The authorization by the Rueda Designation of Origin Council to use new grape varieties, including Godello, from Bierzo, has generated a conflict that goes far beyond the two appellations to become a political conflict and open, once again, the thunder box of recurring designations of origin. León-Valladolid clash. While the two regulatory councils are trying to support their respective positions with data, for and against, the issue has already led to the positioning of the Leonese institutions that have frontally rejected the DO of Valladolid using a variety that they consider their heritage. In addition, the Bercian grape will arrive at the Regional Parliament with the help of the Leonese Popular Union.
But what makes this grape so blessed? It is a typical variety of the Spanish northwest that is produced mainly in Galicia (Ribera del Sil) and in The Bierzo and which is the basis of the success of their wines by giving them well-defined qualities and very far from the Verdejo, characteristic of Rueda. In the region of León, 397 hectares will be harvested with this variety during this campaign, approximately 16.7 percent of the 2,378 hectares registered, of which 70.5 percent correspond to Mencia, the main and base of its red wines.
In percentage terms, it is wines with grapes such as Godello that are experiencing a decline. higher sales growthresponding to increasingly demanding consumers who demand different native varieties and which, in the case of Berciana, offer greater aromatic intensity and a good balance between freshness and acidity, according to the winemakers.
So, in Rueda, the cradle of white, they decided to follow the movement of this commercial demand, although their decision to introduce new varieties is not new and in 1996 the planting of Godello began in this wine-growing area, to the point that they have already marketed wines with the berciana, not with the DO label but as Wines from the Country of Castile and León.
The substantial change now occurs with the authorization of the Council so that Rueda can include up to eight varieties, including the Leonese, in the wines it produces under its label, although these secondary varieties cannot exceed 25% in the production of its broths. “We do not intend to usurp the identity of the designations of origin that have Godello as a native grape variety,” they defend to the Regulatory Council, where they insist on continuing to support Verdejo and that the decision to include other grapes as secondary responds “to qualitative reasons that take into account the personality of the different producers, as well as the needs of a market with consumers who demand new wine profiles.
However, León and Bierzo do not see things that way, as this time they have joined forces against what they consider a “usurpation” and have spoken out against the decision adopted by the Agrarian Technological Institute (Itacyl)of the Ministry of Agriculture. The criticism comes from the Regional Council of Bierzo, the City Council of Ponferrada and the Provincial Council of León, through the Union of the Leonese People and agricultural organizations such as Asaja, which has not hesitated to distance itself from its colleagues in Valladolid, who defend the measure. . and, in a way, they have promoted it.
In this way, in the Regulatory Council of Bierzo, its president, Adelino Pérez, sees a “threat” to its designation of origin if Rueda enters the market with a native variety from the Leonese region to which “they want to register because it does it well.” and that in a few years, this could go from “secondary to main.”A DO must fight for what is proper to her, she seeks to stand out for this and we have worked hard to make it popular in the markets, so now others want to join this work,” he laments. Let us recall that Bierzo also requested years ago to introduce two different types of grapes and for this “we have done very thorough studies to prove that they came from the region”, which is why he doubts that “in fifteen days this can be achieved” because, in his opinion, Rueda has done it.
The Rueda Designation of Origin (provinces of Valladolid and, to a lesser extent, Ávila and Segovia), has an area of white grapes of 20,368 hectares, according to 2023 data. Of these, 17,925 are Verdejo and 1.13 Sauvignon. The rest is divided between viura (692), viognier (53), chardonnay (44) and palomino (38). According to the Wine Registry, 38 hectares of Godello grapes are planted. Its wines are produced by five wineries under the Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León label. In 2023, Rueda sold 115,852,418 bottles of white wine.
They have currently requested from Itacyl the file that includes the request of the DO of Valladolid in order to be able, once in their possession, to present the pertinent allegations against the resolution of the Department, for which they still have a deadline. This will be the first measure, but if the response was not in favor of their interests, they would open the legal route through Administrative LitigationThese are the first steps of four Galician designations of origin (Valdeorras, Ribeira Sacra, Ribeiro and Monterrei) which also produce Godello.
Adding to this unease is the head of Asaja in León, Arsenio García, who is very unhappy with the Council’s authorization. He understands that it is a “threat” to the winegrowers of Bierzo, because “the grapes are going to be moved” and they see how, with more supply, prices fall. He considers that it is “an attack on the essence of the designations of origin” and warns that it is a “territorial conflict that the Council must resolve.”
His colleagues from Asaja in Avila, Segovia and Valladolid, who are in favour of the measure, do not think the same. The president of the latter, Juan Ramón Alonso, has formulated the controversy in Leonism that “must arise from time to time”, which is why he considers that it is “a mistake on their part” to “use it politically”. In any case, he bets that justice will rule on the matter.
Exactly, the Union of the Leonese People (UPL) has already announced a series of questions to the Cortes de Castilla y León, considering that the authorization of the Ministry of Agriculture “is a provocation” that goes “against the interests of the people of León and the people of Bercia”. From the Provincial Council of León, of a socialist nature, they consider the use of the Godello grape in Rueda as “inadmissible and an aberration”, an opposition that has also been expressed by the Regional Council of Bierzo, of the PSOE, for whom the measure “lacks foundation”, which is why they have expressed their firm opposition. In the City Council of Ponferrada, in this case the PP, they have also positioned themselves against it and have expressed their full support for the actions carried out by the DO Berciana.
Meanwhile, at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, the silence of senior officials continues to prevail in the face of an issue that has gone beyond the technical stage to become political. Sources in this ministry affirm that “the regulation is guaranteed, the procedure is not finalized and an appeal is possible.
