Eva Plazas, Vilarnau

Vilarnau is located in a wonderful place: Espiells, the highest area in Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. It’s the capital of Cava, where I was born and where I live with my family. It’s a special place for the cultivation of the vine: an elevated site in the Anoia valley with a clay and limestone soil of alluvial origin. It’s surrounded to the north by the mountains of Montserrat and to the south by the Serrelada Litoral range, 25km from the Mediterranean.

It’s been more than 25 years since I started working at Vilarnau, on a laboratory internship in the old winery just as I was finishing my studies in agricultural technical engineering. Since then I have grown professionally with the company. When I was studying, I went to pick grapes at a cooperative and worked in the laboratory of a winery. Before that I completed an Erasmus programme in Germany.

The Vilarnaus settled in Penedés in the 12th century and the business became part of the González Byass family in 1982. Its Cavas exude the vibrancy of Barcelona in both style and packaging. Eva Plazas has been part of the winemaking team for more than a quarter of a century.

Published in association with González Byass UK

Vilarnau Brut Reserva

A 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada and 15% Xarel-lo blend with 15 months’ ageing in the bottle. Delicious crisp apple and ripe pear flavours blend perfectly with fine bubbles due to the longer ageing. Organic and suitable for vegans.

Vilarnau Rosé Reserva

An 85% Garnacha, 15% Pinot Noir blend with 15 months’ ageing in the bottle. Bursting with red ripe berries with a creamy finish alongside streams of fine bubbles. Organic and suitable for vegans. The perfect accompaniment to traditional Catalan calçotada, where calcots (a type of green onion) are barbecued and eaten with romesco sauce and Vilarnau is poured from a traditional porron. An excellent springtime tradition.

Vilarnau Gran Reserva

A blend of 40% Macabeo, 30% Parellada, 25% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir with over 36 months’ ageing in the bottle. Biscuit and brioche flavours are prominent in the glass due to the traditional-method production and the flavours imparted from the yeast. A bottle that can rival many a Champagne and offers amazing value.

Vilarnau is known for fresh tasting Cavas. The most important thing is to preserve the primary aromas that come from the grapes, that give our Cavas their aromatic intensity. We also look for grape vines with more acidity to be able to work with long ageing without losing the freshness.

My commitment to organic viticulture is total. We are looking for a balance between the flora, the fauna, the micro-organisms of the soil and the whole ecosystem that we find in the vineyard. This last year we experienced a lot of drought and this means that we cannot work with cover crops as we would like so that they do not compete with the vine. The varieties that are best adapting to climate change and the severe drought are Xarel.lo for the whites and Garnacha for the rosé Cavas. Our area is ideal for producing Ecologic and Cava de Guarda Superior; Reservas and Gran Reserva … in the future everything will be organic.

We were one of the first wineries to plant Pinot Noir in St Sadurní in 1991. It’s a variety that I call “la Punyatera” because it’s very complicated to prune, the grapes are very small and crowded and can be vulnerable to botrytis. It’s not an easy variety especially in years of little rainfall. But we get such elegant, delicate, floral wines that it’s worth all the effort to put it in the blend.

With our packaging we want to convey our heritage and origin city, Barcelona; the modernism that has made our city famous worldwide. As well as the Mediterranean culture and lifestyle.

Cava is a very gastronomic sparkling wine, thanks to its moderate and balanced acidity, which allows us to make Brut Nature (without added sugar), which, with the new healthy eating trend, will be of great value. I like enjoying Vilarnau with food that can be shared like a paella or a calçotada with the Vilarnau rosé. But I think the best pairing of all is to share a glass of Vilarnau with the people who make you happy.

My sister Karoline and I grew up here, at the estate. The wine cellar is right below the house. We grew up smelling what was going on; hearing the sound of barriques being rolled around when they were cleaning them.

My sister always said she wanted to become a winemaker and work at the winery. She studied business and then she went into wine marketing in Australia. I was the opposite. I went to France, studying history and European studies. But I grew up here and I just felt that this is my world, and this is where I belong. I couldn’t see myself in any place but here and I wanted to put my energy into the family estate. It was a decision which came from my heart.

