 |
Gerard, Susan, Ana, Manel y Joelle              |
Monday, August 18, 2014
Friday, August 15, 2014
That's Farming, Part 3
I mentioned there was some weeding to be done in the vineyards and I've been out there the past couple of days working on it. As I drove into El Molar this morning at about 8:00, there were groups of young people hanging around the pool and the adjacent municipal grounds. I remembered that the Festa Major in El Molar started last night and the first night is usually devoted to young people's activities.
I pulled up to Finca Alta and went to work with Mr. Shovel. The weeds are not bad this year but there are some in the vine rows I want to knock down. I can't get a Clemons hoe through there because the vines are trained so close to the ground and are narrowly spaced. Additionally, this is not the best time of year to stir up dust because of mites.
As I was working, I noticed a low "burring" sound coming from the middle of the vineyard at regular intervals. At first, I thought it was some kind of bird. When the sound continued for twenty minutes, I decided to investigate. I walked about twenty meters down and three rows over.
I discovered a Young Couple fast asleep in the vineyard. The "burring" sound was the Young Man's snoring. He was lying on his back and a Young Lady was snuggled on top of him. I noticed they were both pretty well covered in dust. I also noticed that, somehow, the Young Lady had lost her shirt and her bra was unfastened. Before you get too excited, I'll tell you right now there won't be any pictures with this post.
I took a few discreet steps away and called out to them "Bon dia! Bon dia!". The only response was more snoring. So, Mr. Shovel and I returned to our task. I finished the row I was working on and started back down the vineyard toward the Young Couple. As I approached them after about 45 minutes, I was happy to see the Young Lady had found her shirt and was sitting up.
She was chattering brightly and giggling while her companion's contributions were rare and semi-monosyllabic. As I passed by, I once again called out "Bon dia! Como estamos?". They replied "Bon dia!" and I continued down the row. About 10 minutes later, they stood up and started walking through the vineyard toward El Molar. As they passed me, they held their hands up to shield their faces in the manner of someone leaving a Federal arraignment. I remember thinking "It's a little late for that, now, Chicos."
Many of you have heard me brag about the agricultural paradise we enjoy here. We've tried to honor the concept of agricultural diversification and avoid mono-culture. I'm happy to report that:
1) We can grow wine grapes.
2) We can grow almonds.
3) Evidently, we can make babies.
Now, that's what I call farming!
I pulled up to Finca Alta and went to work with Mr. Shovel. The weeds are not bad this year but there are some in the vine rows I want to knock down. I can't get a Clemons hoe through there because the vines are trained so close to the ground and are narrowly spaced. Additionally, this is not the best time of year to stir up dust because of mites.
As I was working, I noticed a low "burring" sound coming from the middle of the vineyard at regular intervals. At first, I thought it was some kind of bird. When the sound continued for twenty minutes, I decided to investigate. I walked about twenty meters down and three rows over.
I discovered a Young Couple fast asleep in the vineyard. The "burring" sound was the Young Man's snoring. He was lying on his back and a Young Lady was snuggled on top of him. I noticed they were both pretty well covered in dust. I also noticed that, somehow, the Young Lady had lost her shirt and her bra was unfastened. Before you get too excited, I'll tell you right now there won't be any pictures with this post.
I took a few discreet steps away and called out to them "Bon dia! Bon dia!". The only response was more snoring. So, Mr. Shovel and I returned to our task. I finished the row I was working on and started back down the vineyard toward the Young Couple. As I approached them after about 45 minutes, I was happy to see the Young Lady had found her shirt and was sitting up.
She was chattering brightly and giggling while her companion's contributions were rare and semi-monosyllabic. As I passed by, I once again called out "Bon dia! Como estamos?". They replied "Bon dia!" and I continued down the row. About 10 minutes later, they stood up and started walking through the vineyard toward El Molar. As they passed me, they held their hands up to shield their faces in the manner of someone leaving a Federal arraignment. I remember thinking "It's a little late for that, now, Chicos."
Many of you have heard me brag about the agricultural paradise we enjoy here. We've tried to honor the concept of agricultural diversification and avoid mono-culture. I'm happy to report that:
1) We can grow wine grapes.
2) We can grow almonds.
3) Evidently, we can make babies.
Now, that's what I call farming!
