My bag not even down, freshly arrived in the Penedès region, I am offered a glass of cava. Does anyone know a better way to be welcomed in a region, than tasting its source products? Frankly, I don’t. But why the different name, should I ask, this looks like champagne to me? Mistake. Big mistake. Don’t start this discussion with a local. Seriously, don’t. You will be soaked by a profusion of arguments on the matter. Maybe the same process, but totally different taste and superior quality. A bad press simply caused by adventurous marketing strategies. Should not even be a debate, it simply just is. But I am hard ass, not a fool, I want full proof on the debate. Why not a visit to a Spanish-own cava bodega, in order to make my own opinion about this intriguing debate. Explore with my own eyes and taste with my own, well… taste buds. Let the fight begin!

First, a little introduction on the matter. To be clear, Cava and Champagne are quite the same. Up to 1970, Cava was called Spanish Champagne, right before the European Union ruled that only wines produced in the Champagne region of France, could be called accordingly. Cava was therefore introduced as a new name, with new Spanish standards and a big new advantage, its location. 

Macabeu, Xarel-lo and Parellada
The tour starts not so far away from the village of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia, in Catalonia, where more than 80% of the cava production is made. Xavier, part of Torrens Moliner small family-owned bodega, is proud to brief me on why their stuff is differnet, not only from the French, but also from the mass cava producers.

In short, they have a different climate, limited rains, low winds, higher expectations on the usual dictated standards, attention to details orientated on quality and not on quantity, all brought to the equation, this gives a unique cava product.  Easy to understand and hard to compete against. It is simply the perfect location to grow the three basic grounds of cava, Macabeu, Xarel-lo and Parellada. And as we have all been told: location, location and location. It cannot be ignored. The landscape is not just breathtaking, it is a perfect equilibrium to ensure high quality grapes. But in terms of taste, Torrens Moliner does not stop here.

First, the bodega is located on the vineyard itself, in order to assure a first extraction as soon as possible by their high-end technological piece of german equipment. Then, the local domain d’origen requires at least 9 months of ageing for the most common Brut Nature. Nonetheless, this process is taken a bit further. They make sure that every stock is easily identified, fully documented, meticulously packed up, carefully inspected by a human eye and so aged to perfection depending on the harvest, the year and the final product expectation. High attention to details is ensured at every step, balanced by a day to day fight between technology and traditions. Should they use new high-tech equipment or keep on those old traditional processes? The final line is drawn in order to reach something close to perfection. The main strength of Torrens Moliner is actually due to their size. They know they cannot compete against the mass production of the neighbouring bigger houses, so they maximize every step, understand every detail to make sure that the soul of this region is carefully delivered in every bubble.

The verdict…
And yes, this makes me slice up this debate. Instead of sitting down on a low price strategy, mostly influenced by the bigger fishes, they use the full potential of this magnificent land, to produce a one-of-a-kind experience. They do not stop at the traditional name. Instead they create their own unique experience, all standards over-exceeded and quality dressed to its best. Let me tell you that you can taste the festive naked truth difference. From the “Pop!”, the smells, the colours up to the quivering of your taste buds on your tongue, you will understand, as I did, the stubbornness of locals. It can be explained, but it is quite better experienced. The liveliness in your mouth, proper to the Spanish, will make you reconsider what Champagne should be all about. No need to make a big story out of it, it simply tastes better, straightforward and fresh as it is suppose to be. Perfect for a special occasion, but also fantastic to accompany your weekly speciality meals.

Have the debate for yourself and you will understand. It is not about the appearance, the prestige or the supposed savoir-faire, but mainly on what resides in between those sparkling bubbles. Salut!  Maxime Bellefleur, Travel wrtier and Photographer

When I think of Spain I think of great Spanish culture, beautiful woman, and of course, great wine.

Hit me again Mr Winery tour guide

In the states, it’s tough to find the winery that gives you a warm feeling of family tradition dedicated to wine and their consumers. It is more, trying wine after wine without great explanation or what went into preparing that certain wine. As we say a lot after a night of festivities, “It’s like bar-hopping from one to the next.” However, my visit to Torrens Moliner, TM, proved to me that there is such thing as learning while drinking alcohol, wine in this case.

Torrens Moliner (DO Cava)

Being a visitor in Spain, I wanted to take advantage of something that is not easily accessible in the states and that is to try the wine that is made from this country. I have been able to do so by buying wine from local markets and grocery stores but just recently I had the opportunity to try wine from a very private and local winery in Catalunya. To be exact, they are located very close to Sant Sadurní D’Anoia in La Fortesa, where their new winery construction is almost complete.

Xavi Torrens Moliner

TM is a family owned winery that was started in 1986 and located in the heart of Sant Sadurni d’Anoia and has since stayed small and private. To put its size in perspective to other wineries, its only international consumers it has partnered with is Mexico, Switzerland, and of course Spain. That was astonishing to me since wineries tend to find consumers pretty quickly. Yet, when finding out what TM’s objective, this made all the perfect sense. As their mission statement states,”… We have opted to self-finance the projects we have undertaken, to keep the business as a dynamic, independent, constantly-evolving family company.” Only making 60,000 bottles of wine a year, additionally, making 9 different wines and cavas, they are committed to their family and goals.

Reserve & Gran Reserve

Having tried 2 of their cavas, Cava Reserve and Cava Gran Reserve, this company is on the path to do greater things. Not only making more wine throughout the year, but wine and cava’s that are delicious and to everyone’s liking. They have 3 different aged wines and each are easily identifiable by their unique colored cork stamps; white stamps mean 9 to 15 months of ageing, green meaning 15 to 30 months of ageing, and black meaning more than 30 months of ageing.

Here’s that large window

With their new winery, in La Fortesa, it is sure to help TM expand their consumer base and begin to gain more recognition around not only in Spain but around the world. Their objective of being a family tradition style winery, their new location has just that. A beautiful establishment, they are easy to get in touch with, always making themselves available for any last minute winery visits, but most of all, their dedication to being connected with its consumers and family.

Let me have your comments

Once they get their winery settled and rolling (taking advantage of the social media), expect big things with this winery. It is worth your time and wine tasting pleasures.

Jonathan Jewett, Wine Blogger for Wine Pleasures, jjay1218@yahoo.com

Here’s a video we took during our visit to Torrens Moliner. What were the two nibbles we had during the cava tasting? Email your answers to info@winepleasures.com and if you win you ‘ll get a special prize.