Penedès in the northeast of Spain is considered one of the country’s best wine-producing regions best-known for its Cava, fresh Grenache and highly-regarded, oak-aged reds. In the shadow of the Pyrenees, Penedés is distinctly Catalan, a very food and wine loving culture.  Stop by on Saturday and try some delicious wines from the region.  

2009 Jané Ventura, Reserva de la Música Brut  $15
32% Macabeo, 38% Xarel·lo, 30% Parellada 
Jané Ventura is a family winery in Lower Penedès with a tradition that dates back to 1914. Their distinct Cava has a delicate and aromatic herb and floral aroma and rich creamy palate reminiscent fennel, white flowers and citrusy orange peel jam.  It has silky small bubbles with a wide entry and a long, subtle flowery and toasty finish.

2011 Jané Ventura, Bianco Selecció $13
72% Old Xarel lo vines, 14% Macabeo, 8% Grenache Blanc, 6% Malvasia de Sitges 
The Bianco Selecció is made using a cold-temperature skin maceration to achieve higher aromatic expression and more structure on the palate. The must is then fermented at low temperature in inox vats and spends 3 months “sur lie”. The nose is elegant and complex, showing stone fruit (peaches) tropical fruit (bananas) and white fruit (yellow plumbs). The flavor is elegant and creamy with white flower reminiscences and a long and persistent finish.

2012 Pardas, Rupestris  $17 
81% Xarel lo, 6% Red Xarello, 13% Malvasia de Sitges.
Ramon Parera and Jordi Arnan, oenologist and agronomist respectively, farm more than 40 hectares of organic vineyards in the Alt Penedes.  Their Rupestris has at first sniff citrus fruit followed by Sant Joan pear and ripe melon, quince, soft hazelnut and a feeling of dawn in a Mediterranean landscape: aromas of lavender, weaver’s broom and dried cuttings.  Beyond the fruit, we find the minerality of the soil where the vines thrive in, quite a lot of flint. Pears, apricots and peaches overlay a marked acidic background and provide an excellent tension across the palate which carries over the depth of the fruit towards an electric fresh and slightly bitter aftertaste. One of them likes to wax poetic.

2011 Finca Viladellops, Garnatxa $13
Grenacha
Viladellops is a large organically farmed estate located in the town of the same name 45 km from Barcelona.  The Garnatxa is made from the freshest and fruitiest wines of the harvest.  It has a fresh and fruity aroma of Picota cherry. It is long in the mouth but at the same time it is tasty and rich in clear fruit flavors.

2008 Pardas Negra Franc  $21
60% Cabernet Franc, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 5% Sumoll — Organic.
Made with more continental varietals, the Negra Franc is serious and intense and very fragrant wine with a very present balsamic background, aromas reminiscent of black pepper, fresh plums and grilled peppers along with hints of candied oranges and pencil lead.  It seduces the palate by growing and becoming more ample giving way to plenty fleshy black fruit. Quite a persistence of tannins fills the entire mouth.  A fine long and elegant finish with just the right amount of acidity reverberates and defines the sensation.  They get quite excited describing their wines.