Next April 10 will mark five years since the birth of Corpinnat, the collective brand of sparkling wines that brings together eleven wineries that decided to leave the Cava Designation of Origin. With the leadership of major brands such as Gramona, Recaredo, Nadal, Torelló, Llopart, and Sabaté i Coca, their main objective was to enhance the prestige of Penedès sparkling wines and escape the low prices of the sector by using major levers such as long aging periods, 100% organic production, maximum identification with the territory, 100% of production vinified in the winery, and a commitment to historical grape varieties, which must be harvested by hand.
"We were very brave in taking this step, embarking on a desert crossing with a certain vertigo, as we didn't know what could happen when we left the DO Cava. But today we are very happy with the evolution we have made, and we see the future with enormous optimism because in a very short time we have consolidated ourselves as a prestigious benchmark in Catalonia and internationally. We are demonstrating that in the heart of Penedès we can play in the Champions League of sparkling wine worldwide," reflects the president of Corpinnat, Ton Mata. "Today it is already normal to go to a restaurant and ask for a glass of Corpinnat; we have a genuine and inimitable name," he points out.
According to the also owner of Recaredo, "Corpinnat is a value project" and this creation of value is demonstrated by analyzing the selling price of the bottles marketed by the eleven wineries that today make up the Association of Corpinnat Winegrowers and Producers. In the last year, the average retail price has increased by 7%, reaching 18.55 euros. "The future of Penedès involves generating value; we are on the right track," Mata emphasizes. It should be noted that 62% of Corpinnat's production corresponds to wines aged for more than 30 months, and 22% of the bottles exceed 60 months, that is, five years. The other 16% of production are sparkling wines aged between 18 months ---the minimum required--- and 30 months.
In total, in 2022, Corpinnat wineries marketed 2.43 million bottles, up 5.7%. This is a tiny volume compared to the more than 240 million bottles sold by the DO Cava. In terms of turnover, the eleven partners jointly earned 25.89 million euros, representing a 12% increase compared to 2021, when pre-pandemic sales were surpassed thanks to a 37% growth. Exports now generate 19.4% of sales and are distributed in a total of 63 countries (seven more than in 2021), with the United States as the main foreign market.
In addition to Gramona, Recaredo, Nadal, Torelló, Llopart, and Sabaté i Coca, these figures include data from five more wineries that have joined Corpinnat during these five years: Huguet de Can Feixes, Júlia Bernet, Mas Candí, Descregut, and Pardas. According to Ton Mata, several wineries are interested in joining the initiative, although they will first have to pass the demanding audits and controls required by the association to incorporate new partners. "We have no ceiling, we want to be more, there will be a trickle, but our demands are very high," Mata recalls.
Conversations with Clàssic Penedès restart
For Corpinnat, a fundamental pillar is the vinification of 100% of the production on the property, meaning the purchase of base wine is prohibited, a widespread practice in most sparkling wine companies. This is precisely one of the red lines that hinders negotiations with Clàssic Penedès producers to create a new designation of origin in Penedès focused on sparkling wines. "We are the most demanding and rigorous model that exists in the sparkling wine market, and we do not intend to give up something that has cost us so much to achieve," warns Mata, who acknowledges that conversations with the Clàssic Penedès wineries, now protected by the DO Penedès, have recently restarted.
Precisely, not being part of a designation of origin and having chosen the legal formula of a collective European Union brand has penalized Corpinnat's partners, who have been left out of many subsidies. Specifically, they regret that they have lost or failed to receive 400,000 euros from the aid granted to the wine sector during the COVID crisis. In this regard, they demand that administrations take into account "many more aspects beyond being or not being a Designation of Origin," such as the fact of self-imposing production requirements that are the most demanding in the entire European Union.
One of these requirements is that all wineries must own their vineyards. In total, the partners own 644 hectares of vineyards, but they also source grapes from independent winegrowers who add another 420 hectares. Long-term contracts (minimum of three years) must be signed with these winegrowers, and grapes must be purchased at a minimum price set by the association: 0.75 euros per kilo in 2022, although the effective average price paid in this last harvest was 0.89 euros per kilo. According to Corpinnat's vice-president, Xavier Nadal, a total of 5.76 million kilos were harvested and entered the winery, 58% from their own harvest. "We are immersed in a new climatic reality that we are capable of overcoming and responding to," Nadal highlights, referring to the fact that in the last 30 months, the volume of rainfall has been 200 liters per hectare lower than the usual average.
Corpinnat's partners total 263 workers, and last year they increased enotourism visits by 63%, with a total of 34,528 visitors who enjoyed activities such as the Corpinnat Gastronomic Festival. According to Nadal, there are currently 12 million bottles in the aging process in the wineries' cellars, equivalent to five years of sales, which demonstrates "an absolute commitment to long aging periods."