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Freixenet’s honorary co-chairman, Josep Ferrer Sala dies at 99

06 November 2024 By Arabella Mileham

Sparkling wine group Henkell Freixenet has announced the death of Josep Ferrer Sala, Freixenet’s honorary co-chairman and the former MD who established the company as one of the leading Cava businesses in the world.

Sala, who was 99 when he died, was born in 1925 in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, the son of Pedro Ferrer Bosch and Dolors Sala Vivé, who founded the company in 1914.

As the second generation of the founding family, Sala’s legacy at Freixenet came through the modernization and internationalization of the brand, after it was relaunched after the Spanish Civil War by his mother and sisters Pilar, Carmen and Dolores Ferrer following the death of their father and older brother.

Sala joined the company in 1947, before taking over as managing director in 1959. This “herald[ed] a new era”, the company said, with his “exceptional entrepreneurial skills… and innovative spirit” seeing him establish the Spanish sparkling wine and Cava category worldwide.

Under his leadership, Freixenet expanded its production at its Sant Sadurní d’Anoia site to become the largest Cava producer in the world, thereby increasing in sales and international reach, which helped it become the best-selling Cava in the world.

The company’s famous Cordon Negro brand, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, was also established during this time.

Freixenet said that he had left “an indelible legacy in the history of Freixenet” and his time at the company was market by his “dedication and passion for Cava and wine”

He was appointed President of Freixenet in 1978, and although he retired from the day-to-day running of the company in 1999, he was appointed honorary co-chairman of Freixenet – and a member of the “Board of Wisdom” with his sisters. In this capacity, he played an important role in the acquisition of Freixenet by Henkell in 2018, which saw the German sparkling wine company buy 50.7% of Freixenet’s capital for just under €220 million.

Henkell Freixenet said that it “deeply regrets his loss” and conveyed its deepest condolences to the family.

“All of us who have had the good fortune to work with him mourn his absence today, but we are very proud of the legacy he has left us,” it said.

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