Friday Emily and I attempted to go to a flamenco show at this little venue in Barcelona called 23 Robadors. Upon arrival, we learned flamenco is Saturday and hip-hip is Friday! So we stayed for the hip-hop show! It's a small little place with room for only 20-30 people. I do not know what the performers name was or what he was hip-hopping about, but it was a really good show!
Saturday, Emily and I took a train to Alella to go on a vineyard and wine-making tour at Alta Alella Vineyards, northeast of Barcelona. Since Roman times, as early as the 3rd century BC, Alella has had a long tradition of winemaking. In the late 19th century up until the mid 20th century, the wines of Alella became the preferred wines of Barcelona upper classes and were widely exported. However, in the late 19th century this period of splendor and expansion was interrupted by the spread of phylloxera (insects that feed on the roots and leaves of grapevines).
Alta Alella is the culmination of a family business project that started in the early 1990’s. Today, Alta Alella has evolved into a highly mature vineyard. The estate is just two km from the Mediterranean Sea and the vineyards are planted on slopes and terraces between 100 and 250 m above sea level. The vineyards are grown on Sauló soil, one of the most important elements that determine the wines from Alta Alella. Sauló is an acidic and sandy soil with a low limestone content, low organic matter and good natural water drainage.
The property has been certified organic from the very beginning where herbicides, pesticides or insecticides are not used. It was really to cool to see how their agricultural practices fall right within what we are trying to achieve with the IRES project!
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