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Wines of Catalan

February 23, 2017 By Joe Leave a Comment

Catalan wine tasting
In San Francisco, California, the Wines of Catalan presented a tasting of select wines from seven DO’s, or Denominaciones de Origen. “Denominaciones de Origen” are what wine appellations are termed by the Spanish government. Most Spanish wine enthusiasts know about only a few wine regions of Catalan, namely Cava, Penedes, the Montsant, and the Priorat. This seminar and wine tasting introduced the guests to smaller and lesser-known wine regions of Catalunya.

Here is what you should know about the wines of Catalan

  • Catalan is one of 17 Autonomous Communities of Spain. Think of it as one state or province
  • There are 12 wine regions (Denominaciones de Origen) in Catalan
  • Catalan has a wide geological range. From the coast at sea level, to the Pyrenees at 10,000 feet
  • Catalan is a region with its own cultural background, traditions, language, cuisine, and lifestyle
  • The history of wine in Catalan dates back 2300 years ago.
  • There are 850 wineries in Catalan
  • 70 to 75% of the grapes are white varieties
  • The biggest demand for white grapes is Cava for the production of sparkling wine
  • There is a large variety of red grapes including Ull de Llebre, Garnacha, Carblah, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Many of the smaller D.O.’s in Catalan are planning to export wines to the U.S.  Many are sold for under $20.
catalan wines

Lucas Payá, sommelier and wine buyer for Restaurateur José Andres, leads the seminar

How to shop for the wines of Catalan

A good place to start is the Spanish Table’s wine Website. The Spanish Table has three stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. Supermarket stores and big wine shops, like Total Wines and BevMo, are not likely to have a wide selection of wines from Catalan. Find a local wine shop and ask the proprietor to suggest wines from this region. Stock your cellar and begin to discover what this great wine and food region has to offer. The next step is to head to Barcelona and tour the area. The easiest regions to visit are the Penedes, and the Priorat and Montsant regions.

A lovely white wine from Catalan

A lovely wine from Catalan

Wineries and Denominaciones de Origen represented at the Catalan Wines seminar and tasting

  • Can Descregut – DO Penedès & DO Cava
  • Canals & Munne – DO CavaCastell d’Or – DO Cava and DO Penedès
  • Castell d’Or – DO Cava and DO PenedèsCava & Hotel Mas Tinell – DO Cava and DO Penedès
  • Cava & Hotel Mas Tinell – DO Cava and DO PenedèsCeller Ronadelles – DOQ Priorat and DO Montsant
  • Celler Ronadelles – DOQ Priorat and DO MontsantDe Muller – DOQ Priorat and DO Tarragona
  • De Muller – DOQ Priorat and DO TarragonaForward Gourmet – DO Penedès DO Cava
  • Forward Gourmet – DO Penedès DO Cava
  • Heretat Montrubí – DO Penedès
  • Julià & Navinés – DO Cava and DO Penedès
  • L’Olivera – DO Costers del Segre and DO Catalunya
  • Nadal – DO Penedès & DO Cava

For additional information go to this link at the Catalan Wines Website

Wines of Catalan

Wine blogger Joe Becerra enjoys the walk-around tasting

Filed Under: Cava, Montsant, Priorat Tagged With: Catalan Wines

Visit Cava when in Barcelona

October 21, 2007 By Joe Leave a Comment

visit cava

As you can see the train station is just opposite Cava Freixenet in the town of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia

Cava is what Spain calls its sparkling wine. The Cava region is just south of Barcelona. We decided on our last day in Barcelona to visit Cava and tour at least one winery. It is a very easy 45-minute train trip from Placa de Catalunya station to the train stop in the town of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia.

There are two big bodegas that produce Cava within walking distance of this train stop, Freixenet and Codorniu. We stopped in at Freixenet first because it is directly in front of the train station. Codorniu is about a 20-minute walk away. Here, we are told that both of these bodegas offer wine tours and tasting by appointment only. Fortunately at Freixenet it was a light visitor day, and we were able to book a 12:45 tour in English.

We had time to kill so we walked into the town of Sant Sadurni. What we found was Cava land. It seems that this tiny town is all about Cava. It bills itself as the “Capital del Cava.”Each year the town celebrates the Cava harvest with various festivities. There are banners hanging from high street lights advertising the celebration that runs from September 26 to October 14. The town is so into Cava that even its metal auto barriers are in the shape of Champagne corks. As we walked the town streets, we found several small bodegas that produce Cava.

The Freixenet winery is the leading exporter of Cava wine in Spain. Each year they ship millions of bottles of their sparkling wine throughout the world and much of it to the U.S. The tour is one and a half hours long and includes a ride on a trolley that takes us throughout the mammoth facility. The winery has a storage capacity of one hundred eighty million bottles. Just imagine how much space that requires. The tour concludes in their beautiful tasting room where we are able to sample the Freixenet Brut. Freixenet also has a huge merchandise and wine shop. The only things that we’re willing to carry home are a mouse pad and a serving tray.

On a side note, one of the four current family owners is Gloria Ferrer, who also happens to own the Gloria Ferrer Winery in Sonoma County’s Carneros wine region.

We wish we had more time to visit one of the other cava producers and explore the surrounding vineyards of this area, but tomorrow it is time to head home. We definitely would’ve visited Bodega Torres, another two train stops away. We have enjoyed our visits to Marimar Torres in the Russian River Valley, owned by a family member of owners of Bodega Torres.

Our trip to Spain has been a wonderful experience. We will definitely be shopping for Spanish wines to add to our cellar and regular consumption.

Figuring out which train to catch to Sant Sadurni d'Anoia. It is a 45 minute train ride. It is fun and adventurous.

Figure which train to catch to Sant Sadurni d’Anoia. It is a 45 minute train ride. It is fun and adventurous.

Filed Under: Cava Tagged With: Cava, Freixenet, Placa de Catalunya station, Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, Train to Cave

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