I am interviewing oenologist Anna Espelt at her Mas Marès vineyards in the Cap de Creus Natural Park, an estate that has one hundred and seventy-two hectares, twenty-five of which are vineyards. The sun has risen bright in the blue sky, and were it not for the constant tramontane wind blowing there, it would seem like a summer day. We start talking near a menhir located among the vines, which for Anna is a symbol of the human life that existed there in ancient times. She says that one day she would like to live in the farmhouse nearby. Meanwhile, she balances her life between managing the family winery, Vinyes Espelt, in Vilajuïga, and her own winery, Mas Marès, where she produces a volume of ten thousand bottles, depending on the vintage, distributed among three names: Pla de Tudela, Cala Rostella, and l’Escumós d’Anna Espelt (a blanc de noirs). The Empordà DO and the Festival Terrer organized some tastings in July in which Anna, also a biologist by training, captivated everyone who listened to her. Because of her wines, the passion with which she conveys them, and her way of loving the vineyard, some call her “the queen of the Empordà”.

We are facing one of the great families that produce wines, cured meats, cheeses, honey, and eggs from Empordà: Serraplà, with butcher shops in Figueres, Cadaqués, Besalú, and Palau-saverdera. Serraplà is the union of the Serra and Pla couple, who had three sons: Josep, Lluís, and Jordi. Each one is dedicated to a different branch of the family business. Josep, to the production of wines and cheeses; Lluís, to label design; and Jordi, to sales, behind the counter of the shops. It is precisely Jordi whom we are interviewing, on a Monday in August at the butcher shop in Cadaqués, located in the old town, which previously belonged to the Vehí family of the town.

Construction of the new Martín Faixó winery (DO Empordà) on the Sa Perafita hill in Cap Creus will begin next year, in 2026, after a twenty-year struggle to obtain permits. This is how Rafa Martín explains it: son of the beloved Anna Mota, theAnita from Cadaqués, who died last June, and father of winemaker Ester and Rafel Martín Faixó. At the top of the Sa Perafita hill, located a few kilometers before reaching the town of Cadaqués, the family has a farmhouse, converted into a hotel and also a winery. There, in the offices, Rafa and his daughter Ester show the approved plans, which they will finally be able to translate from paper to land. "The road we've traveled hasn't been easy, but we can finally start building it here, right in front of us, where we are right now," says Rafa Martín one bright sunny morning.

The DO Empordà has just turned fifty, and for the first time, local grape varieties are gaining ground over foreign varieties. There are even more developments in these five decades, such as the fact that Empordà restaurants preferentially offer wines from the Designation of Origin (DO) on their menus. And this is true despite the intensely competitive market. "It's impossible to compete with the offerings from Spanish Designations of Origin (DOs), which give you another for free when you buy one pallet," says the president of the DO Empordà, Carme Casacuberta, who notes that this practice is known in the industry as the 1+1 offer. "Our artisanal production has a tough time with these offers, but I maintain that in the last ten years, restaurants have fully invested in our wines," she adds.