Interview with Pepe Raventós
When hearing the name Raventós, most wine students would shout “cava” without hesitation. They would be right and wrong. Indeed, the first Spanish bottle fermented sparkling wine was created by a Raventós, and his great grandson, another Raventós had a significant share of creating Cava DO. But it was also him, Josep Maria Raventós I Blanc, who took the bold step to leave the safe and successful Codorníu winery, the birthplace of the first Spanish sparkling, and it was his grandson, again a Raventós, who was the first to leave Cava DO. The rebel spirit might be genetic in this family…
Cover photo by Raventós i Blanc
When I guide my groups in the “sparkling capital of Spain”, I usually take them to Codourníu, if not for a visit, then only to see the building complex – architecturally important as well – because of the historical value of the winery. Then I would make them turn around, to show where the descendant of the legendary cava maker changed cava history for good. Just across the street, the two estates are now facing each other as if they were going on with the debate. I have visited the estate a couple of times, but I had never met Pepe Raventós, this legendary figure of Catalan viticulture – until that day, when I found myself in the stunning library of the estate. The library packed with precious relics, like the guest book by Alfonso Spanish king and all the notes of the pioneer Josep Raventós and his son from their discovery journeys. This was the place where Pepe Raventós greeted me with a welcoming smile and checked the fire to make sure I feel comfortably warm. I asked how much time we would have. “A good one hour, Ágnes, I am all yours for an hour.” Oh my God, thought I, can I fill an hour with questions intelligent enough? Spoiler: no.
Photos: The library with original furniture from Codorníu, and Josep Raventos’s notes of immense value, soon to be digitalised (photos by the author
“Don’t hate the players, change the game”
Pepe’s grandfather, the one who worked to create Cava DO and the one who left Codorníu to return to the ancient Raventós estate, died soon after his “immigration”. His son – now 87, retired – acquired a Bordeaux estate in the hope of gaining market through French wine consumers, and worked hard in Penedès as well, in their unique land in the valley of the river Anoia. Pepe, his son, aimed for a different career, yet he became more and more involved in wine. He studied and worked in estates in Bordeaux, the Loire, Champagne and Burgundy, and joined the winery officially in 2001. The USA has always been an important target for them, so Pepe and his wife moved to New York for a few years to be in the epicentre of wine business. What was the American consumers’ attitude towards cava? “They were very open, the distributors were very supportive, but I realised that within Cava DO I cannot make them see the real values of our terroir.” He and all his ancestors were working on producing nothing but the best from a unique land, but Cava DO has become too broad. As a consequence, the uniqueness of this paradise full of fossils and blessed with perfect climate, based on centuries of tradition, could not be conveyed to the customer. Finally, in 2012, Pepe Raventós decided to change the game.
Photos: Martí of Raventós team and fossils in a vineyard of Raventós i Blanc (by the author)
The only solution
Raventós i Blanc is an organic estate in Penedès, so my obvious question was why he had not joined Classic Penedès wineries in 2014. Or why he had not joined Corpinnat wineries, who created a much stricter regulation in 2017. “Indeed, I received invitation to join Classic Penedès, but finally I did not accept it. As for Corpinnat, I don’t believe that a brand – Corpinnat is a brand, not an appellation – could function as a real solution. The only solution is to obtain a DO status for the sparkling wines of the region by the Catalan government. We have outstanding terroir, it should be protected by the government, and this is the only way to make wine lovers of the world understand that Penedès is as worthy as Champagne or Burgundy. All the world-famous wine regions are deeply rooted in tradition, just as we are.” Okay, then when will this dream of DO be fulfilled? “It is a very slow process like everything in politics.”
Raventós i Blanc is labelled as “Conca del Riu Anoia”, as far as I know this winery is the only one with this sort-of-appellation. “Yes, but there are 3000 hectares here, and we buy grapes from growers, up to 30–40% of our annual production. And it is important to pay them a fair price so that they feel honoured, they keep respecting their land and keep on cherishing the outstanding qualities of this place.” Pepe Raventós explained that the DO should function in a pyramid structure, where the base is the valley of each river (in this case the river Anoia), then comes the layer of the villages, and on the top a narrow layer of the vineyards of special value. While a kilo grape at the base level is around 1–1.20 euros, at the top it should reach 3 euros to ensure maintaining the extra high-quality grape growing.
Photos: The dead, but precious 500-year-old tree, beehives and a happy pig enjoying his siesta (by the author)
Dead and living trees, bees and horses
When you are approaching the estate, the first thing to be noticed is a giant, dead tree. It lived 500 years, but life is not endless, the storms and diseases put an end to its life. However, Pepe and his team loved this tree so much, they decided to keep it as a kind of statue, to symbolise our connection with nature. And it is not just a shop window, the estate breathes together with nature. There is a lake with ducks and fish, beehives – with special traps for the aggressive Asian hornets –, hens, sheep and horses. They pay attention to the recreation of the land; each parcel will have time to renew, when all the grape vines are taken out and only weeds thrive to replace all the missing nutrients.
