Just a week ago Disfrutar was named Best Restaurant in the World according to The World’s 50 Best. Besides the immense joy for this recognition of the gastronomy, passion and honesty, we are also proud to have shared with them work and projects. In order to celebrate this huge achievement for our collegues, we wanted to recover the documentary that Cristina Jolonch and Samuel Aranda came to shoot at our home with chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas.

About four years ago, in the middle of the pandemic, Cristina Jolonch and Samuel Aranda were filming the documentary series “Sin Reservas” and they asked us if they could come and record it in the vineyards of Mas Marès. On that occasion, they wanted to do a chapter with Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, the chefs of the Compartir i Disfrutar restaurants. The proposal did not surprise us. In fact, we had been working together for a few years, Disfrutar and Espelt, in the production of an exclusive wine for their customers. The wine was a project born from the passion we share for viticulture and gastronomy. Thus, the documentary was an amazing oportunity to show the world our shared passion.

An unmissable documentary

The documentary ‘Sin Reservas’ of La Vanguardia’s Comer supplement pays tribute to a spirit of improvement of gastronomy professionals in times of pandemic through relevant figures of Catalan cuisine. Chefs such as Ferran Adrià, Martina Puigvert, Nandu Jubany, the Roca brothers, Carles Gaig, Paco Roca and Artur Martínez participate in there. Now, we get back to this episode starring the chefs of the Disfrutar restaurant Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas and directed by the journalist Cristina Jolonch and the photographer Samuel Aranda, together with the Story & Co Films team. In a few minutes, the camera accompanies the chefs through a journey from Cadaqués to some of the most emblematic landscapes of Cap de Creus. Among all the landscapes, the vineyard could not be missing, in this case those of Mas Marès where we make the Anna Espelt wines.

In the video, the chefs express their close professional and personal relationship. In addition, they recall with complicity and humor their beginnings in the kitchen of El Bulli, located a few km from the vineyards of Mas Marès. The way of working that characterizes them is reflected in their interventions: honesty, constant dedication and passion for their job. Some adjectives that all the journalists have agreed to point out these days.

On Friday, July 8th at 7:30 p.m., Espelt Viticultors presents a new photography exhibition linked to the territory. This time it will be Croma Catalana, by Ernest Abentín, in praise of the garden, the fruits of the land, popular horticulture and gastronomic rituals.

The work that the artist presents this weekend plays with color and has a clear provocative intention. The artist offers a particular view of the garden and the products of the land. In addition, he reflects on historiography, identity, tradition and Catalan cuisine.

Ernest Abentín, Ernest Abentín, photographer born and resident in Barcelona, works on both sides of the border (Empordà and Catalunya Nord). His work focuses on culinary themes and he has worked as an assistant to Francesc Guillament, renowned gastronomic photographer of the creations of El Bulli, Bodega de Can Roca or the chef Paco Pérez. During his stay in Paris he had contact with the world of dance and hence his interest in the body, movement and dance.

On a more personal level, Abentín has dedicated himself to photography about the territory, the people and gastronomy from a daily and local point of view. The food, the typical and homemade product receive a very personal look that goes beyond the photography of gastronomic dishes.

The Croma Catalana exhibition is precisely this x-ray of localism, eating, rituals, local products, the simplicity of customs. A vision of the territory and the people from a chromatic point of view.

Demana el teu lot de Nadal Espelt a mida. Tenim una àmplia gamma de vins, escumosos i caixes i estoigs. Estarem encantats de fer-te arribar tot el nostre catàleg de possibilitats.

Estem encantats un any més de poder-vos oferir un trosset del nostre paisatge, de l’Empordà, a la vostra taula, en els vostres regals. Els lots de Nadal Espelt són una molt bona opció per a la teva empresa, grup d’amics, famílies a qui els agradi el vi fet aquí.

Tenim una àmplia varietat d’estoigs i capses, diferents colors i gammes, que podem combinar com més us agradin. També podem ajudar-vos a pensar un complement amb vals regal en vi o amb alguna de les nostres activitats d’enoturisme: passejades entre vinyes, un cap de setmana a Mas Espelt sota la llum de les estrelles.

