The exterior of the building, rusty iron and all as is the design fixation in Catalonia currently.

It was just a bit over a year and a half ago that I first visited the new (at the time) winery of La Vinyeta. What a difference 20 months makes. For starters, they now have their website fully up and running which does a great job of showing the design aesthetic that goes in to the look of all things Vinyeta, which are created by the winemaker's brother. It was a bit hard to convey that in 2007 as the winery wasn't finished and they only had a couple of releases. The winery is indeed done now and open for visits most of the week, although they generally follow the sun, meaning that winter hours are shorter and summer hours, longer. Visiting in the winter probably isn't allowing this region of Catalonia to be all that it can be. Upon getting out of the car, it was like getting clocked by a sack of ice cubes as the Tramuntana wind ripped through every layer I had on, freezing me to the core until I got inside the winery.     But beyond all these superficial changes, there is the fact that the wines have matured and not just in aging; they're massively more complex and I would say demanding a great deal of respect now. While winemaker Josep Serra Pla is youngish at 31 and it would seem that he is steadying his hand with his craft, it's actually the material available that has changed the wines more than anything else. In my prior visit, he still wasn't harvesting from Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot vineyards. This means that the Heus Negre was good in 2007, but not outstanding. This has solidly changed. The addition of blending the grapes from his new vineyards has made this wine delectable. With a blending of 27% Syrah, 26% Merlot, 25% Samsó, and 22% Garnatxa, the Garnatxa is not as pronounced now and it's creating a more round wine with chocolate touches to it, as well as bold, unwavering depth to the body. The best part is that it's still high enough in tannins to be great with food and only €6. If I ever live in the region, I think I know what my daily drinker is going to be.     But there are more wines to his lineup now and what's great is that they just build upon each other. The Llavors (pron. Lya-bors) takes off from the Heus and presents an even stronger wine, albeit still smooth. Comprised of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Samsó and 12% Merlot and 8% Garnatxa, it spends five months in an oak regimen of French, Hungarian, and Romanian barrels. It is firm in the mouth with touches of boysenberry and strawberry, yet it pulls back enough to still be had with foods.     The Puntiapart, with it's very clever boxes you can see here, is the boldest of all the reds that Josep is making. This blend of 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Samsó, 23% Merlot makes for a strong wine, yet oddly enough, it's the smoothest of the lot. It goes through a grueling, slaving, absolutely treacherous 13 months of lying in the oak to reach the point where you get what you taste from the bottle; a delicately balanced wine with a great deal of substance to the body. It is at once both mineraly and tannic, but not harshly so. While I feel it would be best enjoyed on its own, it would pare with with a nice grilled lamb or pretty much any grilled meat with a lot of character that would pick up the notes of the wine. Chicken need not apply, although the Heus could get cozy with the bird.     Lastly of course, there is a sweet Garnatxa, because in Catalonia, you're just not officially a winery until you're producing a sweet wine, or so I think. The Sols is an equal blend of red and white Garnatxa from the 75 year old vines that Josep has. And while I'm usually always a Moscatell man when it comes to Catalan sweets, if you put up a bottle of Moscatell and a bottle of this Sols and made me choose just one, I would be very, very unhappy. It's a mighty fine sweet. It's aromatically nutty in the glass and has a pleasant, lingering sweetness, that sticks in the mouth after the swallow and slowly slips away as the perfect close to a meal.     Ah, let's not also forget that La Vinyeta is also putting out an olive oil, which is just as natural a progression for a winery as producing a sweet. It's all from locally grown olives in the Empordà area. Yes, it's aromatically fantastic and of course it tastes great. Toss in a little jamón with some pa amb tomàquet and you've really got yourself the quintessentially perfect Catalan meal.

Sweet Garnatxa in the sun, waiting for deliciousness to happen to it.

