Wine Enthusiast Magazine / October 2006 / José Ferrer Sala Honored

José Ferrer Sala Honored

Freixenet Visionary Honored in New York.

Fifty years ago, inward thinking cava producers told a young and eager José Ferrer that he was spinning his wheels thinking about exporting his family's Freixenet cava. "Outside of Spain you'll never sell a single bottle of cava," he was warned.

Convinced that the world was his oyster, Ferrer ignored those warnings, and by 1957 Freixenet first appeared on a store shelf in New Jersey. By the 1980s, a decade after Ferrer had spearheaded the introduction of Freixenet's famous black frosted bottle, the company was exporting more than 5 million cases of cava per year to more than 50 countries. Since then, Freixenet has secured its position as the number one selling cava in the United States.

With a long list of accomplishments to his name, the 81-year-old Ferrer, now an honorary president with the Freixenet Group, was named Business Leader of the Year for 2006 by the Spain‑U.S. Chamber of Commerce. At an awards ceremony held September 28 in New York, Ferrer received his award and then proposed a toast to ongoing strong business relations between Spain and the U.S. 

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