We started in the business 10 years ago now. We started in sales and that was how we got to know the customers to see how the wines are doing on the market with consumers.

Today, we are basically taking over the estate and our work nowadays involves anything and everything. So many things are discussed together, but of course, we’re not doing it all together; we are not doubling up. That includes the winemaking and blending, but we also have an oenologist.

Our mother lives on the estate, so she is very much here. But she is not involved in everyday work anymore. Of course, as a family estate, you discuss everything, and she has her opinion. That’s always been

Castel Ringberg Pinot Grigio

The vines are in loose gravelly soil created before the Ice Age. It's a wine which I would say has a beautiful minerality; the saltiness of the soil really comes through. It is a complex wine with about 15% of French oak. We have now bought 25hl barrels to give some extra smoothness.

her strong point. She knows what she thinks. It’s my sister and I who are working and taking the decisions in the end, but it’s hugely valuable to get the opinion of someone who was doing the exact same work in previous decades.

My mother had the idea of making single-vineyard wines, with Castel Ringberg and Kastelaz, which is still quite rare. My sister and I have gone into more depth with this idea and the vineyards are now legally classified as Vigna. In the last two years, more people have started thinking of single-vineyard wines here in the region. And I think that is a really good development.

Today we are also working with highelevation vineyards for some wines where we would like to see a little bit more freshness or acidity. We are thinking also about future global warming and how we have to develop.

Castel Ringberg is a warm vineyard. Right behind it is a Dolomite mountain that goes up to 2,000 metres. And so, in the evening, especially the weeks before harvests, it’s already autumn, but down in the valleys, it’s still full summer.

Alto Adige is having a very good moment. Nowadays it’s seen as a number one region for quality. In the past, great wines were being produced, but there was less thought given to single-vineyard wines. Now there is a movement towards crus, which is something that had been missing from the region.

Julia Walch

Elena Walch Alto Adige

This comes from vineyards of two altitudes. One is up to 950 metres, which is extreme, even for us, giving more acidity and classic Pinot Noir freshness. The other starts at 500 metres and, of course, is warmer, bringing fruit, body and structure.

Elena Walch first made wines under her own name in 1988, when she became the region’s first female winemaker. She went on to win acclaim around the world, and her daughters Julia and Karoline now head up the business. The pioneering producer owns some of the best vineyards in Italy, including two monopoles: Castel Ringberg in Caldaro and Kastelaz in Tramin, which both have Vigna certification.

Imported by Armit Wines armitwines.co.uk

Beyond the Clouds

Our icon wine that my mother introduced in 2000. Her idea was to pick the best grapes of the vintage. It’s like a field blend but the plots are selected. It’s 90% Chardonnay; we don’t reveal the other varieties. The grapes are at different maturity levels, giving the wine a wild side.

Viviana Navarrete has been head winemaker at Viña Leyda –on the west side of the Chilean Coastal Range, just 4km from the Pacific Ocean – since 2007. She is on a mission to produce the best cool-climate wines in Chile, and has received many awards and accolades in pursuit of this goal.

Published in association with Enotria&Coe

Coastal Vineyard Las Brisas Pinot Noir

This comes from a selection of sites with granitic soils mixed with iron. This soil composition gives vibrant, almost electric palates, which we are aiming for here. It has a blend of four clonal selections, creating an aromatic, intense nose full of raspberries, spices and herbs, together with a bright, juicy and long palate.

Coastal

Vineyard Garuma Sauvignon Blanc

This wine is made from a selection of three blocks, one of which is limestone. It’s managed with low yields ensuring concentration on the palate. It has citrus aromas together with herbs, floral notes and a lovely vibrant but creamy palate. What I love from this wine is the salty character you can feel.

LOT 21 Pinot Noir

Although it’s one of our high-end wines, the use of barrels here is very limited, as the aim is a pure expression of the maritime influence, red-fruit profile and the tension and grip you can get on the palate thanks to the soil composition. It’s made from three sites with granite, limestone and clay. We use natural yeast and 35% whole cluster, giving both aromatic complexity and texture on the palate.