The winegrowers' associations Asaja, COAG, UPA and Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias have announced their withdrawal from the DO Valdepeñas. In doing so, the grape producers of the 20,000-hectare appellation are taking a long-planned step.
The reason for their withdrawal is a dispute on the producer side between the two winery giants J. García Carrión and Félix Solís.
The background is, among other things, alleged irregularities in the labelling of wines with the DO seal of quality and the related accusation of wine falsification. Large volumes of young wines are said to have been falsely declared as Crianza or Reserva qualities. Control over the Interprofesional Valdepeñas is now the responsibility of the regional Ministry of Agriculture of Castilla La Mancha. ds