Our Heritage
1647: Chivite Wineries are born. A document from the Archives of the Protocols of Notaries of Tudela gives evidence to it illustrating the application of Juan Chivite and his sister in following terms “the winery which has a capacity of up to 150 wine jars in barrels covers the area of Pedro Ximenes´House and the Royal Road, and one vineyard of 1,320 square feet located in Cascante road”.
1791: José Chivite carries the thread of the family activities into the mid 19th Century and was succeeded in the family enterprise by his son, Claudio Chivite.
1816: Claudio Chivite, the first dynamic businessman to direct Bodegas Chivite toward its present prominence. He is referred to as the equivalent to the office of a district attorney to whom wine traders and producers were required to pay fees for any wine imported to or sold in the area.
1860: In the face of plummeting production in France, Bodegas Chivite begins for the first time exporting to France.
1872: Began the construction of the winery in Calle Caballeros in the town of Cintruénigo, its present location.
1877: Claudio Chivite passes the trading enterprise to his son Felix Chivite, who from the age of thirty carried on in the entrepreneurial spirit of his father for the following 50 years establishing an office in Bilbao, which at the time was the center of the Spanish wine trade and a dynamic hub of transactions where the Chivite name was prominent among the ranks of respected wine merchants.
1879: Claudio Chivite´s mother buys the house at 2 Madrid Street in Cintruénigo as the family residence. The building was called the General Inn, an old posthouse frequented by buyers which directly contributed to a boost in the winery prosperity.
1928: The name of the firm was change to “Widow of Felix Chivite” at Felix Chivite´s death and subsequently to “Sons of Felix Chivite”.
1930: Julian Chivite, the youngest of Felix Chivite´s thirteen children assumed the responsibility for the family winery. Through the Spanish Civil War and its post war period coinciding with the onset of World Word II, exports were required to conform to guidelines established by intergovernmental agreements that determined export quotas for all Spanish products. The winery was assigned the number 220 in the Spanish General Exporters register.
1948: A major renovation of the winery is undertaken in the conviction that the future of Spain’s, and the world’s, wines lay in commitment to quality.
1967: Regulatory Council of the Denominación de Origen Navarra, of which Julián Chivite was a founding member, was created.
1975: The Gran Feudo wine ranged, current flagship of the winery, is launched.
1985: The Colección 125 wine ranged is launched commemorating the 125 year anniversary from the first export.
1988: The winery was again renovated, installing state of the art viticultural and vinification technology. Concurrently, vineyard ownership and contracts were expanded in Navarra´s best producing areas. Additionally, the Señorio de Arinzano Estate (www.arinzano.com) in Northern Navarra is bought.
1998: Bodegas Chivite became a founding member of the Foundation for Wine Culture, created among five of the oldest and most pretigious wineries in Spain.
1998: The winery expands beyond the Navarra Region with the acquisition of Viña Salceda (www.vinasalceda.com) in the Rioja wine region.
2001: Continuing with its geographical expansion around the prime wine regions in Spain, La Horra Estate (150 acres) in the heart of the Ribera del Duero is purchased. The estate was first planted to vines in 1999 and now has 120 acres in Tempranillo with the balance in Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.
2009: Bodegas Chivite expands to the Rueda wine region
It all Started in 1647
The recent history of Bodegas Chivite runs from the period of the court of Isabel II of Spain to the toast offered to Elizabeth II of England in the Moncloa Palace. The Gran Feudo was the only rosé offered on this formal occasion.