Slow Vitis—2009

You tend not to think of wine as being particularly seasonal, though strictly speaking if you’re talking something young, fresh and fruity it’s as seasonal as anything else. The September-October vendimia celebrates the close of the grape harvest, but there’s also the release of the jóvenes (young wines), which kicks off about nine months after harvest in May.

To coincide with this, Slow Vitis—an offshoot of Slow Food—and now in its third year, launches for the first time in Barcelona this month, showcasing organic, autochthonous and biodynamic wines from around the country. Some 50 bodegas will take part, as well as a handful of other Mediterranean wineries offering the chance to get to know a bit more about what you’re drinking.

Events include tastings and workshops on the subject of organic and biodynamic wine making, endangered varietals and the pros and cons of cork and silicon, as well as round tables hosted by Spain’s top oenologists and professionals, among them Josep María Noya of Albet i Noya in the Penedès, who was responsible for Spain’s first organic wines; Bodegas Abadal from the Pla de Bages and the Asociación de Productores de Txacolíes de Álava.

Convent de Sant Agustí, Born. Tel. 93 112 0262, slowfood.bcn@gmail.com. €3. Reservations recommended.

May 10th
5-6pm: Pros and cons of cork workshop
6-7pm: Malvasía de Sitges tasting
7-8pm: Introduction to autoctonous grapes

May 11th
11am-1pm: Round table on pros and cons of biodynamic wines
5-6pm: Endangered Italian variety Garganega tasting
7-8pm: Wine and food pairing by sommelier Meritxell Falgueres
and Restaurante La Mosca