"Corpinnat cannot be looked down upon when we are the quality Catalan sparkling wine admired around the world."

FrostThe couple formed by Francesc Torelló and Josefa Llopart were visionary in 1951: they dedicated the grape harvest at the Can Martí de Baix estate to making champagne, as everyone then called the sparkling wine aged in cava. These were tough times; the post-war period and the Franco dictatorship were shaping the economy, and they had to work hard. "With their own grapes, my grandparents made champagne for more than thirty wineries in the surrounding area," recalls Toni de la Rosa, who, along with his brother, Paco de la Rosa, and their mother, Ernestina Torelló, runs the winery. I interviewed them one summer afternoon at Can Martí de Baix, when the winery's porches were being transformed into a restaurant, with tables set with white tablecloths. The winery hosts one of the dinners of the Corpinnat gastronomic festival, and kitchen Chef Arnau Bosch, from the Can Bosch restaurant in Cambrils (one Michelin star).

We're echoing the visionary decision of Toni and Paco de la Rosa's grandparents, because today the Torelló family is celebrating the anniversary with a new Corpinnat, the Torelló 75 Aniversario Brut 2018, which features a beautiful design inspired by the bottle the family keeps from that era, with their grandfather's signature on the label. It's a Corpinnat with the beloved varieties: Xarel lo (57%), Macabeo (23%), and Parellada (20%), made with organic grapes from the Can Martí estate and hand-harvested (in accordance with Corpinnat regulations) in 2018.

In the 75 years that the grandchildren are celebrating, everything has happened in the wine-growing region, such as inventing three names for what they make and drink.They started calling it champagne, but in 1986 the European Union ruled that they couldn't use that word because it was already used by another region in the world, Champagne. The word then caught on. digging, which came from the expression "wine aged in a cellar"; in 2014 the term appeared Classic Penedès, and in 2018, with the split of some wineries from the DO Cava, they invented the denomination Corpinado. Today, it goes without saying that words make a difference. "Seven years after we decided to leave the Cava DO, we are now fifteen wineries, and next year another five will join us. We can't say which ones they will be, but the brand will grow," says Toni de la Rosa, who always remembers that he presided over the Cava Guild and that, originally, the intention of the six wineries (Sabaté, Coca y Torelló) was never to leave the Cava DO, but everything came together to force them to do so.

A dictionary for sparkling wines

These are chapters written and repeated, which took place between late 2017 and 2018, and which are relevant today, because it must be said that words make things happen. If in 1951 there was only one, champagne, today in the Penedès region there are more than ever: cava, Corpinnat, Clàssic Penedès (assigned to some wineries in the Penedès DO that make sparkling wine), and yet a fourth, DO Cuenca del Río Anoia, promoted by the Raventós y Blanc winery. Almost a dictionary written in less than a hundred years for such a small land. Be that as it may, producer Toni de la Rosa maintains that "Corpinnat cannot be looked down upon when we are the quality Catalan sparkling wine admired the world over." And he says this because Corpinnat is a prestigious winemaking brand, admired the world over for its long-aged sparkling wines, and which until now has not received subsidies from the Generalitat (Catalan Government), not even during the pandemic, as is the case with the Catalan designations of origin.

Winemaker Toni de la Rosa refers to the new regulations approved by Corpinnat, which indicate that by 2034, pressing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir to make sparkling wine will no longer be permitted. "We are a gem with Macabeo, Xarel lo, and Parellada, and that traditional historical varieties must be defended." Each territory has its varieties, and it has been necessary to travel the world to return to El Borne. "We know that this decision distances us from wineries producing sparkling wines that could join Corpinnat in the future, but we have all done our part," he adds, adding: "If you want to play in the Champions League, you have to enter within certain rules."

Finally, Torelló is also celebrating 630 documented years of the winery. "We have a document from June 17, 1395, which explains that the lord of Gelida ordered an emphyteusis on the Torrevieja farmhouse, which refers to the Can Martí estate, both the Dalt and Baix estates, in favor of Jaume Miquel, who is our first generation," explains Toni de la Rosa. With the emphyteusis, the family gained access to the property, and today they continue to fulfill the feudal lord's mandate. In fact, one of Torelló's future projects is to entice the next generation, his children, so they will lovingly understand the obligation of the parchment. "Both Paco and I have three children, the older ones with university degrees, and the younger ones still in high school, who we hope will one day take over, a succession we have established with rules, such as having previously visited other wineries before entering Torelló," says Toni de la Rosa.

An exhibition will be opened in September with the preserved ancient documents, which the Torelló family claims number more than a hundred, covering all generations connected to the estate. Copies of the scrolls chronicling the winery's history will hang on the walls of one of the press rooms. In addition to the room with the documentary exhibition, visitors can visit the underground cellars, which include spaces such as the Torelló Wine Cellar, with displays of bottles from prestigious collections such as the Gran Torelló, Torelló 225, and Finca Can Martí. Magnum bottles, in large sizes, are also prominent, as Torelló has almost all of its wines in this size.

And all to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the first sparkling wine harvest and the winery's 630-year history. A present that looks to the future with a remark. "Bubbles celebrate and are the best gift," concludes winemaker Toni de la Rosa.