The winery is located in the municipality of Sant Pau d'Ordal in the Spanish DO area of
Penedès (Catalonia region). It was founded in 1903 by Joan Albet i Rovirosa. He started producing wine on the 13th century finca "Can Vendrell de la Codina". His successors Joan Albet i Rion and Joan Albet i Carbó built the new cellar "Xapallà" in 1925. The total estate comprises 101 hectares of land, 76 of which are used for wine production. They are located on the slopes of the western part of the Ordal mountain range. The white wine varieties Xarel-Lo, Parellada, Macabeu, Chardonnay, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat de Alejandría are cultivated, as well as the red wine varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Syrah, Merlot, Garnatxa Tinta, Petit Syrah, Arinarnoa and Caladoc. Josep María Albet i Noya was the first winegrower in Spain to start consistently cultivating the finca ecologically as early as 1978.
In this context, the use of sulphur is limited, in particular, 50% less than in traditional wineries. This is achieved by extreme hygiene in the cellar, all equipment and places are cleaned with water heated to 90 °Celsius. With red wine, sulphur is only used after malolactic fermentation, with white wine only after fermentation in small quantities. During fermentation,
inert gas is used to prevent
oxidation. A wide range of varietal wines and cuvées are produced. Besides still wines,
cava is also produced. In addition to wine production, the company is also intensively engaged in research. In 1998 a project was started to test old grape varieties that had fallen into oblivion and, if suitable, to replant and propagate them. One of these reactivated vines is
Rión.
