RSS FeedA courageous friend, Helen Westwater, is about to fulfil a longstanding sueño and open deli-cafe-bar La Ola Fresca in happening (or studenty, as I prefer to describe it) Benimaclet.
We have been discussing beer possibilities, and she is going for Montseny, a craft beer (hooray), rather than eurofizz. Next on the list was a Cava, so I found myself in a car with three women talking strangely about men and some condition called “bloat” heading for Dominio de la Vega, to do the bodega tour and see if their Cavas fitted the bill in terms of taste and pricepoints. Winery tours are not everyone’s cup of tea, but the girls seemed interested, and we saw the last load of the bodega’s crop of Bobal grapes being tipped into the “estrujador” for crushing, in an elegiac show and tell.
From their top of the range Artemayor to their everyday Cavas, the bodega’s sparkling wines have elegance and personality, so we left it to Helen to search for one that best matched her concept of her food. More conversations are to follow with the bodega’s rep on that score, but it was with the sense of a morning well spent and a reassuring quantity of bubbly that we went on our way.
In an attempt to create a full and varied day for Helen & co., we had added a second, very different, winery, Bodegas Cueva. I have been meaning to visit for ages, as it’s a project I admire. A wine enthusiast, Mariano Taberner, and some friends, decided to do up an old bodega and make wine with the imagination, knowledge and equipment they could lay their hands on and develop. All of this with a commitment to organic and natural processes. Mariano even plays music to his wines in the cellar. Apart from the Cueva reds in the market, the winery is always experimenting. So we kicked off our meal with a cloudy vino turbio with a hint of spritz, that was just like drinking cider. If you don’t believe me, read Riki Wigley’s blog
But as much as visiting the winery, it was the food and company offered by Adela, Lourdes and co that made the day. Huge tureens of Gazpacho Manchego (nothing to do with cold Andalusian gazpacho), lentils, delicate bits and pieces, with the cooks joining us when they could snatch a moment. One felt part of the project. Together with our group there was another accompanying the bodega’s friend and associate José Tomás Acosta (sommelier, winemaker, wine merchant and much else), so we were able to make new friends as the wine flowed around the big table out on the terrace.
It may be spring before we can do that again. A great rainstorm followed by hail accompanied our drive home, and it’s rained pretty much every day since, but the memory of the outing will keep us warm in the cold months ahead, and give us something to talk about over the beer and wine at La Ola Fresca.
i’ve just been giggling to myself at your very amusing article as i was one of those females talking of bloat in the car with you! it was nice to relive it all again it was a real highlight of my stay with helen but then again i had spent most of the holiday looking at kitchens, dishwashers & other cafe purchases. i was looking for helens cafe blog and found yours instead.hope you and olga are well and spending lots of time at la ola fresca sampling the wines and beers. the other helen
Hola Helen. We have been to La Ola Fresca a fair bit – food plentiful but no bloat effect, you’ll be glad to know. We even had visiting Russian friend Tania sing Argentine tango there last Sunday. Come again soon and see for yourself. Saludos, John