Run For Cava

José Ferrer of Vins Familia Ferrer on what makes seriously good vintage cava.

- Hannah Choo

TO PUT THIS a little too bluntly, I don’t think many of us cared for cava until Vins Família Ferrer started producing sparkling wine. The Ferrers, with over 160 years of winemaking expertise, have been growing vines on the family estate since 1616. Coming from ancestors who founded the largest sparkling wine company in the world, Freixener, Vins Família Ferrer has been making 100 per cent estate wines with minimal intervention, traditional techniques and a vertical wooden press that dates back to 1895.

At the 250-hectare estate in Mediona, with some vineyards as high as 700m above sea level, only vintage Cava de Paraje (the best of the appellation) is produced with extra-long ageing, so you know the cava will always be complex, intense and full of personality. Here, we speak with CEO José Maria Ferrer, whose family is the reason why we have great Spanish sparkling wine today.

How does Vins Família Ferrer preserve heritage and keep up with the times?