Heritage Tour

An exciting journey to the origins of cava:

Codorníu is synonymous with the history of a family of winemakers dating back to the 16th century. It is the oldest family-owned company in Spain and one of the oldest in the world. Today, it boasts more than 450 years of history.

Manuel Raventós, the great driving force behind Codorníu, hired the Modernist architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch (a contemporary of Gaudí) in 1895 to expand the winery. The building he created symbolizes the fruitful alliance between nature and human labor and stands as a stone tribute to the silence of cava. Since 1976, it has been listed as a Historic-Artistic Monument and is one of the most impressive examples of architecture dedicated to the production and aging of cavas.

Underground, in a maze of cellars, is where Codorníu cavas have been undergoing their second fermentation and aging for over a century, at a constant temperature. In 1872, Josep Raventós Fatjó produced cava for the first time in Spain following the Traditional Method and using native Penedès grapes: Macabeo, Xarel·lo, and Parellada. In doing so, he established a completely new industry in the region and linked the Codorníu brand to the history of cava.