The Freixenet México wine house reopens its doors for the fifth edition of its famous Bubble Fest, where more than 100 sparkling wine labels gathered.
The Mexican wine industry is at a booming point; Not only is it an economic sector with positive projections for the following years, but it has finally recovered the momentum and stability that it had maintained since 2017 until before the pandemic.
As much as in 2020 the sparkling wine sector has suffered the biggest drop in the industry due to limited or non-existent celebrations due to the pandemic, today they have returned stronger than ever.
In part, this has been due to the desire of consumers to make up for lost time, and also due to the recognition of the quality of Mexican sparkling wines that are attracting more and more explorers.
The quality of the sparkling wine that is being produced in Mexico is already cause for celebration and the Freixenet Bubbles Fest 2023 proved it. Photo: Ingrid Cubas
The background of the Freixenet Bubbles Fest
Freixenet is the winery established in Mexico with the longest track record in terms of sparkling wine production. Its history in our country began in 1979 and by 1984 they had already produced their first sparkling wine in the national territory: Sala Vivé.
It was in 2017 when the history of Freixenet turned towards an unprecedented celebration with the first edition of Bubble Fest, the first sparkling wine festival to be held in the country. This initiative gained even more strength a year later, when the alliance with Henkell added improvements so that the brand became a world leader in sparkling wines.
2023: the return of the festive bubbles to Querétaro
This 2023 they celebrated their fifth edition of the festival, positioning themselves as the pioneers of sparkling wines in Querétaro, as one of the busiest wineries in the world and boasting of being the most visited in the country.
This was demonstrated on April 1 and 2, when visitors to the event had access to the Freixenet industrial plants as part of the tours in which they were able to learn about the varieties of sparkling wines that are produced and the processes that are followed at throughout the chain, from harvest to bottling.
Outside, the festive atmosphere was filled with bubbles in more ways than one to give attendees a complete experience. On the one hand, the original soap, which was added to decorative balloons and as a finishing touch those that were served in tall glasses; which, added to the horseback riding, tastings, workshops and live music by DJs, ended up offering a sparkling festival.
Among the wineries that were present were Bodegas Vaivén, Bohemia Sekt, Cava 57, De cote Casa Vitivinícola, Freixenet, Henkell, I Heart Wines, La Castellana, La Redonda, Mionetto, Puerta del Lobo, René Barbier, Sala Vivé, San Juanito, Segura Viudas, Terra Mädi, among others.
Among the wineries participating in the Freixenet Bubble Fest 2023, there were more than 100 labels, both national and foreign. Photo: Ingrid Cubas
Freixenet: reasons for effervescent pride
It was not until 2004 when their line of sparkling wines, Viña Doña Dolores, was born and a few years later, in 2007, they achieved the feat of collecting 87 points in the Robert Parker classification in Sala Vivé Brut, which until now has been the only national wine with such a score.
In 2016, the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles recognized Viña Dolores Brut Reserva as one of the Grand Gold-winning wines, competing with wines from all over the world in blind tasting panels conducted by international specialists.
Data on sparkling wines in Mexico
According to the report ” The wine market in Mexico ” prepared by ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones, sparkling wine in Mexico recovered part of its share of value and volume in 202. Speaking of percentages, sparkling wines had remained stable with the 11% of the national wine market; and although in 2020 they fell 2.5%, by 2021 they managed to reposition themselves at 10.24%.
Due to the above, they are the wine segment with the highest volume growth in the last two years, reaching 9.2% of total income with respect to national wine.
However, not everything has been so positive among consumers. Another factor to highlight from the same study showed that sparkling wines have had a price increase of more than 10%. Despite this, cava and sparkling wines represented 15% of the total amount invoiced in 2021 and 10% of the liters imported by the country.
Since France is the main supplier of wines of this nature, the import of French sparkling wines has a greater representation in economic terms. However, when carrying out the same exercise by volume of imported liters, it is Italy that is at the head of imports, followed by Spain and again by France.
To deepen knowledge, tastings and workshops were held throughout the two days of the event; In addition, tours were made to the cellar of the place. Photo: Ingrid Cubas
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