AQUA D.O Montsant

I do not drink too much wine, what can I do in order to avoid the oxidation of the wine? You can buy a larger size. No, this is not a joke. A wine in a format bag-in-a-box avoids the entrance of the oxygen and it has a very comfortable faucet. In addition, it is easier to carry and price per litter is better. Next question is: what about the quality? In this case, Aqua., D.O. Montstant it is a very good product.

Artium wine

Artés, Manresa (Barcelona)

You will find a very interesting "celler cooperatiu"

long history: 100 years...

Two outstanding products: Cabernet Sauvignon and Roques-Albes.

It is worth to taste the really cheap "macabeu" (according to my personal preferences, an outstanding grape for white wines, that can support very well the aging)

http://www.cavesartium.com/
If you like cava, they also have a wide variety of products, including a very good olive oil..
and even more: they are extremely friendly. In most of the places, if you want to obtain the cap of the cava bottles, you will be charged. Here, they offer for free.
Outstanding product for a very cheap price.

Atrium wine: Classic versus new design

Classic (2002) ..............................................New (2006)
Sometimes a given wine modernizes its label. Which is the global effect of this marketing operation? It attracts new customers willing to taste the “new” wine that most of the times is exactly the same? It loses classical customers that reject changes?
This is an example: Atrium, Penedès (Barcelona) of Miguel Torres

http://www.torres.cat/

Both of them contain the same wine, an excellent merlot (quality/price ratio) wine.

Which label do you prefer?

Brandy aging

Brandy is a spirit produced by means of distilling wine, the wine having first been produced by means of fermenting grapes. Brandy contains 40%–60% alcohol by volume and is normally consumed as an after-dinner drink.

Initially wine was distilled as a preservation method and as a way to make the wine easier for merchants to transport. It was also thought that wine was originally distilled to lessen the tax which was assessed by volume. The intent was to add the water removed by distillation back to the brandy shortly before consumption. It was discovered that after having been stored in wooden casks, the resulting product had improved over the original distilled spirit

A solera is a series of barrels or other containers used for aging liquids such as Sherry, Madeira, Marsala, Mavrodafni (a dark-red fortified dessert wine from Greece), Muscat, Muscadelle, Balsamic,Commandaria and Sherry, Vinegars.

Typically, a portion of the wine from the last barrel of the series is removed and bottled. Then the last barrel is filled from the next-to-last barrel, etc., until the first barrel is filled with new wine. The barrels are then left to age until the process is repeated. A solera can easily be the largest capital investment of a family winemaking firm, and the barrels used are usually passed down to one's descendants.

Wine produced from a solera cannot have a vintage date because it is the product of wines from many years. The last barrel in a solera has at least a tiny (albeit usually insignificant) fraction of the first wine ever put in it, which could be hundreds of years old. However, if the movement of wine is slow enough, it is possible to establish a minimum age of the blend. For example, if one has ten barrels, and transfers wine along once a year, the resultant wine has a minimum of ten years, and can be labeled as such, but the average age is actually twenty years.
(adapted from wikipedia)

Another history
Unlike brandies from the Jerez area, Antoni Mascaró, from Penedès (Barcelona) http://www.mascaro.es/ uses the Charentais method instead of the very Spanish Soleras method. Using the double distillation of this method, the producer looks for softness and flavor. You can see an animation here: http://www.copper-alembic.com/products_class_anim.php?cat_id=10&lang=es&flashanim=anima10.swf

Is possible to enhance the brandy if it remains in the bottle for a long period?
Probably the answer of experts is NO. Nevertheless, my experience with a set of Carlos III bottles (look at the photo) stored for about 30 years is YES. Of course you do not get Carlos I, but believe me, the brandy is largerly improved!

Pedro Ximénez

The dessert wine Pedro Ximénez is made by drying the grapes under the hot Spanish sun, concentrating the sweetness, which are then used to create a thick, black liquid with a strong taste of raisins and molasses that is fortified and aged in solera.

PX was originally grown in the Montilla-Moriles region, and along with Palomino Fino made up the majority of grapes used in the manufacture of sherry. However, the strong resistance of the Palomino to disease has led to a great decline in the use of Pedro Ximénez in traditional sherry, and despite its continued use in the sweeter blends of sherry in Montilla-Moriles, Málaga and other regions of Andalusia, its fame now rests principally on its use in the varietal raisin wine of the same name.

Straw Wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice. The result is similar to that of the ice wine process, but suitable for warmer climates. The classic method dries clusters of grapes on mats of straw in the sun, but some regions dry them under cover, some hang up the grapes, and the straw may be replaced by modern racks. The technique dates back to pre-Roman times.

(adapted from wikipedia)

Puttonyos & Samos

In order to demonstrate that I am not cheating, I have decided to post the rear side of the bottles...

El Rebost de la Moreneta

El Rebost de la Moreneta
Cuina Catalana
Consell de Cent 401

This is an outstanding place with an amazing quality/price ratio. You will be fully satisfied, without putting in trouble your pocket. The sample menu consists of a “montadito” + cocktail + 6 starters + main course + dessert + wine + cava + coffee. Are you ready for the visual journey? Let’s go!

Welcome cava cocktail with a funny block of sugar inside

one "montadito" per person

A decent wine
The first three starters come altogether in the same dish bread with tomato

Grilled vegetables with tomato sauce

Cod with honey

crepe

main course
my option: lobster with prawns

another option: "rape" with mussels (don't be afraid! this is the name of a very good fish)

Please!, choose your dessert!

my option:

Special brut cava made by Masset del Lleó for La Moreneta

tallat (coffee with a small amount of milk)

A final surprise: they brought to me the cap of the cava bottle. Special design. Few units exist. My sister will really appreciate (she's a collector)

Thanks to La Moreneta for demonstrating that it is possible to eat well for a good price in Barcelona!