023 they talked about the need to save time with distillation and green harvesting. It seems that in 2024 the goal is the same. Why are there no fundamental, structural measures to tackle this crisis? I’m talking about other types of products, new packaging…

– There is also talk about that and we entered into the debate of what a new packaging gives and what it takes away, for example. We are in a complicated dilemma. We have great strength to get out of the crisis but we may have to do things that have never been done. The sector will have to arbitrate at some point if it is necessary, or not, to decide if it continues to operate only with the bottle as a great tool. Here there was already a catharsis when it was decided that everything was bottled at source and they stopped selling bulk products abroad and things went well for us, although then it seemed like the world was going down.

– And haven’t they wasted two years waiting for a recovery in sales that doesn’t come?

– Is not easy. Imagine that we had decided to put ‘bag in box’ and we would have stopped selling bottles, because they would have trivialized us as a Denomination. Impressive work is being done to improve by monitoring the vineyard with artificial intelligence, achieving a spectacular tasting panel… But we need discretion and time to work. This cannot be fixed in a day and decisions must be made calmly.

«The consumer chooses Rioja»

– The drop in global consumption is evident, but was Rioja already in crisis before?

– Not in export, since we represent 41% of the value of quality sales of Spanish wines. And at the national level, before on the tables (hospitality) there was only Rioja but now everywhere there is a regional wine. Consumption is shifting.

– According to the Spanish Wine Market Observatory, Rioja sold less abroad in 2023 but did not do badly in volume compared to other denominations. On the other hand, in value it only grew 1.3% compared to the 10% average for competitors. Do you see it as a problem?

– I am not able to detect it. Possibly the wine mix changes or there is excess luggage in Rioja and people end up making more offers.

– And is there a problem with our style of wines? I ask in general, because in particular everyone agrees that better wines are being made now than ever.

– I don’t know what problem there may be but Rioja continues to sell four times more than the second denomination in Spain. The consumer chooses Rioja far above the rest although there are regions that are fashionable. However, winegrowers and wineries will have to adapt the grapes and wines to what the customer wants. The Council must ensure that standards are met and improve quality, but little else. Those who sell are the wineries.

– Some of them, lately Muga or Barón de Ley, explore other denominations such as Ribera del Duero to open a business avenue there. Is this a dangerous inertia for Rioja?

– Other big brands are also coming here. There is diversification and when you send someone to sell wine to New York you want to have a larger portfolio. I think it all has to do with that strategy.

– Do you believe, therefore, that Rioja is still a model of success or is it at risk or in danger?

– I think the Rioja brand is still powerful. When we have started to make quality white wines, we have been the second denomination in sales. If we continue making the current reds, the success model is guaranteed. But shooting against Rioja is not good for anyone. There are many business models here and the Council has to work so that everyone can coexist and everyone can be profitable.

Fernando Ezquerro is, in addition to president of the Council, a vineyard and olive farmer in Autol. And he was present in the great February tractor rally in Logroño, promoted by the ‘yellow vests’.

– In those mobilizations that you experienced firsthand one day, one of the demands that was heard the most was the demand for a price per kilo of grapes that at least covered production costs. What can be done to reach that claim? You also understand fair, right?

– Wineries and winegrowers have unanimously demanded as a sector that the Food Chain Law be complied with. There is little else we can do, but we do not set prices. We are going to insist that the autonomous communities carry out these inspections so that whoever does not comply is sanctioned. And, I repeat, we ask that quality grapes, which cost to produce, be paid for as such.

– Another complaint was the lack of profitability of the wine business with more and more farmers abandoning the vineyards or leaving them for rent. Is it cause for concern?

– That should worry us. We must think about what future we want to leave our children with this name, which is a mark. We will be wrong, speaking of the start-up, if in the end the one who starts or leaves the farm is the young person. We must insist that there is a future for the new generations.

– In those initiatives, the focus of criticism was on the central government or agricultural organizations, but also on entities such as the Council. Do you share the criticism, do you understand it?

– When a business stops being profitable, people worry and look for blame. But the Council has limited powers.

– You are also president of the Federation of Cooperatives of La Rioja. Many were not able to sell the 2023 harvest and the 2024 harvest is soon arriving. What future does it predict?

– We have to reflect. We are the pending revolution in the sector. We must stop being regulatory wine warehouses and start doing different things. Whoever doesn’t see it that way will have a bad time.