A vineyard and bodega right here in San Antonio, Ibiza has scooped a prestigious prize for one of its ecological products. A panel of experts in Barcelona recently blind tasted no less than 487 organic wines from all over the country and voted Can Rich's entry into the top 15 wines from all categories and the top three of sparking wines!
The Bodega's Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs 2011 was the prize winning brew awarded the prestigious 'Golden Leaf' for excellent quality ecological wines by the experts of Vinum Nature. It's a tremendous achievement for a comparatively small, and new, bodega when you consider that it was pitted against 119 other bodegas from 34 DO's and 6 vinos de la tierra.
The wine itself is classed as 'espumosa' (sparkling) and is made from 100% malvasia grapes grown organically with no chemical pesticides, fertiliser, fungicide or herbicides. Hand picked in August, the grapes benefit from an extremely short journey to the winery which prevents oxidation, and are lightly pressed before ripenening, first in the vats, and then in the bottle, as tradition dictates.
The result is a dry, refreshing fizz, best drunk with pork, fish, vegetarian dishes or for necking back with a packet of Papas Vicente crisps on a Saturday night before Strictly Come Dancing comes on. At €12.70 a bottle it costs a bit more than your average supermarket Cava, but for special occasions (as above) it has a great price/quality ratio.
So, well done to Can Rich for flying the ecological wine flag for Ibiza in the wonderfully fertile area in and around Buscastell. They originally started in 1997, so are comapartively new, and grow a variety of grapes to produce sparkling, red, white, rosé and dessert wines, as well as some fabulous olive oil and wine flavoured salt. You'll find that most supermarkets and good restaurants have Can Rich wines for sale, try some – you won't regret it.
Cheers!
