LavinaventuraEmiliano Gómez Ventura
Emiliano Gómez Ventura combines communication and advertising, his profession, with Lavinaventura Vins. Since 2020 he has run the project between Torrelles de Foix and Sant Martí Sarroca, looking after leased old vines already in production of Chenin Blanc, Muscat of Alexandria, Parellada, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Emi vinifies with native yeasts, without additives or added sulphites, and is a member of the Gremi de Vinyataires Lliures: producers who claim the right to state the place name, variety and vintage on the label.
Between Torrelles de Foix and Sant Martí Sarroca, in the Penedès, Emi tends several plots surrounded by Mediterranean woodland, located between 100 and 500 metres altitude on clay-limestone soils.
- Organic and biodynamic viticulture, cover crops introduced progressively
- Vines between 18 and 50 years old, minimal use of sulphur and copper
- Varieties: Chenin Blanc, Moscatel de Alejandría, Parellada, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon
- Fermentation with native yeasts, without additives or added sulphites
- Member of the Gremi de Vinyataires Lliures
- La Merlo — Red Wine, 100% Merlot
The Alt Penedès is the great wine-growing region of Catalonia, but Torrelles de Foix and Sant Martí Sarroca represent a less visible, more mountainous corner. Emi doesn't come from a farming family, but he has made respect for the vine and its surroundings the centre of the project: observing the cycle of each plot and accompanying it consistently, without hurry or disguise.
The collection at Terroir Radical
Ja Era Orange
Parellada harvested by hand, destemmed and macerated for seven months with the skins in a stainless-steel tank. Bled off and aged in used acacia barrel. Unfiltered, unfined, no added sulphites.
Amber-gold colour. Nose of ripe apricot, citrus peel, dried fruit and spices. Broad, tannic palate for a Chardonnay —thanks to the skin maceration—, lively acidity, long finish. An orange wine that shows Chardonnay from an unprecedented perspective, very different from the Burgundian canon.
Hand-harvested Merlot. 40% of the grapes undergo a 22-day carbonic maceration and are then added to the rest of the wine, made with destemmed, pressed grapes. Unfiltered, unfined, no added sulphites.
Bright garnet-red colour. Nose of black cherries, plums and a light herbal and mineral note. Medium-bodied palate, fine, velvety tannins, good acidity. A fresh, make-up-free natural Merlot from Torrelles de Foix, very far from conventional Merlots.
The Chardonnay, hand-harvested and destemmed, macerates for five days on its skins. A week later the Cabernet Sauvignon is harvested and pressed directly. During co-fermentation, Cabernet Sauvignon from the previous vintage, aged in amphora and demijohns, is added. Unfiltered, unfined, no added sulphites.
Pinkish red colour (mixed vinification of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay). Nose of red fruit, flowers and citrus. Fresh, light palate with the unusual complexity of a hybrid between white and red. A provocative wine that defies all conventional categories.
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Hand harvest and staggered vinification: the Chenin Blanc is destemmed and macerated for two days on its skins; the Muscat of Alexandria macerates for three days with the must bled off (saignée); the Parellada is destemmed and macerated for a further five days. The three musts co-ferment together in stainless steel. Unfiltered, unfined, no added sulphites.
Bright pale yellow colour. Elegant, aromatic nose —jasmine, roses, white fruit and Muscat of Alexandria— with floral notes from the Chenin Blanc and Parellada. Fresh, agile palate, lively acidity and good persistence. Emi Gomez Ventura makes wine in Torrelles de Foix with organic and biodynamic methods, restoring the biodiversity of the Penedès plots.
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Editorial note
Lavinaventura fits the spirit of TR through its uncompromising commitment: biodynamic farming, native yeasts and zero added sulphites, outside any Designation of Origin. They work in Torrelles de Foix, in the heart of the Alt Penedès, on clay-limestone soils between 300 and 500 metres. A natural biodynamic wine from Catalonia that broadens the Mediterranean outlook of the catalogue beyond the Valencian Country.
— Terroir Radical