Qualsevol cosa que necessiteu, feu-nos-ho saber. Estarem encantades d’oferir-vos aquests lots de Nadal Espelt i tot el que hi vulguis afegir! Escriviu-nos i us ho expliquem.

El guanyador de les Receptes de l’àvia IV és Enric Bassegoda que proposa un estofat de poltre i ComaBruna. Una recepta que marida a la perfecció amb aquest vi 100 % carinyena de vinyes velles i sàvies.

Comabruna: 100% carinyena de vinyes molt velles

Després de fil·loxeres i turistes vam perdre el nord i ja no sabíem què volia dir fer vi a l’Empordà. Necessitàvem retrobar les arrels. Buscàrem vinyes velles i vam estar de sort : en vam trobar una de molt vella i molt sàvia, que amagava carinyanes que amb prou feines aixecaven un pam de terra, una que s’entenia bé amb la Tramuntana, una que tenia unes arrels tan fondes que coneixia cada escletxa d’aquests esquistos tan pobres i delicats, una vinya que mirava a llevant i coneixia el que passava nord enllà on diuen que la gent és neta i noble, culta, rica, lliure, desvetllada i feliç. Asseguda a les feixes centenàries és fàcil veure el mar mentre les suredes de l’Albera ens abracen i Sant Quirze de Colera ens recorda tots els que han passat per aquí abans que nosaltres. El vi d’aquestes feixes és el Coma Bruna.

ComaBruna, 100% carinyena de les vinyes velles de Rabós, plantades fa més de cent anys. Unes vinyes que les han vistes de tots colors, però que malgrat tots els sotracs del temps han seguit endavant fins regalar-nos aquest vi que ens emociona cada cop que el tastem, com si fos la primera vegada. Elegant, estructurat i robust. Un vi intens i nerviós com la tramuntana que pentina aquestes vinyes de muntanya, on hi creix el romaní i el bruc.

Li van bé totes les receptes de caça de pèl, carn de bou i talls greixosos de porc ibèric, presa o secret. La recepta guanyadora és una mostra de les receptes de xup-xup que tan bé funcionen amb el ComaBruna: estofat de poltre, d’Enric Bassegoda. El vi el pots trobar a la nostra botiga, la recepta te l’hauràs de fer tu!

Estofat de poltre

Ingredients:

1 kg de carn de poltre tallada a daus
1 ceba gran
2 carrotes
un parell de cullerades soperes de tomata
mitja ampolla de vi negre
mig got de brou
un grapat de ceps
farina
oli, sal i pebre

Procediment:

1. El primer que cal fer és un bany de sal a la carn: poseu-la amb un litre d’aigua i 30 grams
   de sal durant una hora. Passat aquest temps, s’escorre l’aigua i s’eixuga la carn.
2. Tot seguit feu un sofregit amb els alls i la ceba i a continuació hi afegiu les carrotes, tallades a daus
   petits, i la tomata. Salpebreu al gust. Al final hi afegim els ceps. Si eren secs, guardeu
   l’aigua del remullat.
3. Marqueu els daus de carn que abans s’han enfarinat. Al final de la cocció i ja sense la
   carn, poseu una mica de vi al fons de la paella per recuperar el fons de la carn.
4. En una cassola que pugui anar al forn poseu la carn, el sofregit, l’aigua dels bolets, el
   brou i el vi. Que cobreixi la carn per sobre d’un dit. Si teniu pebre en gra, afegiu-n’hi
   quatre o cinc. Feu arrencar el bull tot junt i s’enforna tapat durant dues hores a 140-150
   graus.
5. Acabada la cocció, si es vol reduir la salsa, es pot coure al foc sense la carn entre deu i
   vint minuts, en principi no cal. Si ho feu quedarà més brillant si hi afegiu un parell de
   daus de mantega. Així s’aconsegueix que vingui més untuosa. Podeu rectificar de sal i
   pebre, si és necessari.
6. Per acompanyar va molt bé un arròs blanc, patates al vapor o en puré. També hi està
   molt bé les verdures al forn.
7. Acompanyar un bon plat d’estofat de poltre amb una copa de ComaBruna

In Catalan farmhouses there was always a round, country-style bread, which one could cut large slices from, and the bread could last up to a week. To make sure it didn’t go to waste and to make it taste better, they would give it a generous splash of red wine so that it would get soaked and once softened, it would be topped-off with some suger.

