The story of Grupo Coviñas begins in 1965 in the Valencian township of Requena, when ten cooperatives from the area came together to set up a distillery. As such, Coviñas was founded as a secondary cooperative – an umbrella cooperative that included ten smaller cooperatives from Requena and its surrounding areas, Villargordo del Cabriel and Venta del Moro.
Two years later, in 1967, this collective would acquire a winery in the town, not far from the distillery, and begin to make its ‘Vino de la Reina’ alongside the distilled drinks. This was the first quality wine to be bottled in the region that would later be constituted as the Denominación de Origen (DO) Utiel-Requena. The wine was named in honour of the Harvest Queen (“Reina”).
Between 1978 and 1979 the members of the cooperative decided to set up a bottling plant.
In 1985, “Vino de la Reina” changed its name to “Enterizo”, as it continues to be known today, becoming one of the bodega’s flagship wines.
Coviñas began its international expansion in 1994, when it started to export the ‘Monte Mayor’ range of wines to other European markets. This ushered in an era of progress and growth that continues unabated.
In 2003 Coviñas decided to stop its distilling activities and concentrate on wine. This was also the year when the giant storage vault, with a capacity of 11,000 casks, was opened.
In 2007 Coviñas was awarded first prize for “Food Growing and Food Production” (“Calidad Agroalimentaria”) by the regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in acknowledgement of its history and longstanding commitment to quality.
A year later, in 2008, Coviñas brought in new equipment to enable it to make Cava, and began to produce this sparkling wine according to the traditional method, as established by the DO Cava regulatory authority.
Over the last decade, Grupo Coviñas has embarked on a period of growth which has seen a quadrupling of turnover. This has allowed the Group to continue improving its plant and equipment, investing in new technology, and complete the building of a new warehouse and a centre for events and meetings. The range of wines has also grown apace, with a particular focus on developing more exclusive, limited edition projects with shorter bottle runs, always seeking to cater to the tastes and budgets of the consumer.
Today, 40 years after the appearance of that first ‘Vino de la Reina’, Grupo Coviñas sells over 12 million bottles a year in some thirty countries.
