Behind the Wine (II): The Winemaker

It may seem that during the month of May (when we filmed this interview) that the activity of a winemaker is somewhat relaxed, awaiting the big moment to come where the action begins: harvest time. But it’s not so. Joaquim is always, always, after something. When we met up, we found him in the vineyard, squatting before a specific vine that to our eyes was no different from the hundreds surrounding it. But Joaquim - (“Quim” to his friends) - seemed to have detected something invisible to the eyes of the uninitiated.

- "My work starts here. I have to keep a close eye on the vine’s growth cycle... Welcome to my winery!" - (He exclaims with a laugh) -

Despite his youth, Quim is a veteran. All his life he’s been dedicated to this thing called wine and we say this in a strictly literal sense. If he looks back, like many natives of the Penedès do, there would be no more than vineyards and barrels, field tillage tools and faces tanned by the sun and the terroir, because Quim is one of those who measures the passage of time in harvests and vintages, that just like years, can be good and bad.

He conceives winemaking "as a grand kitchen”, where raw materials, work, creativity and passion are the principles on which his day to day revolves. Sure enough, Quim creates wine cuisine.

A Winemaker born and bred, he understands and has come to terms with the role of the land and has granted it the leading part in obtaining good wine. Quim readily acknowledges that his relationship with winegrowers has taught him the essentials: knowledge linked to the primeval, that which unites man with nature. And after all, man is man since wine has been wine, or vice versa. We don’t recall who said that wine is the ultimate symbol of human civilization as a species ... but be that as it may, please allow us to endorse this maxim in their name.

But Quim is also a well-trained man of science who knows how to make the best of the techniques offered by modern winemaking. So here we have a man of contrasts who navigates between tradition and innovation, the 21st century winemaker’s paradigm.

We are glad (and it comforts us to know) that Joaquim Massana is one of our faces behind the wine, and it therefore gives us great pleasure to introduce: Friends this is Quim. Quim, here are some friends.