Wines of modernist architecture
"El palo de pajar represents the recovery of the Aiguamúrcia Cooperative and the sharing with families and winegrowers the joy of reopening this space we consider a treasure. Let's create a territory," says winemaker and viticulturist Pepe Raventós. Can Sumoi, the natural wine project he has been leading since 2017 in Alt Camp, will restore the heartbeat of wine four decades later to an emblematic building, the work of Cèsar Martinell, a disciple of Gaudí. If all goes as planned, the first harvest to arrive will be in 2026. Until then, the modernist architectural space will undergo a thorough renovation and be adapted to accommodate the winemaking machinery. The façade and exterior skin will be preserved.
"Raventós y Blanc is the family legacy, and Can Sumoi is the path that moves me. It's a space of creativity where I connect my two passions: social work, which is where I come from academically, and wine, where I arrived by accident. I like to take care of nature and people, sharing from the countryside and ensuring the fair price per kilo of grapes. And that all of this endures over time," he emphasizes. With this symphony as a backdrop, at Can Sumoi they produce natural high-altitude wines, recovering abandoned vineyards and native varieties, promoting biodiversity and collaborating with the local network of winegrowers. "Why should we build more? We've already built too much. We need to restore, conserve," insists Raventós. Hence the gesture of reopening the cooperative, sculpted with exposed brick and Catalan vaulting, full of beauty and functionality.
The heart of Can Sumoi will continue to be a farmhouse located 600 meters above sea level in the Sierra del Montmell, where the 20 hectares of vineyards are cultivated organically, surrounded by an additional 380 hectares of forest. The winery will be located in Aiguamúrcia. They will continue to create Mediterranean-style wines, with minimal intervention and native yeasts. "We make four cooperative wines that are the largest volumes. And another four that are parcel-based, from very well-tended old vines. An old-vine Sumoll, two Xarelos, and a Malvasia," summarizes Raventós. Sumoll 2021 is a high-end wine from the La Plana dels Horts estate. It is released with 650 bottles. It has fascinated the Americans. "When we opened it in New York, we didn't need to explain anything. Just listen," says Pepe Raventós. He's proud of the plant heritage they cultivate in Montmell. He's determined to make it known worldwide and compete with the most admired wines. The return of the winery to the former Aiguamúrica Cooperative will surely add virtues and history.