Parés Baltà

Parés Baltà is a family owned winery in the Penedès region of Spain with a history dating back to 1790.

In 1978, Mr Joan Cusiné Hill took over the winery. Born in 1917 in Bellvei del Penedès, Mr Joan Cusiné Hill came from a family of vine growers and, already from the age of seven, he helped his father to cultivate the vineyards and he never stopped working. At the age of 80 he even helped his grandsons to care for a part of the vineyard.

His son Joan Cusiné Cusiné started to manage Pares Baltà in the eighties and released its first still white wine, “Blanc de Pacs” which is still produced today. At the end of the eighties the first red wine from the company was produced, and since then we have enthusiastically been attempting everything to raise the quality of our wines.

Since 2000 the management has been in the hands of the two grandsons, Joan and Josep Cusiné Carol. They have brought new and fresh ideas into the company but they have also shown respect for its tradition and guarded the heritage. The wives of Joan and Josep, Maria Elena Jimenez and Marta Casas are the winemakers and oenologists. They have continued to develop new wines and increased the focus on quality.

Nowadays, Parés Baltà produces a wide range of high quality wines and cavas that have been both nationally and internationally acclaimed. Always keeping quality in mind, our aim is to produce some of the best and most interesting wines in the world.

The property consist of five unique vineyards, each situated in proximity to the winery and in the mountains of Penedés. These microclimates are defined by geography, i.e. the altitude, the rainfall, the nearness to the Mediterranean Sea or the river Foix or the sun exposure. As the climates and soils favor our grape varietals in many different ways, it is a delicate task to find the right environment for the vines to develop their special characters and personalities.

Our estates are situated on altitudes ranging from 170 to almost 800 meters and only 10 kilometers from the sea. On the highest vineyards the thermal oscillation makes the grapes ripen slower and usually they are ready to be harvested 4-6 weeks later than grapes on lower vineyards.

Some of our vines grow on terraces along the river Foix – which has its spring in our valley – and that gives some pretty unique growing conditions to our vineyards.

Significant diversity of calcareous soils, clay, and areas with important quantities of marine fossils. This type of soil is characterized as being very permeable, and retains little water which stresses the vines and produces smaller yields of high flavor concentration in the grapes.

The type of soil where the vines are cultivated has a vital influence on the wines. The best soils are normally poor of organic materials. In our vineyards we also have a significant diversity of calcareous soils, clay, and areas with important quantities of marine fossils. We have different kind of textures in our soils, like very rocky elements of sharp and edgy stones, but also round and small stones which have been polished by the water for millions of years.

The area with marine fossils is closer to the Mediterranean Sea, and millions of years ago it was at the bottom of it. That type of soil is characterized for being very permeable and for retaining little water. The resulting suffering makes the grapes highly tasty and concentrated.

Varieties Cultivated: Xarel.lo, Macabeu, Parellada, Ull de llebre, Grenache, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir, Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay, Merlot.

Organic/Sustainable/Other Certifications: CCPAE – Catalan Organic vineyards and cellar certification from 2004, European vineyards and cellar organic certification from 2004 & NOP/USDA vineyards and cellar certification from 2010 vintage.

Annual Production: 60,000 – 65,000 cases

The farming practices have been ecological since 1790. In 2004 all of the vineyards were certified as organic. Sheep are used to fertilize the soils and beehives to encourage pollination. The close proximity of the Mediterranean Sea imparts a positive  influence on the quality of the grapes. The skills of the entire family are reflected in the quality of the wines that are produced at Parés Baltà; showing fine character and concentration along with elegance and balance.

Organic

At Parés Baltà we cultivate the vineyards in an ecological way without any use of herbicides, pesticides or any chemical fertilizer. In order to fertilize our soils, we have our own flock of sheep that takes cares of the vineyards after the harvest.

We also have bees that pollinate the vines during the flowering season.
In ecological farming it is crucial to treat the plants at the right moment. For instance, we are doing a green pruning to increase the air circulation and the sun exposure with varieties that are more susceptible to disease.

Besides, we do a green harvest by thinning out the grapes before they ripen. The main goal is to increase the concentration and character of the grapes left on the vine. The resulting amount of grapes depends on the climatology of the year, but for example in the case of the Grenache used for our Hisenda Miret wine, we take away more than 50% of the grapes.

Some of our vineyards lie on the mountains of Penedés where we are cultivating vines on terraces prepared centuries ago. Those terraces were nearly abandoned due to their high cost of maintenance but we started to use them again to cultivate not so common varieties in the Penedès. The estates are completely isolated and only surrounded by wild nature and woods. Wild animals like wild boars, foxes, rabbits and Bonelli’s eagles are frequently seen around the vineyards. Wild boars seem to be real gourmets since they only eat very ripen grapes.

No artificial irrigation is done. The only water that the vines receive comes directly from the rain or is taken by the roots from groundwater.

Biodynamic

Following our innovative spirit, in 2010 we began our theoretical studies on biodynamic agriculture which we later would apply to the vineyards.

In 2011 the first compounds were used in some experimental plots.One year later, the excellent results encouraged us to extend the experience to the entire vineyard.

Biodynamic farming seeks to provide maximum vitality, self-balance and harmony to the vineyard. We work with biodynamic preparations and homeopathic remedies that help convey the influences of the cosmos to the vineyard. All those treatments give our vineyards high fertility and a natural pest control.

It is an agriculture based on biodiversity and astronomy (not astrology).

We are always looking for the highest possible quality in our grapes. Healthy grapes and low yields are very important, but also the critic decision of when the grapes are to be harvested. We are doing precise and careful controls of ripeness. We analyze traditional parameters like alcoholic ripeness or the level of sugar and acidity, but we also control the ripeness of the skins, seeds and pulp.

Thanks to the different grapes that we are cultivating and the diversity ofsoils and climates, we are able to do different kind of vinifications and micro-vinifications:

• Macerations and fermentations directly in French or Hungarian oak barrels with pigeage
• Fermentations in oak barrels with battonage technique
• Fermentations exclusively in stainles-steel tanks.
• Second fermentations in bottle for our cavas.
• Fermentations in amphorae made with clay coming from our vineyards.

Everything is controlled rigorously in order to ensure and respect the character and personality that the different grapes bring us.