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April 28, 2023 21 mins
The Priorat is a surprising space for its orography. Currency the Mediterranean of the height of the Montsant. In these slate floors, the monks of La Cartoixa de Scala Dei demarcated the land that today is the modern and mighty Denomination of Qualified Origin of the Priorat.A region where its economic and social life revolves around its agricultural vocation and, very particularly, around the wine. A land, to which it was recognized, in 1974, by F.A. a quality and unique conditions so that some of the best wines in the world can be elaborated in it.The name of our winery includes in itself a story and a legacy that will bring us back to a millennial tradition. Proud of it, we praise this land, paying special attention to vineyards of different types and varieties, wisely distributed in different parts of the region, in order to create wines with their own personality.In the Priorat, each door, stone or wall accommodates silence, rest and vitality that makes everything meaningful. A place where passion and knowledge make it possible to open up this miracle: the creation of a great wine.Here our wines are born and raised, allying with time, in order to transmit the essence of a young and modern winery that points to tradition and that harvesting in harvest, perfects its art.We invite you to know and share our precious universe.
La Conreria d'Scala Dei is born from the will and enthusiasm of a group of people historically linked to the Priorat, with the desire to publicize the magnificent wines that are elaborated on this land in the world.Starting from the old property of the Casa senyorial dels Rialp, we have modernized its facilities to make our wines and share, the historical legacy of this land and its people in the magnificent Scala Dei area and El Priorat, with its visitors.With a careful selection of vineyards and grapes, of the 52 hectares leased and owned, and with our effort behind each of the 130.000 bottles that we produce annually, we make these wines come true with the peculiar footprint of the Priorat.




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(00:00):
Welcome to Wine Soundtrack International. Listento the passion with which produces narrate their
winery and their world. Insteady answersdiscover their stories, personalities and passions.
Hello, friends and listeners of WineSoundtrack. This is Andrew Ashurst and today

(00:21):
I am sitting with and Raquel Farrey. She is the person in charge of
wine tourism of the Conreria de ScalaDay. Hello Raquel, Hello Andrea.
Nice to video. It's a pleasureto have you here today. Thank you
very much. Could you could youexplain a little bit about the Conreria.
Yes, of course we are LaCorrea Scalade. We were born in nineteen

(00:42):
ninety seven and we are located inScarare, which is like the main village
of Priorata. It's like the villagewhere all the history about wines started.
How many hectors do you have rightnow? We have fifty nine hectors of
land. And how many bottles ofwine do you produce per year? More
or less? We produced one hundredand forty thousand bottles every year. And

(01:04):
what type of wines um most redand white wine? And what markets are
you on? We are in thenational market in Spain, but also we
export to America, Sweden, Ireland, Switzerland, China and others. What

(01:25):
was your what was your first memory? Relevant or relevant memory in the world
of wine. I like this question. I would say going to harvest with
my parents and my granddad when Iwas young. It's like my first memory
and also the most important one.What was your What was the most memorable

(01:48):
wine you've ever drunk? Well,right now we were talking about my granddad,
so I would say the wine thatwe produced at home. It's not
the best wine I have ever tasted, but for sure it's the most important
one for me. Traveling traveling aroundthe world, Which is the best form

(02:10):
wine you've ever drunk? M Ihaven't traveled a lot. It's a pity.
I wish I can start soon.But I have tasted some wines from
around the world, and I wouldsay that the best wine it's produced in
priorad. So for me, winesfrom bread are the best kind of wines.

(02:30):
So it's not necessary to go abroadto find the perfect wine for you.
And the worst treat question, yeah, verdod Well, maybe when I
was sixteen or seventeen years old.Typical thing that you go to a supermarket,
you pick a wine that is likethree euros and you drink it.

(02:52):
The worst wine I have ever tastedthree three years is not bad. It's
when you get a one year orone three years, it's not the best
one either. Because because obviously you'rein charge of wine tourism here at the
country Escalade, amongst all the populations, all the people that come, who
do you think drinks the best interms of quality? I would say people

(03:15):
coming from Switzerland, Belgium or Swedenare the ones that really get to see
and to know the value of ourwines. Which is which is the most
expensive bottle of wine that you havein the cella. It's Custe Mario,
which is one hundred percent green andit's one hundred years. And which is

(03:36):
the wine that gives you most satisfaction? I would say lesburuget Us White,
which is one of the first winesthat we started producing. It's a white
wine, which is quite strange inBuryan a period it's known for its reds.
But we started in nineteen ninety sevenproducing this white wine and lots of
people still know us thanks to thiswine and the variety of the wine.

