The assembly of partners of the Association of Winegrowers and Producers Corpinnat (Avec) has unanimously approved the composition of the new board of directors that emerged from the first elections held by the entity. After four years at the helm as the first president of Corpinnat, Xavier Gramona has left the position, which he shared with Ton Mata. This puts an end to a co-presidency model once the project begins to consolidate and the most difficult stage has been overcome: that of the break with the Cava Designation of Origin, which included the eleven wineries that currently make up Corpinnat.
"I have no doubt that Corpinnat is a very powerful idea with a lot of future," highlights Xavier Gramona, who leaves "satisfied with having contributed to making the project a reality with the effort and sacrifice of all the founding companies." Gramona has urged the new board to defend and consolidate "the two pillars that support" the European collective brand Corpinnat: territory and quality.
Ton Mata, CEO of Recaredo, has been appointed president for the next four years, heading the only candidacy presented in the first Avec elections. Xavier Nadal, owner of Nadal wineries, will team up with Mata and occupy the vice-presidency. The board of directors is made up of representatives from the six wineries that founded Corpinnat and chose to leave the DO Cava in 2017. These are Recaredo, Nadal, Llopart, Sabaté i Coca, Torelló and Gramona.
Xavier Gramona not only leaves the presidency, but has also resigned from continuing to be part of the board with one objective: to make way for generational change and rejuvenate the entity's decision-making core. Thus, his son, Leo Gramona, a member of the family's sixth generation, has been appointed a member of the board. An industrial engineer from UPC, Leo Gramona joined Gramona's management structure in 2018, along with his cousin, Roc Gramona, son of Jaume Gramona.
In addition to these six founding wineries, Huguet-Can Feixes, Júlia Bernet, Mas Candí, Can Descregut, and Pardas have joined Corpinnat. Ton Mata has set out to work to attract more wineries to the association, a matter that is not simple due to the high technical and quality requirements that the Association demands of its members. "I believe our values can be shared by other wineries in Penedès that, like us, defend the territory and quality by committing to a high level of demand to produce great quality organic sparkling wines fully vinified on the property," explains Mata.
Corpinnat is currently celebrating its first gastronomic festival with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and bringing consumers closer to Penedès so they can get to know the wineries and vineyards of the entity's members. In total, the companies associated with the brand sold 1.7 million bottles in 2020 (a minuscule volume compared to the 215 million bottles of DO Cava). Revenue fell by 19%, with combined earnings of 16.8 million euros. 19.8% of production was exported to 55 countries, with a particular emphasis on destinations such as the United States, Germany, Andorra, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland, and Denmark.