Cantallops, Spain. The name for English speakers might sound like, "cantaloupes", but it couldn't be further from that in meaning. If you take it at face value, in Catalan it means, "singing at wolves". But it appears if you dig a bit deeper that the name has an old Latin root to it that means something more along the line of "wolves' rock" which makes much more sense given that the town is built on a massive rock outcropping and they had a big problem with wolves up until the 19th century.     Probably the best thing about this small hamlet sitting on the edge of Pyrenees is that they have two (count 'em) two wineries. One is Masia Serra, which it seems only has its information on the Empordà wines website. It's a gorgeous place, but not often open, which makes it hard to judge the wines as getting a tasting is tricky.     The other winery is Vinyes dels Aspres. Now, this is a winery that we actually encountered back in 2007 at a Spanish wine show in San Francisco. I can't say enough good things about this winery. For starters, the owner, David Molas Albertí is a very enthusiastic guy. He's restarted his family's winery after decades of their not producing wine. With the exception of picking the grape harvest, he does everything himself. He bottles, ages, and sells about 40,000 bottles of wine a year.     With all this exuberance, he is producing some incredibly top quality wines. This is the only winery I've ever found a White Garnatxa. The red version is everywhere in Catalonia, but no one seems to want to make a white wine of it, possibly due to price disparity with the red fetching more than the white. This is a serious error as in white form it is simply unlike any white that I've ever tasted before. Minerally yes, but with a strong, succulent body and light sweetness to it, that makes it great for both white and red drinkers alike. At €12, it's more expensive than the vast majority of wines in the area, but oh, oh so worth it.     There is also a young wine that he makes, which was unfortunately a 2008. I say unfortunately because he says (and I completely agree) that it shouldn't have been released so early. He did so because he sold out of the 2007 long before the holiday season as it was his most reasonable wine at €5.50. Just like in the rest of the world, there is economic crisis in Spain as well and his distributors pushed him in to releasing the 2008 before it was really ready. The problem this caused was that the nose is quite off and needs another three months or more in the bottle to develop. The body however is luscious and smooth, which makes the clumsy nose even more of a shame as many folks might be easily put off by that alone, when it is and will be a great wine.     The other standouts for me were the S'Alou, which is a high-end red made primarily of Garnatxa. It's a hearty, complex red. There is a lot of strawberry in the nose once it opens up properly and the oak in the body is subtle without really being overpowering, yet at the same time strong enough to be appreciated. At €23, it's getting rather pricey for the region, but is a wine that is very much worth every euro.     But the #1 wine that David is producing is the Bac de les Ginesteres. It's a sweet wine make from the raisin grapes late in the harvest. If left to age normally, these Garnatxa raisins would produce a sweet wine just like the lower cost Negre de Panses. But, to punch it up another notch, David places the wine in large, clear glass bottles that he then ages them in the sun of all things. I thought they were a joke when I saw what you see at the top of the article, sitting outside the winery, but no, they were the newest release of the wine aging. Again, at €30, it's a decently high priced sweet wine, but it is transcendent. I have gotten a new appreciation of dessert wines in successive trips to Spain, but this wine, this creation is so above and beyond and Moscatell and Garnatxa sweets that I've had before. The wine is nutty in the glass and like the best sweet Sherries that I've ever had. It ceases to be like a normal sweet wine and reaches some other level that I don't even know what to call it. All I can say is wow. Of course with only 500 bottles a year being produced, it is not easy to come by.     If the wines didn't speak enough for the winery, David is doing other things to make it stand out. For one, there is the website which is a really nicely done site. He understands marketing, which, while something that California vintners know very well, is not something that European winemakers do that much of. He also sources all of his grapes from his own lands. He doesn't buy any grapes from outside growers, which is nearly unheard of due to it limiting your production volume. And of the grapes the he grows, Garnatxa is predominant. Every wine that he produces has Garnatxa in it. He does this because it is a local varietal and he feels a good deal of pride in growing it. He doesn't grow anything like Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay because they aren't local. David wants to be a Catalan winemaker first and foremost and in this he is doing exceeding well. If Cantallops doesn't know it now, he will be their star citizen in the coming years which will replace the current star, who was a farmer that shot six wolves in one year back in 1868. I'm joking,although it might not be far from the truth...

A plate of jamón in a restaurant in northern Catalonia, Spain.

