Codorníu () is the oldest and second-largest producer of
Cava, the Spanish
traditional method
The traditional method is the process used in the Champagne region of France to produce Champagne. It is also the method used in various French regions to produce sparkling wines (not called “Champagne”), in Spain to produce Cava, in Portu ...
sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While the phrase commonly refers to champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne regi ...
. Founded in 1551 near
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, it is one of the oldest companies in Spain and one of the oldest wineries worldwide.
History
The Codorníu family’s wine business goes back to the middle of the 16th century. A document of that period states that the family had several machines and implements relating to the wine industry. In 1659 Anna Codorníu married Miquel Raventós and the families, each with a long wine tradition, were united. Years later, in 1872,
Josep Raventós produced cava for the first time in Spain using the “
traditional method
The traditional method is the process used in the Champagne region of France to produce Champagne. It is also the method used in various French regions to produce sparkling wines (not called “Champagne”), in Spain to produce Cava, in Portu ...
” and established a completely new industry in the
Alt Penedès
Alt Penedès () is a comarca (county) in Catalonia, northern Spain. The capital is Vilafranca del Penedès
Vilafranca del Penedès, or simply Vilafranca (), is the capital of the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. The Spanis ...
region. The Codorníu cellars at
Sant Sadurní d'Anoia
Sant Sadurní d'Anoia is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain; and the centre of production of a sparkling wine known as '' cava''. It is situated in the north-east of the Penedès Depression at the confluen ...
were built on the orders of Manuel Raventós between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century (1895–1915). He chose the renowned Catalán architect
Josep Puig i Cadafalch
Josep Puig i Cadafalch (; Mataró, 17 October 1867 – Barcelona, 21 December 1956) was a Catalan '' Modernista'' architect who designed many significant buildings in Barcelona, and a politician who had a significant role in the development of ...
to design the facility. At that time Codorníu was producing about 100,000 bottles of cava per year, and the size of the new structure seemed overly grandiose. The location of the winery, then some distance from the road and the railway line, was also unusual for the time. Manuel Raventós, however, was insistent that the family winery should be close to the vineyard, as he was aware that such proximity would be the key to improving the quality of the wines. Nowadays, Codorníu continues to control the production process of all its cavas from vineyard planting to finished product. The winery has modern installations and equipment.
Awards and honors
In 1976, the Codorníu cellars at Sant Sadurní d'Anoia were declared a "National Monument of Historical and Artistic Interest" by
King Juan Carlos I
Juan Carlos I (;,
* ca, Joan Carles I,
* gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
.
See also
*
Spanish wine
Spanish wine () includes red, white, and sparkling wines produced throughout the country. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 1.2 million hectares (2.9 million acres) planted in wine grapes, making it the most widely pla ...
*
Cava
*
List of oldest companies
References
Further reading
*Robinson, Jancis (Ed.) ''The Oxford Companion to Wine''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, second edition, 1999.
External links
Codorníu websiteCodorníu UK site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Codorniu Winery
1551 establishments in Spain
Spanish brands
Wineries of Spain
Wine brands