AND WINES FROM PENEDŠS
| The present day Jaume Serra S. A. was founded in 1943 by Jaume Serra Guell (a distinguished oenologist), it is located in the Garraf subdivision of the Denominacion de Origen PenedÈs, the largest wine growing area in Catalonia. It lives within the estate "El Padruell" in the town of Vilanova y la Geltru, some 50 kilometers south of Barcelona. |  |
| The original site of
El Padruell was a fortress steeped in history and built because of its proximity to the
Mediterranean Sea in 1647. It is the only winery in Spain from where one can enjoy a view
of the Mediterranean. Legend has it that there was an escape tunnel from the castle to the
center of town that was used during the wars with France. The blue ceramic-tiled turret
was used as a lighthouse prior to the days of electricity. There are still bullet scars on
the existing walls of the fortress from the Civil War. Wine making began on this property in 1847. In 1975 the winery was purchased by the highly regarded Rato family, who built a state-of-the art winery in 1984. His sons now run the day to day business. |
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. During the 1980's, experimentation was undertaken to determine which varietals would thrive in the area, and in 1983, old vines were removed and Tempranillo was planted. In 1984, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were added to the vineyards surrounding the winery site. There are some 125 hectares of Tempranillo, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon plantings that make up the vineyards at the winery, making all the Jaume Serra red wines estate-grown and produced. The white varietals of Parellada, Chardonnay, Macabeo, and Xarel-lo are grown in Jaume Serra's vineyards situated in the Alt PenedÈs subdivision, another region of the PenedÈs, and are used to produce still white wines and the area's famous sparkling wines - CAVAS. |
| A portion the grapes used to produce Jaume
Serra's cavas are purchased under contract from 15 growers on an annual basis. Strict
inspection and supervision is undertaken by the wine maker during the growing season in
order to insure quality standards. Jaume Serra uses limousine and American oak casks to age the red wines. Their cavas, made in the traditional methode champenois, are aged for a minimum of 18 to 24 months prior to releasing. |
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| Today, the winery is still
undergoing constant upgrading and enlargement, and the wines and cavas of Bodegas Jaume
Serra are amongst the regions most respected products. Grape Varietals:Red-Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot White-Macabeo, Parellada, Xarello, Chardonnay. Barrel aging: 10,000 American and French oak barrels in climate controlled conditions. Bottle aging: 10 million bottles of Cava in 15 meter deep caves. - 2 million bottles stilled wines in temperature controlled caves. Annual production: 2.5 million bottles Cava, 5 million bottles still wine. WINEMAKER'S NOTES Cristalino Brut N/V |
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