This project was born to preserve the Ferrer family vineyards and the wines made from them (mainly the cava de paraje calificado Can Sala and the red wine La Freixeneda) following the takeover of Freixenet by the German group Henkell.

Headed by José María Ferrer, member of the fifth generation, Vins Familia Ferrer was established in 2018. His father, Josep Ferrer Sala, who retains over 40% of the shares at Freixenet and is the company’s honorary president, didn’t want the historic family wineries and properties to be part of the multinational company.

At present, Vins Familia Ferrer owns some 200ha. The best grapes are destined to their own wines; the rest sold to different buyers including Freixenet. Vines are grown in three main areas in Penedès: upwards of 40ha in Costers del Bitlles, close to Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, a similar surface in the upper reaches of San Quintín de Mediona (Alt Penedés) ranging from 500 to 715m and around 120ha in Mediona, also in Alt Penedés. The main property is found in this village and is crowned by La Freixeneda, the old masía (Catalan farmhouse) where the Ferrer family settled over 400 years ago. Freixenet founder Pedro Ferrer Bosch was born here. As he was the youngest sibling, he was called Freixenet (short for Freixeneda).

When Pedro married Dolores Sala, he moved to her farmhouse in Sant Quintí de Mediona nearby. The Salas used to be coopers, but they went on to become wine growers and producers. While Pedro managed the business, the outbreak of the First World War pushed up demand for bubbly and he and Dolores produced their first sparkling wine in 1914.

Almost a century later, when Freixenet considered producing an extended ageing cava, the company chose this location to try to express the essence of the Alt Penedès region using Parellada, the dominant grape variety in this elevated, cool area, in at least half of the blend. The rest was completed with Xarel.lo. Percentages can vary in every new vintage. In 2004 it was 70% Xarel.lo and 30% Parellada, but in 2005 the blend was reversed and they produced an extremely delicate cava which has developed beautifully and slowly.

The wine was born as Casa Sala, but in the 2007 vintage it changed its name to Can Sala to meet the requirements of the single-vineyard Cava de Paraje Calificado (CPC) category. In fact, 2007 was progressively released under three different labels: Casa Sala Freixenet, prior to be awarded the single-vineyard designation, Can Sala CPC Freixenet and just Can Sala CPC, after the Henkell takeover.

The current range of sparkling wines includes the top Can Sala (€70 in Spain), which is aged for at least 120 months and Vinyes de Can Sala (€35), also a Cava de Paraje Calificado that is aged for a minimum of 72 months and was first released in the 2013 vintage. Both are brut nature, the driest style for Cava, and are manually disgorged. Worthy of note is the old wooden vertical press dating from 1895 and approved for Champagne, which produces yields of no more than 50% and high quality musts. The house exhibits the "integral winegrower" seal, guaranteeing that pressings and vinification are done in-house at the estate. Altogether, the two cavas do not exceed 15,000 bottles.

Thanks to Can Sala's ageing qualities, an enoteca range of historic vintages is available, starting with the very first 2004 vintage. These cavas are sold with a different label proudly showing the vintage date.

Still wines are produced at La Freixeneda, the Ferrer’s idyllic old farmhouse surrounded by vineyards. The top red (4,000 bottles, €60) originally named after the estate, has been renamed Josep Ferrer. Winemaking follows the style of Italian amarones. Batches of Cabernet Sauvignon are dehydrated in a cooling chamber, then blended with more Cabernet Sauvignon and Garnacha, and aged in 1,200-litre Slovenian casks. Inert gas is added before bottling instead of sulphur and the wine is released right away capped with a glass stopper. As the DO Penedès did not recognised the big wooden Italian casks at the time of release, the wine was sold as DO Catalunya and so have been the subsequent still wines made from vines grown in this region.

Both Can Sala and Josep Ferrer were crafted by Josep Buján, the now retired, long-time Freixenet winemaker. Today, the wines are looked after by Judit Llop.

La Freixeneda range also includes the Mediterranean Pinot Noir Costers de l’Ànima (2,000 bottles, €28 in Spain) and Gloria Noguer Garnacha (€38, 3,000 bottles), made from 100-year-old vines and aged in an egg-shaped granite tank for seven months. In Priorat, the family owns 50ha under vine in Bellmunt del Priorat. At Morlanda, a winery established when the Ferrers were in full control of Freixenet, they have developed different brands for their current project. The top red Prior Terrae (€35) is a blend of 50% Garnacha and 50% Cariñena. The second brand, Vol de l’Àguila, includes a red with a similar blend and a white made from Garnacha Blanca. Both are aged in clay jars.

None of the appealing whites produced at La Freixeneda from local grapes exceed 3,000 bottles. The range starts with the juicy, floral Macabeo Granit (€22), made from a hundred-year-old plot planted on granite soil and aged in an egg-shaped granite vat for a year. The same vineyard is the source of Cau dels Penitents (€28, named after a small set of mountains visible from the vineyard and part of the Montserrat mountains), but this wine is fermented and aged in acacia barrels, so its style and texture change radically, combining citrus fruit, Mediterranean herbs and toasted notes. An unctuous xarel.lo fermented and aged on its lees in amphorae closes the range. Its name, Camí de Sagraments (€28), refers to a nearby path used by priests to administer the sacraments in the area’s farmhouses.

These two whites, which share religious names with the red Costers de l'Anima, form a trilogy featuring a series of black and white labels with 18th century illustrations designed by Gustave Doré for Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.