Is it possible for a huge winery, owned by a mega-corporation to act like a small, family kept operation? A small group of print journalists were invited to the Segura Viudas winery in Torrelavit in the beloved Alt Penedès district of Spain, ostensibly to see if we could make a better blend than the winemaker, Gabriel Suberviola. He beat me.
I had written about these wines back in 2010 in the Austin Chronicle (http://www.austinchronicle.com/food/2010-12-10/wine-of-the-week/) so I was already on record for being a fan of their wines. They didn’t have to worry about converting me. Still the opportunity to take the three main grapes – Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel•lo – and see how my personal final assemblage would taste was a too much to resist.
It was fun, and, as I said, I lost.
But it was all a pleasant subterfuge to get us to meet the people who work at the winery. Because that is how they maintain the feel of a family operation. What we found everywhere we went were people who shared the owning Ferrer family’s passion and attention to detail. We had two main guides. Gloria Collell, an ex-winemaker whose perfect English, depth of knowledge, sunny personality and encyclopedic knowledge of tiny, unknown-but-to-locals restaurants made the week in Penedes and Barcelona both educational and fun. Her compatriot Toni Domenech is the PR manager and not only does he know the business from the bottom up (he started picking grapes), he was a big fan of great rock’n’roll, and, after all, man does not live on wine alone. Although sometimes it feels like it.
So the procedure was to take us through the fields, let us meet the winemaker, see the production facilities, and then try to make the perfect blend of our own. After a good amount of work, Gabriel Suberviola tasted our blends and pronounced one person a winner. Unfortunately, we all made such small amounts that none of the rest of us got to taste it, so we had to take his word.
But here’s the most important thing I took away. The wines were amazing values at every level from their budget Freixenet and Segura Viudas wines (under $10 here) all the way up to the top quality Reserva Heredad ($27). Instead of a big, impersonal operation, we met folks at every level who were fervent keepers of the family tradition.
When I was writing a chapter on the best large wineries in the world, I didn’t want to forget any so I called several of my friends who are wine writers and asked them which they would nominate. Every single one mentioned the Ferrer family’s wineries. That’s quite a recommendation and one I endorse.
The Ferrer family’s principal wines are widely available in every type of facility from the best wine shops to corner liquor stores and groceries. Their Spanish portfolio include sparkling wines from Segura Viudas and Freixenet. A little harder to find, but well worth the effort, is their explosively flavored wine from the Priorat area called Morlanda Criança. Their California wine is called Gloria Ferrer, a brand that you probably know well. In addition, they make wine in France, Australia and Argentina.
This article appears in March 25 • 2011.
