Cooperative wineries and wine trade in Spain during the twentieth century

Cooperative wineries emerged with a double objective: on the one hand the common production of wine, to reduce production costs, and at the same time to increase the quality of the product; and on the other hand, the common sale of wine, with less intermediaries, and an improvement of the position of winegrowers in the marketing process. Both objectives had to lead to a higher remuneration for the product and, consequently, the income of the producers, who, in the wine sector were mainly small family farmers that faced a trend in the fall in wine prices, and consequently a decrease in their incomes. In this article, an analysis is made of the marketing of wine in Spain through the cooperative wineries, and to ascertain their role in the wine trade during the twentieth century. We especially point out their difficulties to adapt to changes in the wine consumption patterns since the 1970s. (C) 2018 Asociacion Espanola de Historia Economica.