Forbes magazine has
published a list of the oldest companies in Spain, and many are bodegas, including the oldest one, Codorníu,
from 1551. In second place is Monte de Piedad, originally a form of savings
bank, founded in 1702, and in third place is specialist papermaker J Vilaseca dating from
1714. Fourth in the list comes Bodegas Alvear in Montilla, established in 1729,
while in fifth is the cutlery firm Arcos, established in 1745 followed by
another paper producer, Goma Camps founded in 1758. In seventh place is Bodegas
Osborne dating from 1772 and in eighth is copper producer La Farga Lacambra
established in 1808. The next three are Sherry bodegas: Barbadillo (1821), Caballero (1830) and González
Byass (1835).
Thus, according to Forbes six of the top eleven
oldest companies are wine producers and four are Sherry producers. However if
we include Bodegas Barón (1631), Ximénez Spínola (1729), Domecq (1730), Delgado
Zuleta (1744), La Cigarrera (1758), Garvey (1780), Sánchez Romate (1781), Hidalgo
La Gitana (1792), Sánchez Ayala (1798) and Maestro Sierra (1830)which Forbes
doesn’t mention, that would change things. It would make a more impressive list
of the top twenty-one oldest companies containing sixteen wine producers, with
fourteen of them Sherry producers, ten still in family hands. Now that is
something to be very proud of.
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