Codorníu is the oldest and second-largest producer of Cava, the Spanish traditional method sparkling wine. Founded in 1551 near Barcelona, it is one of the oldest companies in Spain and one of the oldest wineries worldwide.[1]
History
The Codorníu family’s wine business goes back to the middle of the 16th century. A document of that period states that the family had several machines and implements relating to the wine industry. In 1659 Anna Codorníu married Miquel Raventós and the families, each with a long wine tradition, were united. Years later, in 1872, Josep Raventós produced cava for the first time in Spain using the “traditional method” and established a completely new industry in the Alt Penedès region. The Codorníu cellars at Sant Sadurní d'Anoia were built on the orders of Manuel Raventós between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century (1895–1915). He chose the renowned Catalán architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch to design the facility.[2] At that time Codorníu was producing about 100,000 bottles of cava per year, and the size of the new structure seemed overly grandiose.