Jordi Vidal
Originally from Vilanova i la Geltrú, Jordi traces his personal and professional development back to his grandparents' farm and fields. Having a direct relationship with the natural environment gradually shaped his future interests, ultimately making him the professional he his today.
“My childhood memories take me back to my grandparents' farm. They grew vegetables and raised poultry and rabbits. I spent endless hours helping my grandmother and my father. As we played, my siblings and I learned to love the land and the plants, their smells and colors, and the animals... I think this is where my passion for farming began, even if I didn't know it then. My grandmother always told me:
'You have to do what makes you happy, whatever it takes.'
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The means didn’t matter, nor did the passage of time: the land called him, and in doing so took on surprising forms, with twists and turns seemingly lit up by a stroke of genius. “For years, I worked in banking and insurance. After I turned thirty, I realized that this wasn't my world, I had this emptiness inside. That's when my childhood memories resurfaced, and the words of my grandmother.”
“I had to change my life and pursue what I really wanted. I had to move toward something I really cared about: working the land, enjoying it.”
Jordi's new path took him to the vineyards of Milmanda. Here he listened and learned. He developed professionally and, over time, the vineyard became his second home. “Milmanda and Grans Muralles. This is where I got the chance to realize my dream of doing something I love.”
For those wine lovers who are unfamiliar with these wines, they are the tangible result of Jordi's work, the exemplary expression of the region—depth and balance—in bottled form.
“In the Conca region, we work with two types of terroir. One has deep soils containing schist and granite with a low water holding capacity. The other has shallower clay soils. This, combined with an unusual climate that oscillates between continental and Mediterranean, makes it possible to produce wines like Grans Muralles and Milmanda.”
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Beyond the inherent pragmatism of his work, Jordi points out the enormous responsibility it involves. “Caring for these vineyards at the foot of the Prades mountains, whose history spans a thousand years, brings up a lot of emotions. Every day, you're steeped in their magic, their landscapes, the variety of their colors and smells, the people who work here... Being in touch with the land and everything around it, and seeing it evolve, is much more than a job, it's a dream shared by the whole team. You have to experience it to really understand.”
Jordi is someone who wakes up every morning and looks at the sky, who understands the influence of climate conditions and quality-oriented work, which is why he is very upfront about what he expects from a wine:
“I look for exciting wines that tell me about their vineyards and convey the effort and commitment that went into making them. Wines that fill you with emotion and stay with you forever.”
If we inhabit a karmic axiom of sorts, and one reaps what one sows, then Jordi will enjoy a future of tasting wonderfully expressive wines of proven quality—wines for those who seek a bit of soul and truth in every glass.