Pepe Raventós

A single-minded commitment to sustainability and terroir, combined with business acumen and first-class communication skills, have made his one the most interesting (and divisive) names in Spanish wine. In the end, though, all he wants is for the land to speak through his wines

- INES SALPICO

The road to where Pepe Raventós is now is neither obvious nor straightforward. Born into one of Catalonia's most storied wine families - linked to the very origin of the region's sparkling wine tradition - he didn't set out to become the heir of his family's legacy. But a combination of business challenges, a sense of duty and a late-found vocation brought him back to take the helm of Raventós i Blanc.

From a place of inevitability, defined by necessity, he built an idiosyncratic path, eventually becoming a brand himself - not.

least through much-touted collaborations with actor Cameron Diaz and chef and restaurateur José Andrés. Today, 'Pepe Raventós' stands for stubborn advocacy of sustainability and down-to-earth sophistication. Behind the name, there's a man who perhaps defied even the expectations he had for himself while embracing a lineage of innovative and entrepreneurial dissent.

Groundbreaking ancestry

Having lived on the grounds of the Raventós estate of Can Codorníu, just outside Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (the epicentre of Spanish sparkling wine production), since at least 1497, the Raventós family is itself, arguably, part of the terroir of Penedès, so inextricably linked is it with the establishment and development of its viticultural identity.

The estate's 90ha have been farmed for more than five centuries with the expected combination of Mediterranean crops cereals, olive trees and of course grapes - amid woodland.

However, a pivotal moment for the family and the region took place in 1872. Following a trip to Champagne, Josep Raventós i Fatjó (1824-1885) decided to produce Spain's first sparkling wine re-fermented in bottle, at Can Codorníu using the estate's Xarel-lo grapes.

This small step eventually led to the creation of the Cava powerhouse that took the name of the family's homestead.