Albet i Noya

Albet i Noya - Five generations of farmers

in 1903, during the phylloxera crisis, the great-great-grandfather of the current generation at Albet i Noya, Joan Albet i Rovirosa, came to the Penedès to work the vineyards of the Can Vendrell de la Codina winery in Sant Pau d'Ordal. And here he stayed. For five generations, the Albet family, tenants of Can Vendrell, has farmed, loved and tended the vines that today are the protagonists of Albet i Noya wines.

But that was not enough, and in the late seventies an opportunity knocked on the door and they decided to take it. A Danish company was looking for an organic winemaker in the Penedes. No one in the family had ever heard of organic wines. But curiosity was stronger, and so they embarked on a new adventure.

The winery

Just outside Sant Pau d'Ordal, on the Can Vendrell de la Codina estate, is the modernist Albet i Noya winery, designed by Josep Maria Pericas in 1925. In recent years, Albet i Noya has expanded and modernized its facilities around the Xapallà cellar, built in 2004. This is where the red wines are aged and where the bottling plant is also located. Next door, the Era cellar is equipped with the most modern technology. Here, exclusively and separately, the top wines of the Albet i Noya range are produced. In addition, new vineyards have been acquired in the recent past, such as the Can Milà estate in Lavern or Can Simó in the Mediona area.

La Casa Gran

The main house, built in 1872, houses the reception, the store and the meeting point for all visitors to Albet i Noya. There is a majestic hall with capacity for up to 50 people and a garden with spectacular views for tastings, lunches and events of all kinds. Next door is the old tenant house dating back to 1400, which now houses the offices.

The wine staircase

For art lovers, this is a must-see. The Wine Staircase is a magnificent work by artist Joan Raven (Vilafranca, 1963) that represents all four floors of the staircase of the main house. It is a faithful representation, with some dreamlike touches, of the vegetative cycle of the vineyard and the entire winemaking process. From the land and the origin to the enjoyment and the final release.

In the vineyard

For art lovers, this is a must-see. The Vine Staircase is a magnificent work by artist Joan Raven (Vilafranca, 1963), which presides over all four floors of the staircase of the main house. It is a faithful representation, with some dreamlike touches, of the vegetative cycle of the vineyard and the entire winemaking process. From the land and the origin to the enjoyment and the final release.

Organic farming

The basis of organic farming is observing and listening in the vineyard. Albet i Noya works with a plant cover to oxygenate the soil in the most natural way possible. Green and organic fertilizers are used, using the remains of the vines and animal fertilizers suitable for organic farming. The use of insecticides with sexual confusion techniques is completely avoided. The balance of biodiversity in the countryside is guaranteed, for example, by reintroducing colonies of bats. Albet i Noya is always looking for the grape varieties that are best adapted to the environment. In addition, for several years the winery has been engaged in an elaborate R&D project in search of pest-resistant varieties that should make it possible in the near future to completely eliminate the use of copper and reduce the use of sulfur in the vineyard by 90%. All production (both its own vineyards and those of Albet i Noya's suppliers) is certified by the CCPAE and is strictly controlled by the vineyard team in charge.

The vineyards

Most of the Albet i Noya vineyards are located in the mountains of Ordal, on terraces, slopes or in small plots that can be worked individually depending on the orientation, hours of sunshine, humidity and altitude. Like all good vineyard soils, those of Can Vendrell are poor in organic matter, with different contents of clay and sand on a limestone bed, a permeable soil but with a good moisture retention capacity.

The winemakers of Albet i Noya love to experiment, to mix, to try new things. Over the years, more than 20 different grape varieties have been planted and introduced, working especially with local Penedès varieties, but also looking for the most adaptable international varieties.

Grape varieties at Albet i Noya

White:

• Xarel-lo
• Macabeu
• Parellada
• Moscatel
• Chardonnay
• Viognier
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Riesling
• Garnatxa Blanca
• four experimental varieties

 Red:

• Ull de llebre
• Garnatxa
• Cabernet Sauvignon
• Merlot
• Syrah
• Pinot Noir
• Caladoc
• Marselan
• Arinarinoa
• six experimental varieties

Organic farming and beyond

Since Albet i Noya started farming their vineyards organically, they have never stopped looking for ways to reduce interventions in the vineyard. In the late 1990s, they launched a project to recover grape varieties that had been abandoned since phylloxera: Varieties that had survived in the wild without treatment. This project produced Belat, the most delicate and exclusive wine of Albet i Noya, and Marina Rión, a grape variety that adds nuances to white wines.

The VRIAACC project goes a step further, looking for ways to create resistant versions of the native varieties of the land.