“Let me know when you are picked up at the airport so I can have dinner ready. I have an interesting dinner and a more interesting wine.” Who doesn’t love receiving a text message like that? Little did I know a glass of Carlania Celler El Petit Carlania Trepat would be waiting for me when I arrived home.
A couple of days ago I returned home from a short visit with a friend in Spokane, Washington. I received the above text from Pete the evening before I flew home and a series of text messages followed. I tried to extract hints as to the wine’s origin and variety, but Pete wouldn’t give me much information. “It’s Spanish along with the dinner, which is all I can say,” was the final exchange. I could hardly wait to get home.
The initial aromas suggested this is just the kind of red wine I could fall for. That combination of tart red fruit and black pepper spice is always appealing to me. Throw in drying tannins and a relatively light body and that seals the deal; not to mention the relatively low alcohol.
We purchased this wine through a wine club membership and it is a producer and variety I would like to taste more of. Next time we are in Santa Barbara I will be searching the shelves at Les Marchands Wine Bar & Merchant for more.
Organic and biodynamic farming practices are followed in the vineyard. The statement on the back of the wine bottle from Jordi Miró and Sònia Gomà-Camps, the husband and wife team behind Carlania Celler, expresses their winemaking philosophy:
Ingredients: Organic grapes, cold, warmth, rain, wind, work and passion. We do not add yeasts, enzymes, or any other adjuvant in the vinification and maturation of our wines. They are not filtered and clarified. Bottles should breathe after being opened; there may be some natural sediment and CO2. Each bottle can be different. We make wines with personal touches and a character and identity all of their own. We hope to express our values, the authenticity, a part of ourselves, in our wines.
This wine is made using 100% Trepat from vines that are 30 to 40 years old. The grapes were mostly de-stemmed and fermented in stainless steel, but a small amount was fermented using carbonic maceration.
Trepat is a red grape variety that originated in the Conca de Barberà region of Catalunya, an autonomous community in northeast Spain. This is the same region that is home to Carlania Celler and where Jordi and Sônia grew up.
Pete chose Cod with Chickpeas and Summer Vegetables, a Moorish and Spanish-inspired recipe to pair with this delightful Trepat. It might not be a dish that you would think to pair with a red wine but the paprika, cumin and saffron made the pairing work deliciously. Pete is an occasional cook in our house, but when he does step into the kitchen he is much more adventurous than I am. I appreciate that and I appreciate how delicious the leftovers were for lunch the next day.
Cheers!
