The wine sector is slowly recovering from a difficult, unusual, and unprecedented harvest as a consequence of the anguish suffered by winegrowers due to the scarcity of rain and heatwaves. It is time to celebrate that the grape, fruit of this feat, is already in the winery, which is why the eleven sparkling wine producers that make up the Corpinnat brand organized this Thursday in the gardens of the Llopart winery in Subirats (Alt Penedès) the second Nit de Verema, a celebration that this year has become a true tribute to the businessman Xavier Gramona, who died unexpectedly last August 4.
"Xavier left us after a fateful accident this summer; but I am convinced that he would have wanted us to pay him a joyful tribute, like tonight's," said Ton Mata, president of Corpinnat and leader of the Recaredo winery, during the celebration. As he recalled, Gramona "was a different person," who, when he entered the world of wine after having channeled his professional career in other fields, caused "a small revolution in the sector." A revolution that was not only "an absolute success for the Gramona winery," but also "indirectly benefited the entire territory." "Xavier Gramona paved a path of openness, not at odds with tradition," explained Mata, adding that his great contribution was to put the winegrower at the center of the wine sector's value chain.
"He was a very intelligent person ---Mata continued in his eulogy--- and, intentionally, naive. He always thought that everything was possible and that everything could be done," as he demonstrated by being the first president and precursor of the birth of Corpinnat. "Corpinnat has been a reality for five and a half years, and it is, in large part, thanks to Xavier's character of thinking that everything was possible and his generosity with the entire territory and in favor of the group. He had his head in the stars, but his feet on the ground," he stated.
Mata recalled the "endless meetings" that Gramona led when this collective European Union brand was being forged, a result of the decision of a group of producers to leave the DO Cava. "Xavier thought aloud; he talked a lot, and always wanted a whiteboard next to him to draw his ideas, which he defended with great conviction and vehemence. He managed to convince us with arguments that no one else had seen, although many times there were also tensions, which we ended up resolving with a heartfelt hug," he recalled emotionally.
To recognize Xavier Gramona's work, commitment, and loyalty, the Corpinnat partners have unanimously agreed to posthumously award him the distinction of Honorary President of the brand. His son, Leo Gramona, was in charge of collecting this distinction, materialized in a ceramic piece, the work of local artist María José Torres, which represents the two souls of Xavier Gramona: the more earthly one, linked to the land and the winegrower, and the more spiritual and rebellious one, at the same time.
Visibly moved, Leo Gramona recalled his father's love for Penedès and asserted that "it is everyone's responsibility to continue defending the values that make us unique." "My father taught us that we must present ourselves to the world as we are," he stressed, committing to "continue" his father's work and "to know how to set aside personal ambitions" in favor of the sector as a whole, the territory, and a differentiated culture.
The shortest harvest in history
Before the tribute dinner, attended by about 150 people who enjoyed some thirty Corpinnat sparkling wines, Ton Mata met with the press where he confirmed the severity of the drought, heatwaves, and their impact on the vineyard. "It is a cruel, slow death that causes us much suffering," he lamented, testifying that the yields —number of kilos of grapes per hectare— of the last harvest have been very low, which has forced Corpinnat wineries to buy more grapes from the winegrowers with whom they have production agreements. "I believe that managing to carry out a harvest like this has been an epic feat," he concluded.
The main consequence of what will already be remembered "as the shortest harvest in history" is that the price of grapes has skyrocketed. By internal regulations, this year Corpinnat wineries had to pay for grapes purchased from third parties at a minimum price of 0.80 euros per kilo, but, finally, they ended up paying grape growers an average of one euro per kilo, an unusual price in the Penedès wine sector, historically punished by excessively low prices.
According to Corpinnat, in 2022 their wineries were able to source 58% of grapes from their own vineyards, but in this last harvest the percentage has equalized, meaning they obtained 50% of their own grapes and had to buy 50% from third parties. Of the almost six million kilos that entered the wineries, 94% correspond to grapes of native varieties.
Presentation of amendments to the Catalan Wine Law
Ton Mata, who was optimistic about the Christmas campaign, made a very positive assessment of these first five years of Corpinnat's life, an association to which the brands Nadal, Torelló, Llopart, Gramona, Recaredo, Júlia Bernet, Can Descregut, Pardas, Sabaté i Coca, Mas Candí and Can Feixes currently belong, most of them split from the DO Cava. "We are catalysts for many changes in the sector. We have seen how the DO Cava has now created subzones and we are helping grape growers to raise prices. We don't sell smoke. We do what we say, and that's why we are consolidating ourselves as a brand of great prestige and great value for the consumer," emphasized the president of Corpinnat.
Mata assures that there are other sparkling wine producing companies in Penedès interested in being part of Corpinnat, although he prefers not to reveal the names, reminding that "the barriers to entry are powerful," since there are few companies in the sector that can comply with the demanding regulations that Corpinnat partners have self-imposed and which are audited by the certifying company Bureau Veritas. "We are an open brand, we would like to be able to welcome more wineries, we want there to be more brave people, but not everyone is willing to pay one euro per kilo for grapes," he said.
The president of Corpinnat has set the international consolidation of this collective brand as a major challenge, which they want to make "as recognized as champagne." He also explained that the association has presented three amendments to the Catalan Wine Law, which is now being negotiated, with the aim that all wineries producing and marketing wine be categorized, by company name, based on the qualification of their work system. The challenge is to ensure that every winery in Catalonia is included or segmented into one of these five categories:
1- Grower-producer
100% of winemaking on the property with a minimum of 95% of the grapes coming from own vineyards, the remaining 5% must be from the same proximity area or DO (if applicable) and with long-term purchase contracts that clearly respect the minimum cost of third-party grapes. The entry of wines produced by others (wineries, wholesalers, cooperatives, etc.) for their elaboration or bottling is totally prohibited.
2- Winemaker-producer
100% of winemaking on the property for the entire company name, with grapes from own vineyards or from third parties from the same proximity area or DO (if applicable) with long-term purchase contracts that clearly respect the minimum cost of third-party grapes. The entry of wines produced by others (wineries, wholesalers, cooperatives, etc.) for their elaboration or bottling is totally prohibited.
3- Merchant
Company that buys bulk wine and bottles it either to produce sparkling wines or still wines, even if it is a percentage following the guidelines of its DO (if applicable).
4- Brand owner
Company that labels with third-party brands, whether individual companies or distributors. Even if it is a percentage.
5- Cooperativist
Cooperative wines produced in the cooperative for own commercialization or for brands of its associates.
The second amendment refers to the requirement that Corpinnat be considered to have "a category equal to that of a DO or an IGP." "We are not a club of friends. We are a European collective brand. We have regulations. We want to have the rank of a DO, today the law does not contemplate it," lamented Ton Mata. Finally, Corpinnat asks to be able to freely use the place names of the region and its municipalities. "How is it possible that the use of the name of our towns or of Penedès is questioned? It is terribly unfair that as Corpinnat we cannot put them on our bottles. It cannot be. We must be able to use them without problem," he concluded.