Cava Tasting

The highlight of the day was a tour and a tasting at Cava Vila Morgades, by the passionate young owner, Carles, and Ariana, his translator. (Never clicked that cava is just the Catalan for cave, where the bottled wine has to sit for many months before the second fermentation - a name they came up with when they could no longer call it champagne.)

Carles took us into the vineyard (so hot), and waxed eloquent about the old vines he inherited from his ancestors - how the roots will now be dying, so they will only send up the best nutrients, to make the few grapes they now produce the best quality possible (like some humans, I think). They are a very small family business, and do everything by hand, and using the old methods only. He showed us how he removes the sediment in the bottles - we then drank that one, to later compare with one that had been bottled and chilled.

His Mum had made a wonderful spread for us, everything produced locally: bread and cheese and jams, and fresh and dried fruit and nuts, and tapenade and houmous, all delicious.

Gratefuls:
- Carles’s and Ariana's friendliness and enthusiasm
- delicious cava, and more at dinner (made by Sam again)
- more fun in the pool, and that it's cooling off a bit now at gone 9pm