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Corpinnat expands its ranks with Celler Pardas
Spanish sparkling wine group Corpinnat has welcomed an 11th member into its association – Celler Pardas, a boutique winery based in the Penedès region of Catalonia.
Celler Pardas will start to market a range of sparkling wines in 2021 under the bourgeoning designation. These will include a blanc de blancs composed of 100% Xarel-Lo and a blanc de noirs based on the indigenous Sumoll grape variety.
The project began in 1996 when founders Ramón Parera and Jordi Arnan bought the Can Comas estate in Alt Penedés, a medieval farmhouse surrounded by 60 hectares of forest.
Their organically-farmed, irrigation-free vineyards are planted across three main sites on a mixture of soils, including rocky clay and limestone terraces to deep alluvial soils.
Interestingly, the organisation’s newest member has no track record of making premium sparkling wine.
“The problem with Cava is that among other issues, the DO doesn’t permit Sumoll, which is a key variety for us. We will be the smallest sparkling wine producer in Corpinnat, but it’s completely in line with what we’re doing as a winery,” said co-owner Ramon Parera, in an interview with writer Miquel Hudin.
In February 2019, nine wineries announced their decision to succeed from the Cava DO and create a new appellation within Penedès.
Its founding members have reportedly engaged in a dialogue with the president of the Cava regulatory board, Javier Pages, concerning the possibility of rejoining the appellation.
However, Corpinnat co-founder Xavier Gramona told db that this was unlikely at present. “In the past, we’ve had some positive discussions with Javier Pages,” he said.
“But the truth is that there is no strong desire among our members to return. Although we’ve naturally been affected by the pandemic, Corpinnat is steaming ahead. We’re building a strong reputation as a standalone brand, although obviously it’s in the early stages.”
In 2012, premium sparkling wine producer Raventos i Blanc famously left the Cava DO to market its wines under a standalone appellation – Conca del Rui Anoia.