Foto: CR CAVA	Ampliar

Spanish will consume about 37 million bottles of cava during this Christmas, a million of bottles more that same period last year, according to forecasts Cava Regulatory Board.

President of the Regulatory Board of Cava, Gustavo Garcia Guillamet, explained that this figure is a "forecast", calculated according to sales data from the first nine months of 2011 and "the common variations in the last quarter of the year" that often happen.

"Despite the crisis in which we live, the numbers show us that the Spanish cannot do without cava in the special moments," said Guillamet. "Cava has this ability and virtue, which makes any time a better time," he added. "Now, obviously the crisis is affecting the sector of cava, which this year has achieved these figures thanks to the efforts of the wineries and the whole sector, they are adjusting prices, which has affected the whole production line" he said.

During the first nine months of the year, has sold a total of 152,093,556 bottles, representing an increase of 2.8 percent over the same period last year. Sales in the domestic market amounted to 57,369,159 bottles (by 2.45 percent over last year), while in the foreign market sold 94,724,397 bottles, a 3.01 percent increase.

Guillamet Garcia wanted to highlight the increase in the foreign market, as has been occurring in recent years. Germany, with 23,802,963 bottles sold in the first nine months of the year and an increase of 3.8% over last year, continues to lead the international market. In second place is the United Kingdom, which has sold 19,018,296, representing a decrease of 3.1%. Belgium, with 14,587,821 bottles sold and an increase of 2.3% ranks third. "Keep in mind that in this country had to sell 700,000 bottles in 2001 to 21.1 million in 2010, representing a major increase," said Guillamet.

A special case, according Guillamet, is France, which has sold 2.9 million bottles in the first nine months of the year, representing an increase of 16.9%. "This increase is significant because France is the country more aware of the benefits of sparkling wines, so for us this data is valuable, worth and meaning," he said.

In emerging countries the percentage increases are "very bright," said Guillamet, although the total number of bottles are exported is still small, he added. In this line, Guillamet highlighted the cases of China (an increase of 115.4%), Russia (+ 60.17%) and Brazil (+49,3%).