The cava business is experiencing days of change. The progressive trickle of family brands that choose to separate themselves from the control exercised by the Regulatory Council and the sales operations that involve legendary wineries, such as Freixenet and Codorníu, put the sector in an unusual reputational situation. Just when the commercial scenario is full of uncertainties, with the tariff war adding tension to the fierce competition in the sparkling market, the cava brand has to deal with internal debates that fuel rivalries and cause more headaches than celebratory toasts. This week the sales results for 2025 will be made public, with the reminder that the last public balance reflected a drop of 13%. The trend collides with the numbers released by Corpinnat, the group of wayward producers who distance themselves from the Cava Regulatory Council and which, after reporting an increase in shipments of 34.8% and a rise in turnover of 27%, identifies the year 2025 as “a turning point” with no turning back. Penedès is the cradle of cava, a territory that lives very aware of everything that surrounds the grape and the sparkling wine business. The cava figures continue to be great, with a global turnover that exceeds 2,000 million euros, with a presence in more than 100 countries and an export volume that is close to 70%, but the sector is traveling along a winding path and has left benchmarks by the wayside. The recent sale of 100% of Freixenet to the German company Henkell was something that had been seen coming since, just eight years ago, the German company became a shareholder in the winery that was historically controlled by the surnames Ferrer and Bonet. “Pedro Ferrer will continue to be linked to the company, as he assumes the position of honorary president of Freixenet, together with José Luis Bonet,” reads the statement issued by the company on March 3, after signing the transfer of all shares to Germany. Freixenet is a giant that ships 100 million bottles and that has both pulling power and the ability to influence to condition the public image of the sector. Something that has not always gone down well with the group of producers who are more in favor of betting on differentiation than on the impact of large volumes. In the eternal debate, Freixenet had tried to swim between two waters, claiming that more bottles does not have to imply a detriment to the quality of the product. By remaining entirely in the hands of Henkell, decision-making moves away from Penedès. Codorníu is another of the great cava brands. Founded in 1551, it has not only worn the label of being the oldest family business in Spain, but it was an example of how to make a powerful business prosper without losing the Raventós blood connection. However, according to sources who at some point had to intervene in the management of the firm, the difference in interests generated quite a few family tensions. The North American fund Carlyle entered Codorníu in 2018 and controls almost 70% of the shares. The fund is immersed in a market survey process to assess the possible sale or merger of Codorníu. “It would not be a surprise if Codorníu joined a larger group,” CEO Sergio Fuster advanced last September in an interview with EL PAÍS. Also in the case of Juvé&Camps, another historic winery known for its premium ranges, the time came for the Juvé family to part with part of their shares and sold them to Scranton, Grifols’ investment company. The link that former references who disseminated and packaged the product have with cava is diluted at the same rate at which several wineries decide to leave the mother house to seek refuge in an alternative label. Corpinnat presents itself as a group of purist producers, focused on producing sparkling wines with a minimum aging of 18 months and who claim to avoid strategies that seek to gain sales at the expense of adjusting prices downwards. The average price of each bottle sold is 20.4 euros, double the average price of those that carry the cava label. The Cava Regulatory Council rejects that cava can be presented as a product unconcerned with quality and defends that it promotes a “global prestige program” to reinforce the image of a sector that ships more than 200 million bottles annually and that includes more than 300 associated wineries. Jaume Serra, the brand controlled by the Murcia group Garcia Carrión, sells 40 million bottles. The president of the DO Cava is Javier Pagés, former general director of Codorníu. Pagés usually avoids in public getting into fights with the wineries that have renounced cava, but in the Regulatory Council there is a widespread idea that lack of coordination and individualism penalize the image of the product and disorient the consumer. Corpinnat’s sales barely exceed 3 million bottles and the turnover is 34 million euros, very far from the numbers of cava. “Corpinnat is no longer an emerging project,” says Pere Llopart, president of the association. His last name refers to one of the classic brands of Penedés, the same as that of the number two of the association, Roc Gramona. Corpinnat, which started with six wineries and now has 21, has also been joined by more lineages closely linked to the vineyard: Nadal, Torelló, Recaredo or Torelló Mata with Kripta. “The year 2025 marked a turning point,” asserts Pere Llopart. He and Roc Gramona, in a recent event to facilitate the balance of the last year, avoided providing data on how many wineries are knocking on Corpinnat’s door to opt to be members of the association, but they point out that there are candidates. Do events such as the sale of Freixenet to the German company Henkell encourage the move or stop desertions in the cava? “Any event that affects the sector has an impact,” Llopart was limited to analyzing.
