Ramon Tremosa: "The Champions League can be played from Pallars Jussà"

Ramon Tremosa i Balcells (Sant Boi de Llobregat, 1965) is an economist and university professor and has been, for more than a decade, one of the regular faces of Catalan politics: Member of the European Parliament (2009-2019), Member of Parliament, Minister of Business with Torra and councilor in Barcelona with Trias. Panelist on Betevé and 3Cat, independent director of Aena and son of a mother from Pla d'Urgell and a father from Ribagorça, he has made high-altitude wines from Pallars a personal mission.

What is your first memory of the world of wine?

— I don't have any childhood memories, properly speaking. My mother is from Mollerussa, a irrigated area with fruit trees, alfalfa, and corn. My father was from Alta Ribagorça, where there had been wine until the 70s. When my mother went to my father's village for the first time, in 1962, she saw her father-in-law – my grandfather – crushing grapes at home. I remember, above all, an expression that is used a lot up there: "fear guards the vineyard." It was only when I was older that I met the hero of Pallars Jussà.

Who?

— The hero of Pallars Jussà, Enric Vila Corona. When the wineries disappeared in the Pyrenees, where the highest altitude wine was made, he was, for ten or twenty years, the one who kept the flame of wine alive in Pallars. In fact, Raül Bobet, from Castell d'Encús – the crown jewel of high-altitude wine in Catalonia – went to see him. My favorite grapes are these, those from high altitudes, from 1,000-1,200 meters. For me, high-altitude wines have more power in every sense: of taste, of location, of history.

And how did you come to know them?

— Because I am from Ribagorça. We used to go to the market in Pont de Suert and Tremp. For many years, I went to give talks and lectures, and I made friends; one of them, Enric Vila Corona. A group of restless people…

Restless?

— I was a Member of the European Parliament from 2009 to 2019. For many years – from 2006 to 2010 – Red Eléctrica tried to build a very high-voltage line crossing the region. All the mayors united, the living forces... And we stopped it. I went to Tremp a lot, I met people, I went there for dinner...

Until today?

— Once a year, I buy wine from Enric Vila Corona. And the same with Raül Bobet – a very special, insightful, multifaceted, multidisciplinary character – who already plays in another league: he makes high-category wines designed for the global market. It's a joy to see that one can play in the Champions League from Pallars Jussà. I have a personal relationship with them: they tell me things, I listen to how they talk about wine, I learn.

What a luxury.

— I value it especially. Many people already promote wines from Priorat and Penedès, proudly, and it's great that they do so. I, on the other hand, make a point and actively advocate for the wines from my father's land.

Also when he goes out to dinner?

— In restaurants, I order wines from Pallars: it's the acid test. A sommelier with airs arrives. I tell him: "Let's see, what wines do you have from Pallars?" And he says: "From what?" "Bring me a sparkling water". But I must say that the wines from Castell d'Encús are very well known.

Bobet has understood that the wine experience is also an aesthetic experience.

— And that the storytelling of wine is very important. It has a unique asset: wonderful views, a unique location, a unique height and the famous caves dug into the rock where medieval monks used to put the grapes. Who can match that? All the limestone rock in Pallars and Ribagorça comes from volcanic eruptions 60 million years ago: beach sand coagulated by volcanoes, a unique rock.

Speaking of assets, on their networks there are videos of vineyards under photovoltaic panels.

— I made several trips to the Parliament of Catalonia, copying the model of the European Parliament. In Brussels there are four weeks a year –one each quarter– free of debates, commissions, and plenary sessions, dedicated to getting to know the territory and allowing deputies to get to know each other: in day-to-day life, in Parliament, you have five minutes to have a coffee; on the other hand, during the visit we made to Boí-Taüll with fifteen deputies, we had two days of lunches, dinners, hours on the bus... The last excursion of the legislature was to Northern Catalonia, to see the offshore wind project and visit an agrovoltaic experience that has been running for years.

"Works", in what sense?

— In addition to the yield the winegrower obtains from the energy produced by the panels, the vineyards below have a greater and better production. The panels – which can now also be moved up and down – give the vineyards more protection from the sun when it's hot and more protection from the cold when there are frosts. The temperature difference is three to five degrees. It's the future. In fact, with climate change, it's no longer the future, but the present. One of the last visits I made as a deputy was to the Torres wineries, which have been investing in sustainability for 25 years. We did a tasting and, in the end, they brought a very powerful, very good wine, a punch… Let's see if you can guess where it's from.

Surprise me.

— This wine – called Purgatory– is from Les Garrigues. And you will tell me: "Les Garrigues? But they only make oil there!" Los Torres told me that after decades traveling the world in search of the best places to make wine, they had it 40 km from home.

And "Purgatory", why?

— Apparently, they used to send the rebellious monks from Montserrat to Les Garrigues, to a farm they had there with a few vineyards. I always say that the California of Catalonia is beyond La Panadella. The great potential of Catalonia lies in the Lands of Lleida, 50% of Catalonia's surface area, with unique potential. And they are largely unknown to 80% of people from Girona and Barcelona, who have been to Japan and not to Ribagorça. When I see someone from Girona or Barcelona, I ask them: "When was the last time you passed through La Panadella?", and they say: "La Pana-"}what?" And I think: "You've told me everything. You're an AP-7 Catalan; your world goes from PortAventura to Cadaqués".

Why do we pay what we pay for a bottle of wine?

— The basis of capitalism is product differentiation. When I was little, there was a sensational advertisement on TV: two covered glasses, black, one with Pepsi-Cola and the other with another brand. The person did a blind taste test, they asked them which one they liked best, and when they discovered the glass, it turned out to be: Pepsi. Nowadays, in a restaurant, they can bring you a menu of waters. If you manage to make people believe that your brand of water has special properties and minerality, they will pay €3 for the bottle, not €2.

And in the case of wine?

— The label, the brand, the packaging, the design… Everything is part of an experience that ends in the mouth, but begins much earlier. Cultural, emotional, historical, landscape, and aesthetic factors, when well-crafted, are what allow you to more cheerfully pay €50 for a bottle, and drink it with the awareness that you will savor something special.

And with food?

— For example. Ametller Origen's star product is the tomato. 15% of the tomatoes consumed in Catalonia are theirs. Josep Ametller is investing millions of euros in Mont-roig del Camp to make the best tomatoes –pomodoro, golden apples– in the world. It is this: ambition, tenacity, the will to make the best product. And wine is also this.

Having an idea and becoming obsessed with it?

— To have an idea, and develop it, and perfect it.