The 'terroirist' social movement: The reawakening of wine culture in Spain

Abstract

This paper explores the emergence of the terroirist social movement in Spain and the controversies arising from it. We assess its role in transforming the Spanish wine scene and wine regions from the combined perspective of rural and social movement studies. Spain boasts the largest surface area of vineyards and the largest volume of wine exports of any country, yet it also sells the cheapest wine and lacks wine zoning policies, which makes Spain unique among traditional wine-producing countries. Considering this situation, a group of terroir-driven winemakers are challenging the Spanish industrial wine establishment. They have built networks in rural areas throughout the country and are actively involved in local grassroots movements, aiming to produce quality wines with added value, recover neglected wine regions and grape varieties, and reinstate traditional wine culture. While the movement displays certain elite and populist tendencies, it remains radical in its attempt to challenge a deep-seated economic model dominated by large companies with a powerful lobby that influences the government.