Adernats Cava Cathedral - Come for the Wine Stay for the Hazelnuts

As I mentioned previously, here in this post, I was part of a hosted team that toured the Cava region of Spain last month for the 50 Great Cava’s Tour in the Penedès.

Above right, Lara and Kathy “lean in” for more information

Our first stop was at Adernats Vinícola de Nulles where we discovered the César Martinell designed wine cathedral--an homage to modernism with a hat tip to Antoni Gaudí. This is the place to taste Cava and ponder the elements of architecture and structure in wine.

We walked the grounds around the vineyards and examined the rocky clay and limestone soil. The vineyards have little change in temperature from day to night, but a sea breeze gives respite from the heat, and allows for good acid and sugars to develop.

Adernats is part of a co-op that was formed after the phylloxera devastation in the region. Adernats also produces other products within the co-op including a superb olive oil, honey, fruit jams and hazelnuts.

Confession: I hate hazelnuts. I think Nutella tastes like poison. The smell of hazelnut flavored coffee makes me recoil. In short; I've never met a hazelnut I liked. But my abhorrence of hazelnuts came to an end at Adernats. Cava and hazelnuts might just be the perfect pairing.

Maybe I've just never had a good hazelnut before or all the previous ones were rancid, but the nuts at Adernats were a revelation. The slightly oily and full rich flavor of the toasted hazelnut was a sublime pairing with the crisp dry Cava. Perhaps the winery should be called Adernuts!

Cavas tasted:

Reserva Brut Nature Cava DO

Reserva Brut Cava DO

Gran Reserva Brut Nature Cava DO (bottled fermented 40 months)

All were a blend of Macabeo, Xarel•lo and Parellada grapes.  

We also tasted one of the 50 Great Cavas -- The XC Gran Reserva Cava DO crafted from 100% Xarel•lo grapes and barrel fermented for five months, followed by 45 months of secondary fermentation in the bottle. 

This was my favorite Cava of them all. It had a lightness of being, yeasty with notes of spiced pears and apples and grounded with wonderful minerality. 

Our host looks a bit like Sergio Garcia here, no?  

As we popped nuts, sipped Cava and contemplated the architecture, I chatted with Ms. Lara Dunston of Grantourismo and noticed her pockets were stuffed with nuts. How they got there is anybody's guess. I suppose good hazelnuts are hard to come by in Cambodia.  

After the Cava tasting we were led up to the top of the winery for an outstanding dinner in the rafters above the tanks.

Watermelon anchovy gazpacho? Yes, Please! Watermelon and anchovy may sound weird but I loved it. I love anchovies with everything so this was a special treat, there was also some olive oil and tomato in the gazpacho to round out the flavors.

During the meal we donned blindfolds which added to the heightened sensory experience and gave the evening a slightly naughty Eyes Wide Shut tinge. While blindfolded we were given several food items on a wooden skewer including a cherry tomato, watermelon, and pineapple and asked to identify what they were. I must say trying to eat anything off a skewer while blindfolded is an accident waiting to happen. Fortunately the blindfold served as protection from getting poked in the eye.

I’m not sure what the above dish was called but it was AMAZING - a mélange of flavors with pine nuts, salmon, cream, balsamic vinegar, and my new best friend, hazelnuts. 

The winery holds dinners once a month that are open to the public. If you are going to be in the area, contact the winery and make plans to attend. The inspiring surroundings, fine fare and excellent Cava's make for a notable evening.

Resources:
Adernats Vinícola de Nulles
http://www.vinicoladenulles.com/

World Capital of Cava -- Sant Sadurni d’Anoia

In October I went to Spain on a whirlwind trip through of Cava Country, hosted as part of the Wine Pleasures 50 Great Cava Tour. One of the stops was in Sant Sadurni d'Anoia, the epicenter and world capital of Cava, located just outside of Barcelona.

In Sant Sadurni d’Anoia we visited the Centro de Interpretación de Cava – La Fassina de Can Guineu where an excellent multi-media presentation, on large interactive touch screen panels, told the story of the region and the history of Cava production. One of the most interesting sections depicted the many adverts and posters, beautiful examples of graphic design, promoting Cava Festivals over the years.

But the true focal point of the museum pertains to phylloxera. Most people think of phylloxera as a devastating pest that destroys vineyards, but from the perspective of Spain it was an economic opportunity to capitalize on the misfortune of France.

There is an entire exhibit room devoted to the phylloxera festival that's held every September 7 & 8 in Sant Sadurni d'Anoia. A short film shows the annual Phylloxera Festival as it celebrates the tiny bug in a lively fashion. Part Mardi Gras carnival, and part folk festival, the phylloxera is honored with a giant replica of the aphid and the whole town joins in a parade with many people wearing paper mâché bug heads that are quite horrific looking, or gruesome vine head masks that resemble the angry apple trees from the Wizard of Oz.

For a more profound experience, you can get up close and personal with a 3D phylloxera insect from larvae state to full-grown creature that will look you right in the eye as you stand before an interactive display. This is best experienced after a glass of Cava, or for those in a good state of mental health. If you are prone to nightmares I suggest you skip it.

The rest of the Centro de Interpretación de Cava has plenty to see including a 3D film on the region and wine making process.  The film ends with the motto: "the offspring of a feeling" --which I suppose can be open to all sorts if interpretations --but many in our group thought it evoked a double entendre. Well, not many in our group just one who shall remain nameless but here's a hint –“butter fingers” with an iPhone. Okay, enough insider information. On with the tour--

The museum was a previously a distillery, and in the basement, a former tank room, you can watch a light and sound show projected on the walls and ceiling that depicts the primary elements necessary for the production of Cava— earth, water, wind, fire/sunlight and of course, time. The room shakes with surround sound and a gentle breeze blows on cue to give you the feeling of total immersion in the vineyard. Afterwards you will be panting for a taste of Cava.

Luckily for us we only had to trot up a few flights of stairs to a conference room where we tasted several Cava's from the small artisan producer, Celler Vell. In the tasting line-up was the Estruch Brut Gran Reserva 2009, the Celler Vell Extra Brut Gran Reserva, and the Celler Vell Brut Nature Reserva --all awarded in the list of 50 Great Cava's of 2014.

Sant Sadurni d’Anoia is an easy day trip from Barcelona. The town square is just a few blocks from the train station and easy walking distance to the museum, shops, and many Cava tasting rooms.

In Search of 50 Great Cava’s in Spain

Wow, where did the summer go?

It’s been a whirlwind of great wine and food in Santa Barbara, Mendocino, the Okanagan, and now I’m off to Riga, Latvia, to visit @SigneMeirane -- then on to Spain in search of 50 Great Cava’s as part of a tasting panel and the so called "Dream Team”.  (I think you need to drink a lot of Cava before our group approaches dreamy, but whatever.)

I’m excited to be catching up with my pals, the dynamic duo of travel writing and photography-- Lara Dunston and Terrence Carter, of Grantourismo. I originally met Lara and Terence in Portugal and had a very memorable birthday celebration with many glasses of vintage Port and a homemade birthday cake.

The Birthday Girl and Lara Dunston

Also on the 50 Great Cava’s trip will be photographer Andrew Barrow @wine_scribbler, with whom I also spent a very memorable birthday, snowbound in a hotel in southern Italy. Although I believe it was more memorable for me as Andrew claims not to recall much of that night.

Andrew pictured at top left

Follow the trip as it happens October 6-10th as we go Cuckoo for Cava.
Twitter: @50greatcavas 
Hashtags: #50gc #cava #Penedes
Facebook: 50 Great Cavas