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
A New Beginning-Our Third Year
We arrived in El Masroig this morning for our third season in Catalunya. We're getting a later start this year because of delayed marketing opportunities but it's good to be back. As you can imagine, I went straight to the vineyards. All things considered, they look pretty good. This summer has been relatively wet and cool so there's always a chance of powdery mildew. I didn't see anything amiss in that regard but I can see a couple of weeks worth of weeding to be done. There appears to be a larger crop than last year and that's good because the birds have already started to pick on the fruit. In spite of my efforts, I would estimate we lose about 5% of the crop to them in a average year. There isn't much to be done because of our proximity to the village. Some of those pigeons and doves look like they're close to 10 pounds (almost too fat to fly!). Right now it doesn't look like we'll need to irrigate.
Maria seems to be doing well and is happy we're back. I went to the Cooperativa to refill our "bucket" and was happy to see some familiar faces. Most of the folks at the Cooperativa take vacations sometime in August and, of course, the whole town knocks off for Festa Major which will begin August 24.
We're expecting some guests later this month. My cousin Chelsee (Jennifer's daughter) and two of her friends just graduated from college. They're doing eight European countries in eight weeks. We're looking forward to seeing them. They will just miss the Festa Major.
Thanks for keeping in touch and please stay tuned!
Maria seems to be doing well and is happy we're back. I went to the Cooperativa to refill our "bucket" and was happy to see some familiar faces. Most of the folks at the Cooperativa take vacations sometime in August and, of course, the whole town knocks off for Festa Major which will begin August 24.
We're expecting some guests later this month. My cousin Chelsee (Jennifer's daughter) and two of her friends just graduated from college. They're doing eight European countries in eight weeks. We're looking forward to seeing them. They will just miss the Festa Major.
Thanks for keeping in touch and please stay tuned!
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Welcome to the first vintage of Celler D. Russell Smith!
Welcome to the first vintage of Celler D. Russell Smith!
I fulfilled a life-long dream last year and bought two small vineyards in the Montsant region of Spain. They are located next to the village of El Molar in the province of Catalunya. One (Finca Alta) was planted in 1975 and the other (Finca Vieja) was planted somewhere around 1952. Both vineyards are planted to Carignan although we are required by the D.O. Montsant to call the grapes Samsó on the label.
The vineyards are near the top of a mountain and enjoy full sunlight all day. The soils are calcareous with some decomposed slate. There are numerous pebbles of quartz and the occasional galet present. The soil ranges from pale yellow to pale pink and reflects the abundant sunlight well. This allows the soil to cool down after sunset which contributes to maintaining good acidity in the fruit.
We are only twenty miles from the Mediterranean and get a steady breeze almost all the time. There is a cool wind from the sea most of the day while a warmer, drier wind from the north prevails at night. The combination of soil, elevation and climate make this area an agricultural paradise. It's perfect for wine grapes.
The vintage of 2012 was the warmest and driest in thirty years. We irrigated twice to keep the vines healthy. The five acres of vines only yielded about four tons of grapes. This is to be expected from old vines. The berries are very small and the clusters are loose. These factors contribute to making the best wine. We employ sustainable agricultural practices in the vineyards.
I also have a long-term agreement with a Grenache vineyard near the village of Marça. This vineyard is organically farmed and the fruit is superb. My goal is to make wine from traditional varieties and showcase the unique character of Montsant.
In 2012, we harvested the Grenache on September 3 and the Carignan on September 19. The weather was spectacular both days and we had no trouble hand-picking the grapes. The Grenache and Carignan were fermented separately and blended in March of 2013. Thirty percent of the wine was aged in new French and American barrels.
WINEMAKER'S NOTES:
Color-Deep garnet
On the nose-Plum jam, vanilla, mace, slightly toasty
On the palate-Full bodied. Flavors of plum, white chocolate and mace with a medium-long toasty
oak finish.
TECHNICAL NOTES:
Alchohol- 14.50%
pH- 3.68
T.A.- .71 g/100 ml
Thank you for visiting our website and we welcome you to leave a comment.
¡SALUD!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Fonts d'El Masroig-Water, water everywhere!