Sucar:1 1 v. tr. [LC] Fer que certa quantitat d’un suc o líquid qualsevol penetri (alguna cosa), s’hi adhereixi, especialment ficant-la-hi i traient-la’n. Sucar pa en vi. (DIEC)

It is well know that in Catalonia we love rubbing or dipping foods (known as “xucar” in Empordà.)  The most well-known of all is the popular art of rubbing tomato on bread (pa amb tomata), but we also dip melindros (a type of ladyfingers) or cookies or carquinyolis (similar to Italian biscotti) either in milk or Grenache wine, we dip neules (a long tubular pastry) into Cava, we poach peaches and pears in wine (rather than frying them) and dip xurros into chocolate.  We must not forget that we all enjoy dipping bread in the olive oil of tomato salads or in the juice of beef with mushrooms!  For Catalans dipping is the art of re-using leftovers, and we know quite a bit about being thrifty, don’t you think?  Dipping is part of our everyday lives.  Rarely does a day pass without dipping something.  But today we want to tell you about the oldest form of dipping that is now all but forgotten: BREAD WITH WINE AND SUGAR.

Do you know the origin of this succulent breakfast or midday snack that has unfortunately been lost these days? There are different theories, but the most common and logical that we have found is the following:

In Catalan farmhouses there was always a round, country-style bread, which one could cut large slices from, and the bread could last up to a week. To make sure it didn’t go to waste and to make it taste better, they would give it a generous splash of red wine so that it would get soaked and once softened, it would be topped-off with some suger. In some places quite a bit of sugar. Remember that in all these Catalan farmhouses there was always a porró type of wine pitcher around and there were children ready to eat sweets. Surely many who grew up in Catalonia remember eating this quite unorthodox treat when they were little, and those who are younger probably have heard about it at some point.

Popular sayings:

-If you want a healthy life, dip bread into wine.

-With bread and wine the road is made easier.

How do you make it?

Ingredients for four people:

• 1 slice of country bread per person
• Red wine of good quality
• Sugar

Preparation:

Put the slices of bread on a plate and then pour read wine over them with a porró until they are fully soaked. Sprinkle on a bit of sugar and enjoy.

Bread with wine and sugar is part of the corpus of Catalan Culinary traditions.

Our roots are in sweet Grenache. Before building our cellars, before making the first of our wines, our palates got to know and love sweet Grenache; the most native wine of all the wines from Empordà and also one that we have gradually grown with and have transformed in to other very different wines, using all its experience and variations that are at its base. It is the case however that the first sweet Grenache we remember from the past wasn’t a wine to have at the end of the meal with desserts, but a very different beast altogether…

When we were young, sweet Grenache was a wine to welcome guests that was generally served in cheap cups that one was offered upon the arriving to a home, together with another traditional Empordà treat, Galetes Barceloneta. Our grandfather had noticed that not all sweet Grenaches were equal and after considerable investigation, he arrived to the conclusion that the best were the ones kept/aged from one year to the next.

Perhaps without being aware of it, those viticulturists that made this wine in their homes had “re-engineered” the traditional Solera system in that they refilled the barrels annually with the sweet Grenache and left it to oxidize. The Airam was the first wine we made at our home and is still the one that we love the most. Today our Airam sees two years of oxidative aging in the barrel where it is refilled with our Garnatxa de l’Empordà. One wine leads to another, like the roots of a tree that climb up to form the branches to the sky.

