Cava boycott

[celia s]

Hi Guys,
Reading one of the threads today,completely reminded me of an article that I read a few months ago,regarding Catalonia's call for greater independence and the ensuing backlash across the rest of the country,which led to a boycott of products from the area,including Cava.
How are relations between the central government in Madrid and the Catalan region, at the moment?

[Ben]

Things seemed to have calmed down at the moment, it's not headline news right now... you will still find plenty of Madrileños who wont drink Cava though (or shop in Basque Eroski supermarkets etc), but then that sort of person (idiot) is always around...

[Marbella]

How are relations between the central government in Madrid and the Catalan region, at the moment?

Fine, because Zapatero seems more inclined to give the government [Generalitat] of Catalonia what they want. Those Catalans that want total or greater independence sense that victory is in sight.

you will still find plenty of Madrileños who wont drink Cava though (or shop in Basque Eroski supermarkets etc), but then that sort of person (idiot) is always around...?

Yes, there will be the small-minded who feel that they should hit back at some of the anti-Spanish noise (by the small-minded!) that comes from Catalonia but there is a potential difference here. Some Madrileños might boycott Eroski if they feel that part of their profits fund ETA (I am not saying they do!).

Generally, tactical shopping fails and cold economics wins. Faced with the choice of a 4 euro bottle of cava from Freixenet or a 7 euro bottle from somewhere else (see my other post on cava from La Rioja) then most thrifty Madrileños will go for the cheap option.

I have to add another point though. We spent 10 days in Catalonia a couple of months ago and not once felt uncomfortable even though half of us are Spanish. In shops, restaurants and bars we might have been greeted in catalan but nobody it seems had a problem switching to castellano. Our approach is to offer a bon dia at the start and an adeu at the end and all goes well.

It makes me wonder how much support there is for some of the more extreme measures the Catalan government suggests - like the imposition of the catalan language on businesses and schools. We go to Barcelona and the Catalonia costas a lot because my in-laws have an apartment there. In 16 years we´ve only had one obvious anti-Spanish experience and that was in a backward little town north of Barcelona.

[greytop]

I have to add another point though. We spent 10 days in Catalonia a couple of months ago and not once felt uncomfortable even though half of us are Spanish. In shops, restaurants and bars we might have been greeted in catalan but nobody it seems had a problem switching to castellano.
....
It makes me wonder how much support there is for some of the more extreme measures the Catalan government suggests - like the imposition of the catalan language on businesses and schools.

Substitute Valencia / Valenciano for Catalonia / Catalan and its much the same around here.
Before Xmas there was a lot of support for a campaign to drink Valencian cava instead of Catalonian: that was because the Catalonians decided Valencian was a dialect of catalan. There always seems to be a lot of passion in Spanish politics!

[Marbella]

Substitute Valencia / Valenciano for Catalonia / Catalan and its much the same around here.
Before Xmas there was a lot of support for a campaign to drink Valencian cava instead of Catalonian: that was because the Catalonians decided Valencian was a dialect of catalan. There always seems to be a lot of passion in Spanish politics!

I like to see a bit pf passion in politics as long as it doesn´t get nasty.

We lived in the centre of Valencia for 6 months and I´m annoyed I didn´t try Valencian cava. We will look out for that next time we go.

I must just mention a local Valencia wine we used to drink - Castillo de Liria. It´s not going to win any prizes (forgive me Catavino!) but as an everyday table wine it was perfectly drinkable and at only euro 1.7 a bottle a bargain. No headaches like some cheap wines give you at least!

[Ben]

Some Madrileños might boycott Eroski if they feel that part of their profits fund ETA (I am not saying they do!).
True, I have heard that argument a lot. The idea that any business of any sort with the Basques and Basque companies always somehow leads to cash in ETA's pockets...

[catavino]

The odd part of all of this is the past years numbers did show a small decline in domestic Cava consumption, but overall sales rose exponetialy due to huge export growth in the world Cava market. Now that producers are producing wines that can compete with some of the better champanges out there, it's unlikely that Cava sales will drop.

BTW I too had a great expierence when up there in feburary, very friendly and kind people, no matter what language I spoke. Also in some ways a lot more welcoming to foreigners due to the ability to find good info in ENglish more often. My Spanish friends just smile and say, yeah the Catalans are buisness people, they know how to market themselves well.

[ValenciaSon]

Your Catavino website is nice!

[catavino]

Glad to hear you like it. Today's our 1 year anniversary, and I'll be posting some of my favorite past articles later today!

Ryan