Freixenet is the long established emalgamation of two Spanish families, both of which have vast experience of wine producing. Casa Sala was founded in 1861 by Francesc Sala i Ferrés but it was his son Joan Sala i Tubella that ran the company. His daughter Dolores Sala Vivé later married Pedro Ferrer Bosch of the La Freixeneda company, owned by the Ferrers family.
It was not until the 19th century that the family joined forces and began to produce sparkling wines made under the traditional method, or méthode Champenoise and in 1914 the two companies merged to form Freixenet and began building cavas (cellars) below the winery.Capitalizing on their initial successes, they built new cellars in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia in order to make higher quality wines and boost production capacity.
Cava is the name given to Spanish sparkling wines that are produced using an adapted version of the Champagne method of wine production where a second fermentation takes place inside the bottle.
Dolores Sala, a formidable woman, was proving to be very knowledgeable in winemaking and was just as capable of leading wine tastings as she was of running the company. This allowed her husband Pedro Ferrer to concentrate on promoting the Freixenet brand globally and they established offices in New Jersey to introduce their product to the United States.
By the 1920s, the family’s were experiencing great success domestically and internationally as Spain’s cava industry really took off. Business was booming but when the Spainish Civil War came around, the family suffered the loss of both Pedro Ferrer and his oldest son but Dolores Sala showed great courage and continued the business in order to support herself and her four remaining children.
As Dolores grew the company, her children grew with it, working in the business while living at the winery. In 1978 her oldest son, José Ferrer became a very good sales person and marketeer and with his direction took the company to new heights. Now semi-retired, José’s son Pedro, a fourth generation Ferrer, runs the global operation.
Under his guidance, the Freixenet company continues to grow by purchasing wine estates in some of the world’s most prominent wine producing regions.
Freixenet has always produced its wines using grapes from its own vineyards, even after a devasting spread of phylloxera, a destructive pest of the grapevine. The vineyards were replanted and continue to supply the Xarelo, Parellada and Macabeo white grape varieties. These grapes are the most suitable for making sparkling wines. Freixenet is also constantly trying to expanded its vineyards. Currently more than 2000 growers supply the grapes which are grown to Freixenet's exact specification and requirements.
Today, Freixenet continues to be one of the world's leading producers of top-quality sparkling wines without ever losing its family-based character, which is almost certain to continue long into the future by the founders' descendants.
Click here to buy Freixenet Cava miniature bottles from Just Miniatures...
