Its climate is Mediterranean, soft and gentle, although sometimes lacking in rain. Nevertheless the fact that it is a territory protected by the Serralada de Marina, a small mountain range that acts as a protective screen from the cold North winds and at the same time it retains the breeze that comes from the Mediterranean, allows the vines to achieve water balance since that  breeze turns into a humid air that sits on them.

Its type of soil is known as the “Sauló” with a sandy structure that absorbs the little rain that falls and forces the roots of the vine to dig deeply in search of that water and minerals that escape without being able to retain them.

A part of my heart resides in this origin appellation Alella, where I worked for some time and where whenever I come back I dream of moving in one day.

They produce excellent wines and cavas of different types but today I want to highlight Catalan white wines : the Pansa Blanca from wine states such as Alta Alella deserves special attention in its version of young fruit and fun wine, and in its more serious version, the Cau d´ en Genis, with 6 months aged in clay-based cement eggs. Alta Alella has always opted for organic viticulture and even today it produces natural wines in its cellar El Celler de les Aus.

The Quim Batlle wine state produces, among others, three super interesting organic wines with the name Foranell, single-vineyards from Pansa Blanca, Garnatxa Blanca and Picapoll.

But since there are not many, I want to mention the other six producers: Bouquet D´Alella, Alella Vinícola, Can Roda, Raventós d´Alella, Roura and Serralada de Marina.

The DO Penedès

The DO Penedès territory extends along a large strip between the sea and the mountains, halfway between Barcelona and Tarragona. In the middle of the Catalan Pre-coastal Depression, between the Pre-coastal Mountain Range and the plains of the Mediterranean coast, the Penedès vineyards grow. Subdivided into three sub-areas: Penedès Superior, Penedès Central and Penedès Marítimo, it is the largest denomination in Catalonia with 26,000 hectares of vineyard.

We find a wide range of microclimates, a consequence of the coastal proximity and the altitude. Its climate is typically Mediterranean, mild and warm.

This uniqueness results in a great diversity of wines. A thousand of flavors, aromas, bodies and structures … are the fruit of climatic and landscape differences and the richness and variety of the soils that make it up, tinged with the green of the mountains and plains and the blue of the Mediterranean Sea.

This denomination is widely recognized for the quality of its white wines, where they combine traditional varieties such as Xarel-lo, Macabeu, Parellada, Moscatell de Alejandría or Malvasía de Sitges with other foreign that were introduced and acclimatized perfectly over the years, like Chardonay, Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling. A pleasure of the senses (although I emphasize that great red, rosé and sparkling wines are also made).

Xarel-lo is the most cultivated grape variety with an area that exceeds 7000ha. The young Xarel-lo wines are fresh, with a silky but full-bodied character, good acidity, fruity, aromatic and with an excellent alcohol content.

The wines with a certain aging are consistent, warm, long, and with a mineral finish and a markedly varietal expression. Maceration with skins, fermentation in barrels or cement eggs, aging with the lees … different work techniques used in  the wines characterize these enthusiastic and creative producers of the Penedès.