The Head of Raventós i Blanc Is a Rebel in the Wine World

As the most respected sparkling wine producer in all of Spain, Raventós i Blanc has set an extraordinarily high bar for quality. Its wines are beloved by sommeliers worldwide, and you’ll see them on the wine lists at the very finest restaurants.

Just don’t call it Cava: In keeping with Raventós’ role as pioneers in the world of winemaking over the past several hundred years (the family has been making wine on the same plot of land in Catalonia since 1497, and in 1872 they were the first to make sparkling with in Spain), they’ve again added a new twist to their story. In 2012, Raventós seceded from the Cava D.O. (Denominación de Origen), and created a new one, Conca Del Riu Anoia, because “We wanted to do something very different from what cava has become,” says the wine family’s current scion, Pepe Raventós.

It’s a bold move, even for Raventós. The new D.O. has strict requirements: Only indigenous grape varieties will be allowed, and will need to be farmed biodynamically. Each wine will spend a minimum of 18 months on the lees (as a comparison, non-vintage Champagne requires 15 months; Cava only 9); each bottle will be vintage-dated.

We wanted to find out more about this wine-world rebel. It turns out that Pepe, 41, is someone you’d genuinely like to kick back and have a glass of wine with: every bit as cosmopolitan as you’d expect, but retaining a deeply rooted sense of tradition. We’ll let him tell you more.

I understand that your family’s been making wine on this land since 1497, so it’s one of the oldest family-run vineyards in the world. What does that heritage mean to you?

First of all, I think my family has been doing wines there before the 1400s. But the first document that we have is an inventory in ancient Catalan from the 1400s, so at least we have documentation to then. But the origin of viticulture is on the Mediterranean shores. We have history in our region from about 3000 years ago, and the wines of the Tarragona area were prized as the best wines of the old Roman Empire for their quality.

Answering your question about the heritage, it doesn’t mean much. I think every generation has to start from scratch, and has to follow its own dream—not trying to do things as they have been done forever.

Was entering the family business a foregone conclusion for you? And if you hadn’t, what would you be doing with your life?

It’s very interesting, because my father has been always very progressive and open-minded, and this has been the biggest personal and professional gift I’ve received in life. I was never conducted or forced to do this. I chose to follow my other big passion, which is social work, and I did social work for five years. The truth is that, during difficult times in the winery, one day I chose to help my father. But more to help him than because I was crazy about wine. So people say, “Well, Pepe, you say this, but we could see that you were very passionate for the family business.” And probably they are right. But it was for me a very thin decision. And also it was very important to work outside of the family business for a few years, and get open-minded and learn from other people.