Portuguese winegrowers demand tighter checks on Spanish wine inflows
Winegrowers protested across Portugal over the traceability and labeling of Spanish wine, arguing that weak enforcement is depressing domestic grape prices. Portugal imported about 2.1 million hectoliters of wine in 2025, with Spain supplying nearly 95% of the volume.
Protests spread across Portuguese wine regions
Portuguese winegrowers have staged coordinated demonstrations demanding tighter inspections of imported Spanish wine and clearer information about its origin. According to Rádio Pax, producers gathered at 39 locations across the country, including Beja, Évora, Vidigueira and Amareleja in the Alentejo region. The national action was promoted by the Technical Association of Alentejo Winegrowers, known as ATEVA.
About 30 growers and wine producers attended the demonstration in Évora, O Digital reported. Protesters displayed a banner declaring that Spanish wine is not Portuguese and deposited grapes and buckets of grapes on the pavement. Producers said they do not oppose imports from Spain or other European Union countries, but want every shipment to remain traceable and its true origin to be visible to consumers.
Imports rise as bulk wine takes a larger share
Portugal imported approximately 2.1 million hectoliters of wine in 2025, equivalent to about 210 million liters, according to figures reported by Rádio Pax. Import volume increased by 8.4% from the previous year, while the value of incoming wine reached €161 million. Spain accounted for nearly 95% of the total volume, making it by far Portugal's largest foreign supplier.
Bulk wine is at the center of the dispute. It represented more than 66% of Portugal's imported wine volume in 2025 and grew by 15.2% year on year. Growers argue that lower-priced imported wine intensifies competition in the domestic market at a time when many farms are struggling to sell grapes at prices sufficient to cover production costs.
António Cláudio, a grower from Vendas Novas, told journalists that producers were currently receiving €0.32 per kilogram of grapes. He said cheap Spanish wine was helping determine Portuguese grape prices and threatening the viability of the production system. He also cited an estimate attributed to the current president of the Institute of Vine and Wine that 100 million liters of wine enter Portugal illegally each year, a volume he compared with an entire Alentejo harvest. Cláudio further claimed that the cumulative amount since 2019 exceeded 700 million liters. These figures were presented by protesters and were not independently verified in the source reports.
Growers focus on traceability and enforcement
Portuguese and European rules already govern wine designation, presentation, labeling and traceability. Rádio Pax noted that certain blends must identify the origin and volume of the wines used, while foreign products moving between operators require accompanying documentation. Portuguese regulation has also been strengthened to prevent wine packaged domestically from misleading buyers when it contains products from other EU member states.
The producers' complaint therefore focuses on enforcement. Luís Louro, a wine producer in Estremoz, said Spanish wine entering without adequate control could be sold as Portuguese table wine without a denomination of origin. He called for current-account records showing where wine is held within the Institute of Vine and Wine's information system. Louro also proposed giving regional wine commissions funding and authority to conduct inspections in their respective regions and requiring clearer physical separation between certified and non-certified wines at shared facilities.
Pressure extends beyond the Alentejo
ATEVA and the Association of Alentejo Wines and Spirits expressed solidarity with growers in the Douro and called for equal treatment among Portugal's wine regions. Their demands include stronger controls on imported and non-certified wine, greater regional inspection capacity and clarification or revision of the decree-law governing the institutional organization of the Portuguese wine sector.
The Confederation of Farmers of Portugal said the entire industry was facing a crisis and requested that support announced for the Douro be extended to other regions. Producers maintain that distillation assistance or vineyard-removal incentives alone will not resolve weak farm economics. For growers, merchants and bottlers, the immediate issue is whether authorities can follow imported wine from entry to final sale and ensure that labels distinguish Portuguese wine, Spanish wine and blends of different origins.
