NEWS
Unlike other wine trade fairs, where wineries construct elaborate
booths to showcase their wines, BWW offered a more stripped-down
approach, with modest, uniform tasting booths that grouped together
wineries based on their appellations.
“We are not a classic trade fair,” said BWW president Javier Pagés.
“Before, it was sort of a competition on how big your booth was. We
wanted to eliminate part of the cost and therefore allow wineries with
different levels of resources to participate.”
Apart from the tasting, attendees took advantage of 50 seminars and
events that focused on topics ranging from climate change and ances-
tral grape varieties to the balance of a restaurant wine list.
At BWW’s Speaker’s Corner, presenters included Wine Spectator ex-
ecutive editor Thomas Matthews, whose remarks focused on American
perspectives on Spanish wine, based on a recent survey of Wine Specta-
tor readers. Some of those findings are presented below.
—Gillian SciarettaS
pain took the world wine stage in February. The first-ever Bar-
celona Wine Week (BWW) debuted in the lively city’s central
Plaça d’Espanya, drawing exhibitors and trade professionals from
Spain and around the globe. The sense of community was strong.
“For people interested in Spanish wine, this is a meeting point,” said
Joan Cusiné of Parés Baltà, who poured the full range of his Penedès
winery’s latest releases at BWW.
The three-day fair, held Feb. 3–5, showcased 550 wineries—the vast
majority of them Spanish—from 40 appellations. Spain’s diversity was
on full display. More than 15,000 attendees took advantage of the win-
ery stands, seminars, speakers and other exhibits.
“I am floored by BWW. It’s a Spanish wine lover’s dream,” said wine
educator Rick Fisher, who traveled to Barcelona from San Diego for the
event. “It was worth it for me to come here and to taste wines we don’t
get in the United States.”MAY 31, 2020 • WINE SPECTATOR 17Spain Shines at Barcelona Wine Week
35%
24.5%
13%
6%
5%
5%
2%
0.5%
9%
Rioja
Ribera del Duero
Priorat
Sherry
Albariño
Cava
Bierzo
Rosado
Other
WHAT IS YOUR
FAVORITE TYPE
OF WINE FROM
SPAIN?
50%
The Growth of Spanish Wine
Source:Wine Spectator online survey Source: Wine Spectator Source: U.S. Department of Commerce Source: Wine Spectatoronline surveyTastings
The number of Spanish wines tasted
by Wine Spectator has increased
dramatically over time.of respondents to
Wine Spectator’s online
survey typically spendImports
Spanish wine imports to the United
States have more than
quadrupled since the 1990s.121086420
199520002005 2010 2015 2018N
U
M
BER^O
F^WINESREVIEWEDMILLIO
N
S^O
F^NINE- L
ITERCA
SESBarcelona Wine Week attendees sampled pours from 550 wineries.1 , 2001 , 0008006004002000
199520002005 2010 2015 2018$16 to $
on a bottle of
Spanish wine.
How good are the wines in
this price range? Based on
Wine Spectator reviews
over the past year, their
average score is a very good88 points.
Ribera del
DueroRuedaToroAlicanteValenciaSPAIN
Portugal
Balearic SeaA
tlanticOceanMADRIDBARCELONASEVILLERías Baixas BierzoRiojaPriorat
Terra AltaPenedèsSomontanoNavarraCalatayudJerez
(Sherry)La ManchaJumillaWS053120_newsRev.indd 17 3/18/20 11:10 AM