VilaWeb - Diari escola: The Wine Harvest

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divendres, 26 d'abril de 2024

> Wines with protected designation of origin

> Wine tourism

> A stroll through the vineyard, with Josep Pla

dimarts, 14 de setembre de 2010

During the month of September, viticulture comes to the fore. It is wine harvest time, the time to collect grapes.

The fermentation of grape juice gives us wine, one of the most distinctive products of Mediterranean cuisine. Bread and olive oil also form part of this regional diet, which is highly acclaimed both for its flavours and its beneficial health properties. In fact, vineyards, olive groves and wheatfields have formed part of the Mediterranean landscape since time immemorial.

Each year around this time, many areas with a wine making tradition celebrate the so called 'festes de la verema', or wine harvest festivals, which include the traditional grape treading. Last weekend, the town of Alella in Maresme held its renowned Festa de la Verema d'Alella, and now it is the turn of Binissalem in Mallorca. Festivals will also be held in Banyuls de la Marenda (Rosselló), Sitges (Garraf) and Verdú (Urgell), among other places.

Moreover, from 23-26 September, Barcelona will host the thirtieth edition of the Catalan Wine and Cava Show.

Wines with protected designation of origin

+ The Catalan Countries produces quality wines.

The Catalan Countries is an area which produces quality wines, as certified by the many protected designations of origin. In Catalonia alone there are a dozen wines with designations of origin. One of these is the Priorat wine, which in the last few years has earned a huge degree of international prestige. It is cultivated on the terraces of nine municipalities in the region of the same name, in slate soils, known as 'llicorelles'.

Wine tourism

+ The Codorniu cellars.

Wine making traditions and a growing interest in viticulture have given rise to what is known as wine tourism. This type of tourism offers many different activities, among them wine and grape variety tasting, artistic routes, and visits to wineries and wine cellars. One of the wineries that attracts the greatest number of visitors is that of Can Codorniu in Sant Sadurní d'Anoia in the Alt Penedès region, designed by the architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch, who was one of the main exponents of Catalan modernism.

A stroll through the vineyard, with Josep Pla

+ Vineyard is part of the Mediterranean landscape.

We would like to propose an introduction to the wine harvest. It forms part of Josep Pla's book 'Les hores', in which the Catalan writer describes a visit to a vineyard together with the owners. Some years ago, Catalunya Ràdio recorded an audio version of this passage and others from the same book. You can listen to it on the internet, voiced by the actor Lluís Soler.

MATERIALS

Les festes de la verema
Format:Web
Aplec del portal Festes.org.
INCAVI
Format:Web
Institut Català de la Vinya i el Vi.
'Introducció a la verema'
Format:Web
Àudio d'aquest escrit de Josep Pla, corresponent al volum de l'obra completa, 'Les hores'.
Temps de verema
Format:Web
Vídeo de TV3 (1998).
Vadevi.cat
Format:Web
El diari dels vins catalans.

QUE HO SABIES?

That the wine harvest is brought forward or postponed depending, naturally, on the weather conditions; how hot it has been, the amount of rainfall, etc.
The Mediterranean diet is a candidate to become an item of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. Two months from now, we will know if it has been included on the list.