WINES FOR A CALÇOTADA

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Food Pairing Ideas

February and March welcome the season known for one of Catalunya’s most deeply rooted gastronomic traditions. It is a cultural heritage that transcends the culinary, transforming this experience into an occasion that brings family and friends together. It is a custom that hearkens back to something ancient: fire and food, community and life.

The crackling charcoal fire envelops the calçots, a quintessentially Catalan type of green onion, and the grilled meat that is usually served with them. When it comes to wine pairings, however, this culinary combination poses a few challenges.

calçots
Charcoal-grilled calçots with romesco sauce and a glass of red wine

  • It is important to remember that calçots are rich in sulphur, which makes a standardized or tried-and-true pairing difficult. This type of food, along with green asparagus and artichokes, is challenging enough on its own, but if we throw romesco sauce into the mix, the “marriage” becomes even more complicated.

  • We usually associate a calçotada with red wine, but we should keep in mind that this idea mostly derives from the various grilled red meats and butifarra sausages than the actual calçots. So, mission impossible? No, definitely not. 
     

comida a base de carnes a la brsa
A plate of charcoal-grilled meat paired with a glass of red wine 

In terms of red wines, we should avoid young reds that are highly acidic and/or tannic. Our best bet is to go for a wine with medium body that has undergone partial ageing. As for compatible varieties, we’ll find allies in Garnachas, Tempranillos or Merlots. 

Our recommendations:

  • Clos Ancestral Tinto. The varietal blend (the ancestral variety Moneu, Garnacha, and Tempranillo) make this Penedès wine a winning choice. The intense aromas, enveloped in ripe fruit (raspberry jam) with toasty and spicy undertones, as well as elegant, fine tannins make Clos Ancestral a wholly harmonious and organic match for calçots. A natural pairing.  

  • Celeste Crianza brings us the best of Ribera del Duero’s Tinto Fino, resulting in a boundless pairing that gets along just as well with the calçots as it does with the various meats.  
     

If we do decide to include white wines as part of our feast, we should make sure they are lithe in structure, lightly bodied with little oak ageing. The varieties that are most interesting in this case are Garnacha Blanca, Xarel·lo, and certain Chardonnays – the eternal all-rounder. 

copa de vino al aire libre
Enjoying a glass of wine in the garden of the Mas Rabell Restaurant (a Familia Torres property) 

Our recommendations:

  • Clos Ancestral Blanco. The varietal duo (the recovered ancestral Forcada and Xarel·lo) epitomise what a Penedès white wine should be. Identity 100%.

  • The exquisite nose offers fresh floral and herbaceous notes with fruit (citrus, pineapple) undertones.  Lively, cheerful, clean, and flavourful on the palate. A pairing that speaks to us, entering into dialogue with its place of provenance. Another organic, harmonious match. 
     

For the most experienced and adventurous palates, we can also opt for full-bodied, concentrated rosé wines, with Garnachas and Trepats being the best varietal candidates. The same is true of cava: a reserva sparkling wine with fine bubbles and flavours imparted by bottle ageing can be delightfully refreshing, cleaning the palate between each bite.

  • This wraps up our suggestions and recommendations, but it is important to remember that our subjective experience is just as valid. In that spirit, we encourage you to experiment freely, without reservations. After all, this experience is all about fun and pleasure in the name of connecting with our loved ones, our friends and family. Our people. And here we don’t need to experiment – these connections are tried and true.