The story
In the middle of the 19th century, due to an epidemic of phylloxera, the French vineyards were lost. That event prompted French winegrowers to look for alternative sites for wine production. Haro, located in an area where wine production was traditional, with good soil, a good climate, and a good railroad connection, showed to be a priority and optimal area for this purpose.
In 1879, the Bilbao brothers, Raimundo and Eusebio Real de Asúa along with the Riojan oenologist Isidro Corcuera del Campo, founded the Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España in the Haro station district, which began wine production with the French know-how. In a short time, they achieved a good product that was awarded in several international competitions (1885 Silver and Bronze Medals - Antwerp Universal Exhibition. 1888 Gold Medal - International Exposition Barcelona. 1889 Gold Medal - International Exhibition Paris. 1890 Gold Medal - International Exhibition Antwerp).
In 1890 the famous French architect, Aleixandre Gustave Eiffel, designed this cellar. Truly revolutionary, this imposing structure provided an innovative formula to support its construction. Without columns, the roof is supported by steel trusses, running from wall to wall allowing for a large open space that significantly improved the management of barrels in the cellar, to make racking, maintenance, and monitoring of the wine barrels easier.
In 1915, the brand “Monopole” was born. A young, pale, dry, fresh, and fruity white wine, becoming the first white wine brand to be registered. In 1920 the brands "Viña Real" and "Imperial" we launched.
In 1940 the first winemaking concrete plant in Spain was built at C.V.N.E.
In 1973, through Viñedos del Contino, C.V.N.E. started up a winery in the style of the French "château".
In 1989, the first non-aggressive winemaking facility in Spain using gravity to transport the must was launched at C.V.N.E. “El Pilar”
In 1994, C.V.N.E. launched the wine "Real de Asúa" in honour of the founders.
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In 2004, the company inaugurated a new winery for Viña Real, with an impressive building, work of the architect Philippe Mazieres, and equipped with vanguardist technology, resulting in the home of the wines Viña Real, brand launched in the 20s.
In 2005 the Imperial winery is built as an independent winery within the walls of the original historic C.V.N.E. winery site, with large French oat vats and concrete tanks.
In 2013, the “Imperial Gran Reserva 2004” wine was awarded as the #1 wine in the Top 100 Wine Spectator ranking of the US magazine. It thus became the first Spanish wine to achieve it. In addition, C.V.N.E. obtained the Double Environmental Footprint by calculating the carbon footprint and water footprint in the production of "Cune Crianza" wine.
In 2014 C.V.N.E. with his philosophy of expansion came into the Japanese market through the acquisition of the distributor Mikuni Wines.
In 2015 C.V.N.E. was awarded Spanish Wine Producer of the Year by IWSC (International Wine and Spirit Competition).
In 2017, C.V.N.E. acquired, Roger Goulart, a pioneer winery in the traditional way of making sparkling wine, Cava, in Spain that was founded back in 1882.
In 2018, Virgen del Galir winery joined the C.V.N.E. family. Virgen del Galir was founded in 2002 in the village of Entoma, Orense (Galicia), within the D.O. Valdeorras.
In 2019 the Bela winery in Ribera del Duero was founded, in honour of the family of the founders (Bela was the nickname of Sofia, one of the daughters of Eusebio Real de Asúa, great-grandmother of the current managers).
In March 2023, C.V.N.E. formalized the incorporation of Bodegas La Val located in Salvaterra de Miño (Rías Baixas). Founded in 1985, it was one of the pioneers in the production of Albariño and the driving force behind the creation of the Rías Baixas Designation of Origin.
From Wikipedia’s article on Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4