Sparkling wine veteran Josep Ferrer Sala passes

Josep Ferrer Sala, Friexenet’s honorary co-chairman and former managing director has died at the age of 99.

Ferrer was born in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Catalonia in 1925, the son of Pedro Ferrer Bosch and Dolors Sala Vivé who founded Freixenet in 1914.

After joining the family company in 1947, Ferrer helped to establish the cava and sparkling wine category worldwide in a career that spanned over 70 years.

In 1959, he became the company’s managing director and later its president in 1978.

It was under Ferrer’s stewardship that the company expanded its production in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia to become the largest cava producer in the world.

Ferrer retired from the day-to-day running of the company in 1999 but stayed on as honorary co-chairman and as a member of the Board of Wisdom alongside his sisters Pilar, Carmen and Dolores Ferrer.

In 2018, he played an important role in the acquisition of Freixenet by German sparkling wine company Henkell in 2018.

Henkell Freixenet has said that it “deeply regrets his loss and, out of affection and admiration, conveys its deepest condolences to the family. All of us who have had the good fortune to work with him mourn his absence today, but we are very proud of the legacy he has left us”.