When it comes to a meat that is enjoyed across the Mediterranean, forms of cured pork have spread far and wide. Jamón, prosciutto, and pršut from Spain, Italy, and Croatia, respectively are all similar to some degree, yet share some differences from one another. As to which is the best, that's not a question to get in to with anyone from one of these three countries as they will always believe that theirs is the best. The most democratic approach is to say that they are all really good and they are best enjoyed within the countries where they are made.     Jamón is stunningly delicious and is pretty much only available in Spain. Export out of Spain is nearly non-existent because the Spanish wisely keep their prized meat safely at home. But when in Spain, it can readily be found and should be had in great quantities once found. When it comes to wines, many people fall prey to the old rule of white with pork and while a white such as Verdejo tastes wonderful with some nice slices of jamón, reds pair with it equally as well due to its heavier qualities. If one is looking for a good red, give Garnatxa (Grenache) a try. Its light qualities go quite well with the jamón and make for a delicious meal with some Manchego thrown in to balance out the palate.     Prosciutto is nothing new to those outside Italy. The Italians export it in great amounts and when paired with a Chardonnay, Pinela, Pošip, or a Zinfandel (or perhaps Primitivo in Italy), the imbiber will be in heaven. Despite the many similarities to jamón prosciutto is indeed different though and in my opinion leans more towards being enjoyed with a white. The buttery tones are so soft that a heavy red easily trounces them and defeats the purpose of having the prosciutto in the first place.     Then there's the pršut. This cured meat found in Croatia and other regions of the Balkans is very, very similar to prosciutto, thus the nearly similar name. Pršut is often smoked, giving a much more distinct flavor than the generally unsmoked variants. Croats will tell you that there are a great many differences from the Italian types, but at their core, they really are the same meat and both delicious. True to its origins though, pršut pairs very well with the wines in Croatia. Whether it's a Pošip, Malvazija, or even a Plavac Mali, wine and pršut are great friends. Pošip and Malvazija are always a winning combination for a few slices of pršut and some Paški Sir (cheese from the island of Pag), but the Plavac is just as good when the mood strikes. It's one of the beauties of Plavac in that is pairs well with foods, especially new arrivals like the Lirica that we've started carrying.     So, which combination is best? I'm just not going to touch that subject and risk a lynching. They are all good and it's up to people to find which they like best. For those in the US, this is probably going to mean pairing something with a prosciutto because it's just so much easier to find, although Jamón Iberico can be found in very limited amounts these days from a few importers. Unfortunately genuine Croatian pršut hasn't reached the US yet and the Croats, much like the Spaniards are probably happy to keep as much of it as possible at home.

Over a summer two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe.     While staying in Catalonia, we set out from Figueres to make a day trip to Cadaqués. Due to misunderstanding of roundabout, we ended up on the isolated northern beaches of Roses, but managed to eventually twist and turn our way back to the right road. This delay ended up being incredibly lucky as it had us driving over the top of a hill where the vineyards of Perafita are located. We entered the winery at the exact right time to visit while they were having their grand release day for their very first wines: Perafita 2005, Cadac 2004, Muscatel 2006, and Garnatxa 2006.     The Perafita and Cadac were both reds. Perafita was the lighter of the two, even though it had an alcohol content at 14.5%. You could really taste the Merlot and Garnatxa in the blend as the Cabernet Sauvignon seemed to be propping those two up more than the other way round. It also had strong oak flavors to it that came through very well. The Cadac was much deeper and approached a more standard California alcohol level of 15% in an area where most wines are around 12%. It had already aged well, despite coming from rather new vines that were planted in 2001. Given another year in the bottle, it will most likely develop an even deeper body to it that will carry the 64% Cabernet Sauvignon of the wine very, very well. It will be interesting to see how the Garnatxa that makes up the rest of the wine will blend with the Cab over time and if the spicy perfume in the nose will increase or fade.     The most interesting element to these two reds is that it seemed like you could taste the sea in them. This would seem obvious given that you can see the Costa Brava from their hills and it took several tastes to really believe that this was true. But, according to the owner's son, Rafel Martín Faixó, we were not the first people to notice this.     In addition to these reds, we also tasted their two sweet wines: Muscatel and Garnatxa. Both of these were very good, very deep and flavorful. The Muscatel was the stand out of these two with wonderful flavors that swirled around the palate and had a great, smooth finish.     Despite being inadvertent party crashers to the event, we were treated very well and saw that this was indeed a family-run business with Rafa, Carme, and their three children: Ester, Georgina, and Rafel all taking part in the event and very happy to talk passionately about their wines at great length. We found this ironic given that the winery originally started as a hobby to provide wines for their family restaurant in Cadaqués. Over the years, this has eventually grown to the size it is today and located in a grand house that was first mentioned in historical documents in 1387. We were just happy in our driving mistake which led us to the premiere of these wines and yes, we did eventually find our way to Cadaqués.

