“A”, a new brand that will distinguish wine from the family wineries of Álava
- The wine bottles produced by the wineries of the Asociación de Bodegas de Rioja Alavesa ABRA will have their own distinctive mark from this harvest. A trade mark promotion campaign will also be carried out in the capitals of Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. They want to help consumers differentiate Álava’s wines from the production model that serves as the basis for promoting local consumption. The ABRA denounced in early September that the Álava wine industry is suffering "the biggest crisis of the last decade".
“Today we come with a positive message, a new path with a clear direction: A project in which all the wineries of ABRA will immerse us,” explained ABRA representatives at a press conference held on Thursday morning in the Vitoria-Gasteiz market. In fact, they recalled that a few weeks earlier 80 family wineries of the association carried out a new outbreak to denounce that “the Alavese wine sector is suffering the worst crisis in the last decades.” In that hearing they announced that today they would present the distinctive mark for their wines.
The ABRA has been calling for a change in viniculture for years. To remove La Rioja from the model of wineries and large companies that send on the path. They denounce that the designation of origin Rioja incites quantity, precariousness of the sector and deterioration of the environment, which leads the family wineries and small farmers of Rioja Alavesa to ruin. Since 2015 96 small wineries have been closed in the Rioja Alavesa (from 358 to 262). In 2017, the grapes were paid to farmers in 1.19 euros, and in 2022 in 071. The designation of origin Vineyards of Álava, for its part, remains in the courts suspended. The president of the Abra, Itxaso Companion, recently explained to ARGIA the clash between the situation and the models existing in the sector.
“A”
“A de Álava, origin of the singular wines; A of wine, light of our wineries; and A de ABRA, a collective effort that unites all the winegrowers of the region”. This explains the new brand, linking it also to other words related to wine, such as “aroma” or “acidity”.
“ABRA will be a distinctive brand that can be used exclusively and that aims to highlight the uniqueness and quality of Alavese wines”. They stress that the new brand is a refuge for all ABRA members, since within the association there are, for example, wineries included within the designation of origin La Rioja or not.
Strengthening the locality, educating the consumer
Only 12% of the wines consumed in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa come from Rioja Alavesa. The consumer has difficulty in differentiating the wines of Álava and La Rioja, and also the name of some of the wines of La Rioja (such as Ardanza or Ramón Bilbao) accentuates the confusion. That's what ABRA intends to do with the new brand.
At the Vitoria-Gasteiz hearing, they explained that the aim of the new brand is to “educate consumers”, “ensuring that it is better differentiated in the global market”. For this purpose, all wine bottles from the next harvest will bear the label. On the other hand, there will be a campaign to promote the brand in Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastián and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
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