I've talked about a few of the public water sources in El Masroig in the past but thought it would be interesting to take you on a tour of them. There are eight fountains (fonts) in town that I know about. At least one dates back to the founding of the pueblo. If you do the math, that works out to one for every forty people. They're (more or less) evenly distributed so no one would have to walk more than a couple of minutes for water.
Water is scarce in most of Spain and the average person uses a third less than in the U.S. I'm guessing that mains water wasn't installed until well into the 20th Century because the community wash-house was built in 1906. Horses, mules and other livestock were once kept in town and they needed water, too. Several of the fountains are located along the main road through town so travelers could water their draft animals and the locals could water their livestock on the way home.
The town keeps all the fountains in good repair and the water is the same as in the houses. I like the taste of the water here. It's a little hard so we do have to fight calcium spots but, overall, the quality is good. Here's a little tour:
St. Galdric This is on the far east side of town on the main road. There is very little information available on St. Galdric. He appears to be the patron of Catalan grape growers because he came to their aid against persecution by the various monasteries. Not surprisingly, the Official List of Saints of the Catholic Church (over 5000 described) doesn't mention St. Galdric.
Community Wash House This large building (probably 3000 square feet) was built for the ladies of the town to do their laundry. There are numerous troughs inside and plenty of water.
Font de Plaza de Iglesia On the opposite side of the plaza from the church, this would have served a lot of people. It doesn't have a trough for livestock.
Font del Perxe This is right in front of Montse Romera's house (our landlady). As you can see, it has a trough for washing or livestock. It's on the same street as the Casal which is our community center and café.
Plaza de Ajuntament This was probably the first fountain in town. The original civic administration buildings are here and, also, the oldest houses in town. There is a cluster of really sweet and interesting houses adjacent to the fountain.
Font Cap de Mas On the far west side, it's been tastefully modernized. The city keeps nice plants next to most of the fountains. In Catalan, "cap" means "head" or "top". Mas can mean "house, farm or farmhouse". It's generally accepted that Masroig means "red farm".
Font 1 de Abril, 1967 There is a wrought iron treble clef on the top of this fountain. The significance seems to be mysterious to some of our neighbors but I'll get to the bottom of it!
Font de Cooperativa In many ways, the Cooperativa is the economic center of the village. There is also a large water source there for everything from filling up your spray rig to washing your car. The Cooperativa is the pride of El Masroig.
Water is scarce in most of Spain and the average person uses a third less than in the U.S. I'm guessing that mains water wasn't installed until well into the 20th Century because the community wash-house was built in 1906. Horses, mules and other livestock were once kept in town and they needed water, too. Several of the fountains are located along the main road through town so travelers could water their draft animals and the locals could water their livestock on the way home.
The town keeps all the fountains in good repair and the water is the same as in the houses. I like the taste of the water here. It's a little hard so we do have to fight calcium spots but, overall, the quality is good. Here's a little tour:
St. Galdric This is on the far east side of town on the main road. There is very little information available on St. Galdric. He appears to be the patron of Catalan grape growers because he came to their aid against persecution by the various monasteries. Not surprisingly, the Official List of Saints of the Catholic Church (over 5000 described) doesn't mention St. Galdric.
Community Wash House This large building (probably 3000 square feet) was built for the ladies of the town to do their laundry. There are numerous troughs inside and plenty of water.
Font de Plaza de Iglesia On the opposite side of the plaza from the church, this would have served a lot of people. It doesn't have a trough for livestock.
Font del Perxe This is right in front of Montse Romera's house (our landlady). As you can see, it has a trough for washing or livestock. It's on the same street as the Casal which is our community center and café.
Plaza de Ajuntament This was probably the first fountain in town. The original civic administration buildings are here and, also, the oldest houses in town. There is a cluster of really sweet and interesting houses adjacent to the fountain.
Font Cap de Mas On the far west side, it's been tastefully modernized. The city keeps nice plants next to most of the fountains. In Catalan, "cap" means "head" or "top". Mas can mean "house, farm or farmhouse". It's generally accepted that Masroig means "red farm".
Font 1 de Abril, 1967 There is a wrought iron treble clef on the top of this fountain. The significance seems to be mysterious to some of our neighbors but I'll get to the bottom of it!
