The emergence of winemaking cooperatives in Catalonia

Abstract

This article traces the emergence of winemaking cooperatives in Catalonia, one of southern Europe's main winegrowing regions. It analyses the stimuli that led to the creation of winemaking cooperatives in the early twentieth century and the difficulties that they faced in a depressed wine market, such as financing the construction of winemaking facilities, the governance and organisation of cooperative services, and marketing their produce. I explore the reasons why many more wine cooperatives were created in Catalonia in early twentieth century than in Spain's other winegrowing regions and I try to identify the obstacles that hindered their further development.