Castilla-La Mancha extends vineyard reconversion aid to 2029

The Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha publishes this November 5th Order 152/2026, of October 27, from the Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, which modifies the regulatory bases for aid for the restructuring and conversion of vineyards in the region within the 2024-2027 wine sector intervention. The regulation, signed by Minister Julián Martínez Lizán, adjusts the regional regulation to the shift in the common agricultural policy and reorganizes the distribution criteria among applicants. It will enter into force the day following its publication, that is, November 6, 2026.

From the 2024-2027 framework to the 2028 and 2029 annual payments

The text is based on Order 35/2025, of March 10, published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha number 51 on March 14, 2025, which established the bases for these grants. The scenario changed when the European Commission presented its proposal for the new common agricultural policy for 2028-2034 on July 16, 2025, in which wine sector measures are to be financed by the Single Fund and national and regional partnership plans.

That proposal incorporates in its article 21.3 an exception so that legal commitments acquired under Regulation (EU) 2021/2115, whose calls are resolved before December 31, 2027, can continue to be subsidized under the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework. In Spain, Royal Decree 610/2026, of July 22, modified Royal Decree 905/2022, of October 25, and introduced a fifth transitional provision that allows for the payment and execution in 2028 and 2029 of aid approved before that date, provided that adequate and sufficient credit exists.

With that backing, the regional order adds a paragraph to article 1 so that the bases continue to apply after the 2024-2027 temporary framework, under the terms of European regulations and Royal Decree 905/2022. The regional ministry argues that the calendar requires calls to be made one or two years in advance and that waiting until 2028 would leave the first years of the new fund without access to aid.

More weight for those who were left out due to lack of budget

The most relevant modification for winegrowers affects article 14. Point 12 of the priority criteria increases from 10 to 20 points and rewards women, young people, and professionals integrated into the agricultural sector whose applications were denied due to lack of budget in the immediately preceding call.

Additionally, a point 13 is added, granting 6 points to those who have not been granted aid in the vineyard restructuring intervention under the wine sector intervention in Castilla-La Mancha. Since the total maximum must be maintained, the scoring for criteria 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 is reduced by 2 points each.

The remaining criteria are as follows:

• 1st Applications submitted collectively: 13 points.
• 2nd Commitment to take the grapes to a facility that pays for quality, for 3 years and within the 6 following planting: 2 points.
• 4th Contracting of agricultural insurance for the vineyard in the year prior to the call: 2 points.
• 5th Membership in a priority supranational associative entity, a priority associative entity of regional interest, or a registered producer group: 2 points.
• 8th Registration in the organic production operators registry: 2 points.
• 9th Technical advice from a plant health group on at least 0.5 hectares: 2 points.
• 10th Not including plots benefited by this aid in the last fifteen campaigns: 2 points.
• 11th Having requested carbon farming or agroecology eco-schemes in the previous unified application: 2 points.

The verification of criteria 1st, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th shall be carried out ex officio by the competent service for viticulture.

Second-hand material, modifications, and penalties

After four approved calls, the order introduces technical adjustments. Letter g) of Article 7 clarifies that no action executed with second-hand material will be paid, and the final paragraph of that article establishes that the age of the vineyard will be verified as of the date the application period opens, according to the planting date in the viticultural registry.

Modifications subsequent to the approval of the aid are subject to the limitations of Article 7, both in the initial establishment plots and in the final reconversion and transformation plots, through the new wording of Article 22.2.b) and a point iv) added to Article 22.2.c).

Regarding sanctions, Article 30.1 now expressly refers to Articles 44 and 45 of Royal Decree 147/2023, of February 28, and to the regime of Title II of Law 30/2022, of December 23. The order is integrated into the Strategic Grant Plan of budget section 21 and is issued under Decree 30/2025, of April 29, regarding the structure of the regional ministry.

A sector awaiting the 2026 resolution

The change arrives in the middle of the campaign: the 2026 call, carried out by the Resolution of January 7, 2026 of the General Directorate of Agriculture and Livestock for execution in 2027, was not definitively resolved until mid-October, which led to the extension of the vineyard establishment deadline for the 2026/2027 campaign until November 3. For the regional wine sector, with a strong presence in provinces such as Ciudad Real and Albacete, the regulation clarifies the continuity of the aid and organizes the competition among applicants.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, no. 212, November 5, 2026, section I, page 39164 (official reference: 2026/7867).