Gelida Winery: The Scottish lord who sells wines from around the world in the Sants neighborhood

BarcelonaEl Celler de Gelida turns 130, and it's celebrating this afternoon with a solemn ceremony at the headquarters of the Sants-Montjuïc district (Creu Coberta, 104) in Barcelona, ​​​​which will be attended by the city's mayor, Jaume Collboni. Toni Falgueras happily tells me this as soon as I walk in, and I've asked him to show me the jewel in the crown of the Celler de Gelida in Barcelona (Vallespir, 65), a jewel that those of us who rush in to buy a bottle of wine may not know about. We start by taking the staircase that goes down to the basement, located in the middle of the shop's first room. There are wines from a hundred vintages; these are the wines that someone who wants to drink a wine from the year they were born requests, or they buy them as gifts, because perhaps there is no more unusual birthday gift than a wine that is as old as the person who made it.

These wines, then, are one of the house's little dolls, but they're not the only ones, because Toni is a lord of Scotland, owns two acres of land (they were given to him), and is a great whisky connoisseur. It's one of his passions, and to convey it, he has diffusers, like small cologne dispensers, with which he wants to convey the aromas of all the whiskeys he sells. The aroma gives you an insight into how the distilled spirit is made from grain.

We take a few more steps and enter a second room, divided by doors, where the wines that will take us to Chile, Argentina, Germany, and Australia are displayed. "Chile is a paradise because phylloxera has never arrived," he says. "In Germany, we can find Rieslings with eight and a half alcohol and four grams of sugar, and, look, I sell a bottle for 9.50 euros," he continues. In Argentina, there are wines made with the Malbec grape variety. In Australia, we find "the wonderful Syrah, and the whites in New Zealand."

While Toni explains the wines, he also explains the landscape. He enjoys traveling and visiting wineries, because he wants to convey this in the shop. If he is not there, his children, Ferran and Meritxell Falgueras, will be there. February, and if not, the written texts posted on string next to each country's section will do. So much so that at Celler de Gelida, you can spend quite a while reading the documented bibliography of everything for sale. The texts are as important as the bottles. In fact, even from the window display, you can see that the writing is essential: large labels, with names, and always with prices clearly visible.

A carquinyoli with foie gras and Sauternes

Now we walk a few meters further, and we're off to France. It's time to talk about food. "Have you ever had a carquinyoli with a piece of foie gras and a Sauternes in the glass? It's a delight. Look at the Sauternes bottle: it's small, designed to be tasted slowly. We also sell carquinyolis, I always like to have it."

Having visited France, we head to Lisbon, and we come across Portos. "If we all drank a few glasses of Port in the morning, we'd be in a better mood." Toni Falgueras says this sincerely, because he believes that wines and spirits should be drunk in moderation, and that some revive you, like Port wine.

And at this point, we linger. "Here we've become accustomed to being served large glasses of the drinks we order, and it shouldn't be that way. In Sweden, drinks are ordered by the centiliter, clearly marked on the glass, and therefore you ask for one or two centiliters. On the contrary, here we ask the waiter to be generous, to add strength.

On the great trip around the world that we are taking at Celler de Gelida, there is time to stop by Catalonia. I look at the ratafias: there are so many! Including the one given by a president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Quim Torra, and by a president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, which was the Corriols. There are also extra virgin olive oils, and there are totems like the oils that are made with the thousand-year-old olive trees of Tortosa.

At Celler de Gelida, of course, there is no shortage of sparkling wines or wines from the twelve denominations of Catalan origin. I stop at the references from Priorat: Porrera and Mas d'en Caçador, from Vall Llach; Cerros Galena; Delfín. Also muscatel from Vilafranca del Penedès, and wines made with the Malvasia grape variety from Sitges.

And now another jewel in the crown. Herbal liqueurs, which our country has always drunk after dinner as digestives or as enjoyments. "I have Chartreuse, which used to be made in Tarragona, but now it's made in France, and I don't know why, but we have a lot of demand; "It seems that in France there isn't any, but we do," says Falgueras. They even have liqueurs made with elderflower and pear, and anyone who wants can also buy the alcohol to make it at home: "Have you never tried making cherry or fennel liqueur?" I answer no, because at the moment I'm already immersed in the production of limoncello and ratafia.

We move on to the final curiosities: Catalan sakes, which we have very good ones. They are made in the Ebro Delta and in Tuixent (Alt Urgell). The ones from Tuixent are called Liquid Silk, a name borrowed from a book written by Antonio Campins in 2008, and which was titled precisely that. Sake, the liquid silkThe Tuixent winery started in 2015 and produces several varieties. "They even label in Japanese," says Falgueras. And now for the latest curiosity: the most hidden wines from Bodega de Gelida, those not for sale or on display, but stored in the warehouse opposite the shop, are the ones he displayed in the window in 1978 for the 1st Catalonia Wine Show. He made such a well-rounded window display that he even left it at the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government). When the wines were returned to him, he thought he shouldn't put them on sale, but rather keep them forever as souvenirs. Even today, forty-seven years later, Toni proudly shows them off. "Will they look good in the photo?" he asks. We assure him they will. The journey began at home and ends where it should: with our wines.