Font de Cooperativa In many ways, the Cooperativa is the economic center of the village. There is also a large water source there for everything from filling up your spray rig to washing your car. The Cooperativa is the pride of El Masroig.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Lunch with Jesus and Phillip
I returned to El Masroig last week and was happy to find our neighbor, Phillip, still here. Phillip is a British marketing and public relations guru who makes his home across the street from us. He's bright, articulate, well-traveled and excellent company. His friend, Jesus (see the Breakfast with Jesus post), invited us to lunch yesterday at his casa pairal out beyond the Ermita.
To start, Jesus offered us some of his homemade vermouth and some potato chips laced with Tabasco sauce. Potato chips are considered appropriate for Americans around here. The vermouth was a new batch and a little drier than the last. It was excellent. According to Phillip, Jesus rarely makes it the same way twice. Additionally, I learned that green walnut husks are added to bring some tannin and the characteristic "amaro" flavor essential to quality digestivos.
We moved on to the first course of mussels. I think they were the best I've ever had. They were so fresh and tender and tasted very lightly of the sea. Jesus made a dipping sauce that was slightly picante. The mussels were eaten right off the shell. They were served with a garnatxa blanca that Jesus made in 2012. It was wonderfully rich and elegant and I think one of the best whites in Catalunya. Unfortunately, there's not very much of it.
We finished the wine with the rabbit stew. Everything Jesus served was authentic Catalan and it was wonderful to enjoy such a meal with such great company. You can see the stew in the photos and I only regret that it wasn't possible to capture the aroma for you.
After lunch, Phillip requested some of Jesus' homemade aguardiente (grappa). I've never had a positive experience with grappa. Most of them taste like steel wool soaked in kerosene. Jesus' grappa, however, was excellent! It was smooth and delicate on the palate. I had one small glass but the other chicos put a respectable dent in the bottle. That may have had something to do with the two hours of lively conversation that followed lunch. It's always fun for me to get fresh perspectives from folks from different parts of the world.
Phillip and I made our exit after almost five hours with Jesus. I was at home recovering from lunch when Francesc Masdeu showed up on his tractor and invited me to dinner at his parent's house. I went over there at 9:00 and had a lovely time. It was great to see Maria and Francisco. They seem to be doing pretty well. Francesc, as usual, works all the time and looks after his parents on the weekends. He recently looked at 2583 (his number) apartments in Barcelona in order to find a new place to live. It seems he and Marta found one they like.
I finally waddled home at 11:30. As you can imagine, I didn't get much done today.
To start, Jesus offered us some of his homemade vermouth and some potato chips laced with Tabasco sauce. Potato chips are considered appropriate for Americans around here. The vermouth was a new batch and a little drier than the last. It was excellent. According to Phillip, Jesus rarely makes it the same way twice. Additionally, I learned that green walnut husks are added to bring some tannin and the characteristic "amaro" flavor essential to quality digestivos.
We moved on to the first course of mussels. I think they were the best I've ever had. They were so fresh and tender and tasted very lightly of the sea. Jesus made a dipping sauce that was slightly picante. The mussels were eaten right off the shell. They were served with a garnatxa blanca that Jesus made in 2012. It was wonderfully rich and elegant and I think one of the best whites in Catalunya. Unfortunately, there's not very much of it.
We finished the wine with the rabbit stew. Everything Jesus served was authentic Catalan and it was wonderful to enjoy such a meal with such great company. You can see the stew in the photos and I only regret that it wasn't possible to capture the aroma for you.
After lunch, Phillip requested some of Jesus' homemade aguardiente (grappa). I've never had a positive experience with grappa. Most of them taste like steel wool soaked in kerosene. Jesus' grappa, however, was excellent! It was smooth and delicate on the palate. I had one small glass but the other chicos put a respectable dent in the bottle. That may have had something to do with the two hours of lively conversation that followed lunch. It's always fun for me to get fresh perspectives from folks from different parts of the world.
Phillip and I made our exit after almost five hours with Jesus. I was at home recovering from lunch when Francesc Masdeu showed up on his tractor and invited me to dinner at his parent's house. I went over there at 9:00 and had a lovely time. It was great to see Maria and Francisco. They seem to be doing pretty well. Francesc, as usual, works all the time and looks after his parents on the weekends. He recently looked at 2583 (his number) apartments in Barcelona in order to find a new place to live. It seems he and Marta found one they like.
I finally waddled home at 11:30. As you can imagine, I didn't get much done today.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)