Airam is very friendly to have with panellets (marzipan balls covered with pine nuts) and roasted chestnuts, dark chocolate or chocolate spreads, hazelnuts, and anything where we find a lingering, sweet finish. The Garnatxa de l’Empordà is better had during the spring, and it pairs well with the brunyols from Empordà (basically a Catalan donut hole.)

Given its flavor profile, we have created this cocktail that we’ve named, Tòria. It serves to compliment the dessert after a meal or when the classic discussion arises of, “don’t open the Cava, I want a cocktail” or “don’t make cocktails, we’re opening the Cava”. The Cava brings a touch of yeastiness that complements the other flavor characteristics of brunyols, lemon peel, and anise. To garnish the glass and chill the drink, we also put in a frozen grape–of Grenache naturally.

Tòria’s coctel

• 30 ml sweet Grenache from l’Empordà
• 10 ml sweet anise liquor
• 10 ml limoncello
• Cava Escuturit to fill up the glass
• One frozen grape

All of the ingredients need to be well-chilled. Put the grape at the bottom of a champagne flute. Add the sweet Grenache, sweet anise liquor, and limoncello. Finish filling the glass with the Escuturit Cava and give it one gentle stir with a bar spoon.

Brunyols are the sweetest tradition of Lent in the Empordà. We went to Ca la Rosor, in Vilajuïga, to find out the recipe.

History & technique of a recipe

When Carnival arrives, Rosor, the owner of the most popular shop in Vilajuïga that is also the gossip epicenter of the village, starts getting ready with ingredients and implements, and most importantly, lots of energy. The season of brunyols, a type of Catalan beignet, is starting.

Up until Easter, every weekend you can find brunyols at her general store and, during the Easter holiday you can find them every day. During these dates she puts the wheels in motion so that many homes can enjoy her wonderful brunyols.

During the lunch break, when the store is closed, the brunyol frenzy starts in the back. Rosor is in charge of making the dough but she has a team of other women, such as her sister Glòria, to complete the process as a well-oiled machine. One gives the brunyols shape, the other fries them, and yet another dips them in sugar.

There are many of us who wait impatiently for the arrival of the brunyol season, and thinking about all those who can’t wait until Lent to enjoy them, we have decided to share Rosor’s recipe that she’s been using for more than forty years, since she took over her grandmother’s brunyol-making business. It’s a recipe that she has been improving over time and is as follows:

Brunyols de Ca la Rosor recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 kg of flour
• 1 kg of lemons
• 1 tube of vanilla essence
• 120 g of aniseed
• 50 g of powdered anise
• 10 eggs
• ½ kg of sugar
• salt
• 100 g of baker’s yeast
• ¾ l of water
• 100 g of butter
• 50 g of pork lard (optional)
• 1 glass of anise

Steps:

1. To start, grate the peel off all the lemons and put it in a bowl with the powdered anise, sugar, vanilla, and salt.
2. Meanwhile, boil the aniseed in ¾ of a liter of water. When it has boiled for a little while, drain the seeds and add it to the water infused with butter and the ingredients that had initially been mixed in a bowl. Then add the glass of anise.
3. Beat the eggs and add them to the mix of ingredients, making sure the water is not too hot as the eggs would then curdle.
4. Then add the baker’s yeast after melting it in cold water.
5. Start adding flour to the mix little by little. We have to mix and knead the dough as we go until it obtains a compact aspect similar to that of bread. When happy with the dough, add a little bit of oil on the edges of the mixing bowl so that the dough doesn’t stick to it and then adopts a nice round shape.
6. Let the dough sit for a couple of hours.
7. When the dough has raised, it’s the moment to fry the brunyols, giving them a round shape and making sure that the center is thinner than the edges. Fry them in a pan filled with hot oil.
8. At the end, after letting them dry up from frying, roll them in sugar and let them sit for a little bit.

There’s only one thing left to do: enjoy these fantastic Empordà brunyols with a good sweet Grenache or Moscatell that you can find in our cellar!

As you can see, Rosor is very talented making the brunyols! If it’s your first time, don’t be discouraged as they won’t be as easy to make, you just need practice.