Torelló: Cava needs a rebirth

A leading member of Corpinnat – the breakaway Spanish sparkling wine group – has urged the Cava authorities to embrace the designation’s call for drastic change.

Toni de la Rosa Torelló

“The Cava DO needs a refoundation,” said Toni de la Rosa Torelló, one of the six founding members. “When Corpinnat was founded three years ago, it was designed to promote a prestigious image of the best sparkling wines of Penedes – something we are achieving. Cava del Paraje Calificado was a good try, but not good enough.’

When asked if Torelló had ever regretted leaving the Cava DO, Toni de la Rosa Torelló responded: ‘ No, our importers have reacted to the news with great anticipation. Already the Swedish monopoly has offered to take some of our Corpinnat sparkling wines.’

Yet another founding Corpinnat member, Recaredo, told the drinks business that the decision to leave the Cava DO had required much ‘soul searching.’

‘As you can imagine, taking the decision to leave the Cava DO was not easy,’ said Recaredo’s owner Ton Mata.

‘Regrettably, our proposal to work with the Consejo Regulador was not accepted, and so we were forced to leave the DO. The Cava model has serious shortcomings when it comes to representing a specific “origin” as well as limitations in terms of “segmentation” by company type.’

However, Xavier Gramona, joint president of Corpinnat, told db in April that Corpinnat’s members may petition to rejoin the Cava DO, in the future.

‘Rejoining the Cava DO is certainly a possibility,’ said Gramona.

‘It was always my goal to change Cava from within, to forge a stronger quality image of Spanish sparkling wine. This is why the first meetings between the Corpinnat Board and the DO authorities began in February 2018.’