The Spanish Wine Interprofessional Organisation (OIVE) and Portuguese Wine Interprofessional Organisation (ViniPortugal) have jointly launched a European Union-backed activation in the UK.
The push, titled ‘Celebrate the Diversity’, will include 17 wine workshops and nine ‘VIP dinners’ in the country, aimed at “consolidating the positioning, competitiveness and awareness of” wines protected by European quality regulations for importers, distributors and hospitality workers. The two national trade bodies will also be organising “activities for digital influencers” and nine trips to wine regions for UK professionals.
‘Celebrate the Diversity’ was launched last week with a series of events in London featuring “key influencers”. The activity forms part of a wider push for Spanish and Portuguese wines, backed by a EUR3.3m (US$3.7m) cash injection from the European Union. The three-market campaign commenced in Switzerland last month and will head to Norway in September. The trio – all of which are within Europe, but not part of the EU – were selected based on their export trends, having each recorded a decreasing trend during the last five years.
“The UK is an invaluable trading partner for the Spanish wine sector,” said OIVE’s director general, Susana García. “We believe that the ‘Celebrate the Diversity’ project will be a great opportunity to reconnect our regions of origin with restaurants, hotels, and specialised businesses across the country, which in turn will act as a catalyst for sales to the end consumer.
“Our 106 PDOs and 43 PGIs play a fundamental role in this strategy, guaranteeing the highest quality, respect for the land and diversity. These are the values we rely on to convince British professionals.”
Last month, trade association the International Organisation of Vine & Wine (OIV) released its annual industry report, which estimated that the global consumption of wine last year fell by 2.7%, compared with 2024, to 208m hectolitres. The organisation cited “the interaction of long-term structural shifts in mature markets, changing consumer behaviour and recent economic pressures on purchasing power” for the continued decline.
Exports of wine from Spain last year were down by 2.2% to 19.6m hl, and by 3.9% in value at EUR3.1bn ($3.54bn). Portugal’s wine exports increased by 1.1% in volume terms in 2025, reaching 3.4m hl, while values dipped by 1% to EUR1bn.
