The harvest in the heart of the Penedès is one of the moments that best expresses our way of understanding sparkling wine. For a few weeks, everything that has taken place in the vineyard throughout the year comes together in a single gesture: harvesting the grapes by hand, at precisely the right moment, while seeking to preserve the identity of each landscape intact until the fruit reaches the winery.
At Recaredo, we believe that wines are born in the vineyard. That is why the harvest is not simply the beginning of the winemaking process: it is the expression of a way of relating to the land based on observation, respect and patience.
If you want to know the day-to-day from the 2026 harvest, you can follow us on our Instagram profile.
The heart of the Penedès: a landscape that speaks through wine
Our vineyards are located in the Corpinnat territory, in the heart of the Penedès, south of Barcelona. It is a Mediterranean landscape of gently rolling terrain, ravines, forests and hills, with Montserrat rising on the horizon.
Recaredo’s vineyards grow on predominantly calcareous soils, with a loam texture and abundant limestone nodules. Together with the Mediterranean climate and dry farming, these soils help shape the character of our wines.
We work exclusively with estate-owned vineyards planted with traditional Penedès varieties, with Xarel·lo playing a leading role as the backbone of our interpretation of long-aged sparkling wines.
Corpinnat: origin and commitment to the land
Recaredo was one of the six wineries that founded Corpinnat, a collective brand created in 2018 to champion great sparkling wines made in the heart of the Penedès and governed by one of the most demanding sets of regulations in the wine world.
Corpinnat means precisely that: born in the heart of the Penedès.
Its commitment to origin is reflected, among other requirements, in hand harvesting, organically grown grapes and the complete production of the sparkling wine at the estate.
At Recaredo, we take this connection to origin even further through our own understanding of the craft. Since the 2010 vintage, we have worked exclusively with estate-owned vineyards, and since the 2014 harvest, our Corpinnats have been made exclusively from traditional Penedès grape varieties.
Xarel·lo, Macabeu, Parellada, Monastrell, Garnatxa Negra and Sumoll form part of a viticultural heritage we seek to preserve and carry into the future.
Organic and biodynamic viticulture: working in rhythm with nature
The harvest is the result of an entire year of work in the vineyard.
At Recaredo, we practise certified organic and biodynamic viticulture. We took our first steps in organic farming in 2004 and in biodynamics in 2006. Since the 2010 vintage, we have been certified in both practices.
For us, biodynamics goes one step beyond organic farming: it is a constant search for balance within the ecosystem and a way of understanding the winegrower as an artisan of the land.
We allow spontaneous vegetation cover to grow between the vines to encourage biodiversity and help regulate soil structure, water retention and drainage in vineyards cultivated without irrigation.
We also rely on natural-origin elements and phytotherapy. Nettle and chamomile infusions, as well as horsetail decoctions, form part of the way we care for our vines, always seeking to intervene sensitively and to observe before acting.
Because there is no wine without life in the vineyard.
Hand harvesting: caring for the fruit from the very beginning
All Recaredo vineyards are harvested by hand.
It is a choice consistent with a form of viticulture in which craftsmanship accompanies the entire process. Hand harvesting allows us to observe each vine and select the fruit directly in the vineyard, preserving the integrity of the grapes until they reach the winery.
For us, wine begins long before it reaches the winery or starts ageing in our cellars. It begins by walking through the vineyards, caring for the vines throughout the year and following their evolution until harvest. In the weeks beforehand, we begin daily ripeness checks to determine the optimum moment for picking.
No two harvests are the same. Each vintage is a different interpretation of the same landscape.
From vineyard to bottle: winemaking without artifice
The commitment that begins in the vineyard and takes shape during harvest continues in the winery.
All Recaredo Corpinnats are made and vinified entirely on the estate. Since 2017, the second fermentation has been carried out with must from our own vineyards in the case of Turó d’en Mota, Subtil and Reserva Particular, and with organic rectified concentrated must for the rest of our sparkling wines.
Since the 2020 harvest, all Recaredo Corpinnats have also fermented exclusively with our own yeasts selected from our vineyards, in both the first and second fermentations. This is the result of a long research process that has enabled us to identify twelve yeast strains from our own vineyard environment and select those that best express our way of understanding terroir wines.
Each of these decisions reflects the same purpose: to preserve the connection between vineyard and wine and to deepen the expression of the place from which the wine originates.
Long ageing is part of Recaredo’s DNA
The precision with which we work during harvest takes on particular significance in Corpinnats conceived to evolve slowly over time. The fruit that enters the winery is the starting point of an ageing process in which time will gradually reveal the character of each vintage and each vineyard in greater depth.
All Recaredo Corpinnats are aged for a minimum of 30 months with natural cork stoppers. From there, each sparkling wine follows its own path: some age for more than ten years, while our most exceptional enoteca releases remain in the cellar for over twenty.
It is a patient wait that culminates with the same commitment to craftsmanship with which the harvest began: the bottles are riddled by hand on traditional racks and disgorged manually, without freezing the neck, at the natural temperature of our cellars.
Every harvest offers a new interpretation of the landscape
No vintage is ever identical to the one before it. The conditions of the year, the response of each vineyard and the chosen moment for harvesting all shape the character of the wines that will emerge from that crop.
That is why we make vintage Brut Nature sparkling wines: wines that seek to express a specific place and moment with transparency. The harvest sets the starting point; long ageing allows that expression to unfold over the years.
This is how we understand Recaredo Corpinnats: wines born in the heart of the Penedès, where vineyard, craftsmanship and time are all part of the same way of interpreting the landscape.
Discover Recaredo Corpinnats or visit us in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia to experience first-hand the origin and craftsmanship behind every bottle.
Frequently asked questions about the harvest in the heart of the Penedès
When does the harvest season begin in the Penedès?
There is no fixed date. The start of harvest depends on the climatic conditions of each vintage, the grape variety, the location of each vineyard and the progression of ripening. At Recaredo, the decision to harvest is based on observing each plot and seeking the right balance for Corpinnats intended for long ageing.
Why do Corpinnat regulations require hand harvesting?
Hand harvesting is part of Corpinnat’s commitment to quality and origin. It allows the grapes to be picked and carefully selected in the vineyard itself, while preserving their integrity until they reach the winery.
At Recaredo, all grapes also come from our own estate vineyards and are harvested by hand.
What is the difference between an organic and a biodynamic vineyard during harvest?
At harvest time, the picking process itself does not change depending on whether the vineyard is organic or biodynamic. The difference lies in how the vineyard has been cared for throughout its entire annual cycle.
Organic viticulture avoids the use of synthetic chemical herbicides and pesticides and works with practices that respect the environment. Biodynamics goes a step further: it understands the vineyard as a living organism and seeks to promote ecosystem balance, soil fertility and biodiversity through practices such as spontaneous vegetation cover, phytotherapy and the use of natural-origin preparations.
At Recaredo, we practise certified organic and biodynamic viticulture, so the harvest is the culmination of a full year of observation and work in the vineyard.
Which grape varieties are harvested at Recaredo?
Since the 2014 harvest, Recaredo Corpinnats have been made exclusively from traditional Penedès grape varieties: Xarel·lo, Macabeu, Parellada, Monastrell, Garnatxa Negra and Sumoll.
Among them, Xarel·lo occupies a central place in our understanding of long-aged sparkling wines. Its freshness, structure and ability to evolve over time make it a variety that is particularly closely linked to the Penedès landscape and to the identity of Recaredo Corpinnats.