Facade of l'ermita

Last Saturday it was a warm day. For a change. I mean, it was not very warm, but an acceptable 55 F warm. So Mar and I decided to go for a walk somewhere new.

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Pruning an old Syrah vine.

I have always been sensitive to low temperatures and cold weather makes me very uncomfortable. Alright, I hate cold days. This is why I cannot believe that I have enjoyed spending the last two mornings pruning old grapevines at 2 degrees Centigrade (35 Fahrenheit). Ok, that is not so cold by itself, but there were 50 kilometer-per-hour winds blowing continuously from the North-West with frequent, stronger gusts which left you feeling naked.

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Cottage in Fontescaldes, where the calçotada took place.

Last Saturday I attended my first calçotada ever. Living with a Tarragonian for the past 8 years, I had heard about this intrinsically Catalan culinary event dozens of times. However, since they only take place in Catalonia in Winter, specially mid to late Winter, and we always travelled to Catalonia in late Spring, I had never actually ever attended one.

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View of the restored Castle of Falset from our terrace.

Up in the mountains of Tarragona, about fifty kilometers from the coast, in a valley of the Montsant range, there is a small, quiet, cobbled town named Falset. With 2600 inhabitants, not all of which reside there all year round, Falset is the biggest town in the county of Priorat, and it is also its capital. Falset may not be very large, but it is certainly old. Its castle, now a restored building with few remaining stones of the original structure, stood proud in the same central hill already in the 12th century.

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The City of Tarragona is the capital of the province by the same name. The province has 10 comarques or counties. Four of these counties, Baix Penedès, Conca de Barberà, Priorat, and Terra Alta are also Denominacions d’Origen for wine. This post is about the region of Priorat. (The county of Priorat also encompasses a second and younger DO: Montsant.)

View from Torroja del Priorat.

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Mar's family house

After a decade of hustle and bustle in New York City, Mar and I moved to Tarragona, Spain. This small Mediterranean city will be our home for the time being. The reasons that compelled us to move were multiple, but they can be summarized in a single cliche: midlife crisis. [Read more →]