How Has COVID-19 Affected The Spanish Wine Industry? An Exploratory Analysis

Abstract

The global wine industry has faced numerous adversities since the onset of the coronavirus. In particular, the Spanish wine industry has been severely affected as detailed in the following pages. To study the impact of COVID-19 on the Iberian country's wine industry, the research has attempted to quantify, through an exploratory approach, the effect of the coronavirus on employment in wine-related economic activities, distribution channels, exports, and wine tourism. The results of the research show a negative impact on the activities directly related to the commercialization of wine, on the consumption of wine consumed in Spain, on the evolution of exports and on the number of wine tourists. The research also demonstrates the importance of diversifying distribution channels to diversify the overall risk of wineries when demand shocks such as COVID-19 occur.