As for the grapes, Xarel·lo is the king, the two other typical local varieties, Macabeu and Parellada are not grown here, as Martí, our guide in a recent visit explained, this subregion does not favour them, Instead, they have some plantations of Malvasia de Sitges, a grape mostly used for Penedès dessert wines, but as Martí commented, it can add nice acidity to the blends here.
Photos: Pepe Raventós at Can Sumoi and the wines of the estate (photos by Raventós i Blanc)
Sumoll, the “vaccine” against drought
Penedès was suffering from drought for three consecutive years, the plants were suffering, and humans were also asked to help save water: jacuzzis and other water wasters were switched off, even the iconic Magic Fountains of Barcelona have been closed. I saw an interview with Pepe on the Catalan television, he insisted that the flagship Xarel·lo grape is resistant to heat and dryness, no wonder it has been grown for centuries here. The other grape he mentioned was Sumoll, a relatively unknown grape, almost extinct, now on its revival. “We have Raventós i Blanc estate for our sparkling wine, and we have a completely different estate for our still wines. We had been looking for 4 years until we found that amazing land with again deep roots in the history of growing grapes. This is Can Sumoi.” Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, the town where Raventós i Blanc is located – and also the place where I live – is a small town, gossip is a thing… When I talked to winemakers about Sumoll, I heard some sceptical opinions as well, saying that Sumoll is grown in almost invisible quantity, and anyway, how can Pepe Raventós produce so much Sumoll in his tiny vineyard. “It is more or less the inverse of Raventós i Blanc. Whereas here we buy grapes only for a smaller proportion of the production, at Can Sumoi we produce only 20% in our own vineyard, and we buy about 80% from grape growers of the area. And the same principle should be applied for the price of the grape. At the moment, we pay around 1.20 euros, but we should pay more, this is the interest of the community and of ours.” That’s it, there is no secret.
Also, Raventós i Blanc sparkling wines are relatively expensive, all of them. “Some estates have one or two expensive flagship wines, but we, at Raventós i Blanc keep the prices high on purpose, including the ‘entry level’ wine. Just think of Burgundy, cheap Burgundian wine does not exist.” High prices are to help maintain the prestige of the wine region undoubtedly.
Photos: Tasting in the cellar with the winemaker – it was an unforgettable experience for my group (photos by the author)
Greater and smaller family
As I anticipated, there was a point during our discussion when I ran out of sensible questions, but he did his best to help me, at least I had this feeling. He must be in his mid 50s, calculating from his career, yet he looks much younger with his sporty figure, youngish curly hair and his vivid eyes. He was attentive, he asked about my life, my origin. When mentioning that I am Hungarian, he immediately expressed his respect for Tokaj, what is more, he drew parallel between Tokaj and Penedès. He asked me to bring some Tokaj wines, so that we can exchange some bottles. “This is the best way to learn from fellow winemakers of other lands.” He must be a great employer as well, since the team of 40 employees is quite constant, there is not much fluctuation – as Martí, our guide in an earlier tour explained. Pepe and his family lives in a farm house in the estate, and I was curious about his children, how they adapted this rural environment after living in New York. “Well, it was easy, we bought them a Labrador and that was it.”
To be human
As I mentioned, Pepe Raventós had planned a different carrier for himself, I asked him what it was. “Social worker. I worked with elderly people and I liked it.” It might sound like I am drawing an idealised picture of this guy, but I am not. He just mentioned when we were talking about Hungary, that the only occasion he had been to Hungary was when he had been driving to Ukraine. Of course. I asked why he had been there. “It was when the war broke out. I managed to bring a woman, her child and a couple to Spain.” So, this is what makes a true social worker. And at the end of our discussion, he revealed one of the most brilliant projects I have heard about: they launched a prison project four years ago. Around 60 convicts participate in all steps of the winemaking procedure from harvest to labelling, which obviously helps them, makes them feel useful, makes them learn something new and gives them a feeling of creation. This year the project was relaunched, on the day of my visits the convicts were labelling and packing. The name of the wine is Ciutat Nua 2024, the grape comes from the “Lake Vineyard” (Vinya del Llac) with minimum intervention, it is made of 100% Xarel·lo. Only 1000 bottles were made, they are available to buy only at the estate, they cost 14.95 euros, and all the money from the sales go to the renovation works of the prison to improve the living conditions of the inmates.
More information:
Raventós i Blanc
Can Sumoi
Photo: The labels of the first vintage “prisoners’ wines” (by Raventós i Blanc)
