Creation of the Corpinnat
The creation of the "Corpinnat" brand through registration with the EU was finalised in April 2018. In January 2019, Corpinnat announced its withdrawal from the appellation. The reason given was the jeopardising of the "Excellence for Sparkling Wines" project.
The exit from the D.O. Cava
The AVEC (Associació de Viticultors i Elaboradors CORPINNAT - Association of Winegrowers and Wine Producers Corpinnat) has spoken out in favour of stricter quality standards than those of the D.O. Cava. The AVEC has also spoken out in favour of the use of grape varieties such as Sumoll, which are rejected by the regulatory authority. The AVEC's quality requirements include e.g. 100% organic cultivation, manual harvesting, a minimum grape price of €0.70/kg, 90% indigenous grape varieties, 75% own grapes or grapes from long-term leased vineyards and a minimum ageing period of 18 months for Reservas compared to 15 months for Cava Reservas.
The Cava regulatory authority had been working for months on new regulations and the demarcation of areas within the appellation but had not found common ground. It also refused to allow the two designations Cava and Corpinnat to appear together on the same label. As a result, the AVEC decided to leave the appellation in January 2019.
Corpinnat has argued in favour of designating a special sparkling wine region, as Cava can be produced in a huge area (Zaragoza, La Rioja, Álava, Valencia and Badajoz (Extremadura)) and no clear relationship can be established between the wines and the region where they are produced. This makes it difficult for the high-quality brands to appear on international markets. However, the regulatory authority has not taken any action, as the majority of producers felt that this would not benefit the appellation.
According to the appellation's control board, Corpinnat members, which include well-known producers such as Gramona and Recaredo, account for just 0.95% of total cava production, but half of the premium single-vineyard category. Since the launch, the founding partners Gramona, Llopart, Nadal, Recaredo, Sabaté i Coca and Torelló have been joined by other producers such as Huguet-Can Feixes, Jülia Bernet and Mas Candí.
What is changing?
The term Cava has been replaced by Corpinnat. Single vineyard designations may no longer be used. Corpinnat members are no longer allowed to produce Cava.
Other designations such as "Gran Reserva" may also no longer be used on the label by premium brands. However, Corpinnat producers may continue to use the term "Reserva" and indicate the age of the wine and the date of disgorgement on the back of the label.
What will change for the consumer? They will be confused at first. Anyone standing in front of the wine shelf will now find four different categories of sparkling wines from the same terroir: Cava, Classic Penedés, Conca del Riu Anoia and Corpinnat, which shouldn't make the choice any easier. And only the first two have "Denominación de Origen" status.
Where does the name Corpinnat come from?
The name is certainly not easy to remember and it will certainly take some time for it to become established. It is derived from 2 Catalan and one Latin word: "Cor" comes from Catalan and means heart, "Pinna" is borrowed from Latin and stands for Penedés and "Nat", Catalan, means "born". In combination, Corpinnat means "born in the heart of the Penedés".
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