Over a summer, two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe          Given the setting, Espelt is a young winery that was founded in 2000 on a family property in Vilajuïga in northeastern Catalonia, led by the eldest daughter Anna Espelt who studied enology in the US. In spite of being a traditional, family-run business, it is a cutting edge winery with experimental vine growing techniques and labels designed by Mariscal (famous for having designed the mascot of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics). With this in mind, it's not surprising that in only five releases it has become the biggest winery in the area (the D.O. Empordà) with the largest vineyards. The vast majority of those vineyards are located inside two natural parks in the area, producing mostly local varietals, such as Carinyena (Carignane) and Garnatxa (Granache). In the natural park of the rugged Cap de Creus, the easternmost cape of Spain, Espelt has reintroduced vines planted in the traditional terraces of dry stones. This area had been a historical wine-producing region until the phylloxera plague destroyed all of it in the late 1800's and since that point the land was left barren.     We had the chance to taste almost the whole range of Espelt wines in their store in Vilajuïga, which includes four whites, two rosés, four reds, four sweets and two caves (Catalan champagne). Being red lovers, our absolute favorite was the upscale Comabruna, a blend of Syrah, Carinyena and Marselan. Produced from grapes that are not sourced and grown only on the Espelt estate, Comabruna is a very deep and smooth wine that has a wonderful plushness free of any sharp tannins. For those that don't want to spend 20€ on a bottle, another suggestion is Terres Negres (Black Lands), a blend of 30% Merlot and 70% Cabernet. With a similar finish than Comabruna but a lighter nose and overall body, Terres Negres at 12€ is possibly a better value wine with a lovely taste.     Of the whites that we tasted, one that stood out for us, was Quinze Roures (15 Oaks), a blend of white garnatxa and macabeo. This wine has earned a good degree of fame for being served in what is reputed to be the best restaurant in the world, El Bulli. It tasted a lot like a California Sauvignon Blanc with the slightly sweet, but more tannic finish of a Pinot Grigio.     We ended our visit with a taste of Espelt's famous sweet wines, Solivent (muscatel) and Airam (garnatxa) that also have cheaper "young" versions simply called Moscatell jove and Garnatxa jove (jove being the Catalan word for young). Both very enjoyable sweet wines, Solivent having a very smooth taste that gives you a hint of green olives, and Airam with its light Garnatxa flavors presenting extremely round, caramel tones.

Over a summer two travelers drink their way through the wines of Mediterranean Europe.          Through a personal connection we were very fortunate to get a first glimpse of an exciting new winery in north-eastern Spain near Figueres called, La Vinyeta. The overall region is called d.o. Emporda and this is a new winery that has been built over the last few years. They now lay claim to 40 hectares (100 acres) of thriving vines. Part of this area was and continues to be occupied by 75 year old vines that are growing Garnatxa (Grenache). The rest have been planted with many different varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot.          We were given a taste of the Merlot from the tanks before it has been aged in the French Oak barrels. It's quite an exquisite wine that has a nose like that of a Merlot that has already been aged for five years or more. The taste is relatively light and will need some time in the oak to really play out the full potential, which will undoubtedly be fantastic.          In addition to the Merlot, we were given a real treat in trying the Garnatxa from the tanks. In two words: absolutely delicious. For those not familiar with this, it's a sweet wine that shares some flavors in common with Tokaj, but is very much its own. You'll taste wonderful caramel flavors as well as smell these aromas in it.     As a sharp contrast to the age of these vines is the owner, Josep Serra Pla, who is a very fresh face in the winemaking business at only 29. A native of the area, he has invested a great deal of time and money in to building this winery quite literally from the ground up. While the Merlot and Garnatxa have yet to be released unfortunately, they have already released a Rose that is called Heus Rosat, a white called Heus Blanc, and a red called Heus Negre (the Catalans refer to red wine as a "black" wine, thus the 'negre'). Both are solid wines at their core and while only currently available in Spain, they show great promise for La Vinyeta. We look forward to tasting more in the near future!