Cava boycott pushes regional sales up.

Calls by Spaniards to boycott Catalan cava have increased sales of the famous sparkling wine in Catalonia itself, the autonomous regions retail association, Confederacin de Comer de Catalua, has said. However, according to the president of the organization, the increase has not compensated for the decrease in the rest of the country.

The boycott of cava was called by Spaniards in other parts of the country in response to the vote by the Catalan parliament last September in favour of more control over taxes, transport and public works contracts in the region.

The move is not popular among right-wing parties in Spain, who see it as another attempt by the countrys most prosperous region to grab more independence from the central government. The measures must be approved by the Spanish parliament before they can become law and this will probably be a long process. However, they have the qualified support of the Socialist party prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose government gets backing from the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia party.