(03:59):
It's one percent white. Bernash doyou believe in the perfect variety? M
I don't believe on the perfection ofjust one variety. I believe on the
hard work that we put on workingon the land and the vineyards and then
also on the varieties. So Iwouldn't say I would say that there is

(04:23):
no perfect variety, but the workthat you put on it. I think
Geordie told me before Geordie is thewine maker. He said that you put
a lot of focus, a lotof emphasis on the vineyard. Yeah,
that's did for us. It's themost important thing what we get from the
vineyard. What's your opinion of winecritics and scores, Well, I think

(04:45):
they do quite an important work,an important job. They taste so many
wines and they still have the stillknow which one is the best one.
So for me, it's very importantthey do because they get to know every
wine, and they get to knowthe history behind every wine, and they
value not only the wine itself,but also the processes and the philosophy that

(05:09):
it's behind every bottle of wine.Okay, now talking about wine and preferences,
what do you prefer white red orrose red? No doubts from pre
red? Possibly, Yeah, totallyred wine from Preds the best wine for
me and still a sparkling I thinkit's a bit of a silly question,

(05:30):
but yeah, but if you wereto drink a sparkling wine, would you
stick with the most common, mostwell known in the world, champagne or
would you go and choose something different. I never drink a sparkling wine,
but I would go to champagne.Yes. Now, obviously we try to

(05:54):
blend, mix wine or pair withfood. Yeah, the typical typical topics
are blending whites with fish, redwith meat. Would you or have you
ever done it the opposite way around? Yeah? I always try to mix
it and to do it the otherway around. I think that you have

(06:15):
to enjoy wine and you have toenjoy food, and the important thing about
paring them it's to be able tochange things and to do whatever you think
it's the best thing to do.So I used to do it. I
used to mix it, and Ialso encourage people to do it. Just
experiment and try new things and beable to know what you prefer. Personal

(06:36):
question, Sorry about this, buthave you ever had a glass too many?
So many times? It's quite easyreally here and pretty that probably.
Yeah, we drink wine all along, so it's super easy. And what's
what's the best remedy for a hangover? I would say to drink a lot

(06:58):
of water and to go outside andhave some fresh are. Probably you're here,
you've got really good fresh air.Actually it's not like in the city.
So it's really nice when talking aboutpeople that do not actually drink,
because there are people that are thatchoose not to drink and people that cannot
drink for health reasons. What exactlyare they missing out on with if they

(07:23):
cannot taste one of your wines.Well, of course they are missing the
sensition that you get when you drinka glass of wine from Plurat, but
also they are missing all the culturalthing that goes behind every bottle, So
it's not only the wine but alsothe cultural thing. Here wine soundtrack,

(07:44):
we love to imagine different scenarios andthe first scenario we're going to imagine is
that you have to imagine that aspaceship, an alien spaceship, comes down
and it's going to land in themiddle of one of your vineyards, which
is quite cool here, pretty right, which is quite complicated. Which wine

(08:07):
would you give them to taste?M if I imagine that they land here
in Scalada, which is, asyou said, almost impossible. I would
recommend as Scalada Villa, which isa wine coming just from one village,
which is made of red quinage,and and if they land in Scalade,

(08:30):
they have to taste this one.How was the vintage this year? This
year is two twenty twenty two.Was it difficult? Was it? Was
it different than the rest? Yeah, for sure it was different. This
has been a very dry year andalso very hot, so we didn't get
no water. The vintage was comingearlier than usually, so we started harvesting

(08:52):
in the middle of August, whichwas super strange. The other years we
started on September until October, sothis year was super super early. We
didn't have much quantity, but thequality was pretty good, so we are
happy about it. But of coursethis is changing year over year. Do
you have any like good luck ritualswhen harvest comes, like do you go

(09:13):
dancing around the vine? Well,if we have some glasses of wine,
maybe we're gonna start dancing. ButI would say that the guys that work
in the land, what they doevery year year after year, it's to
like work one with the other onelike to do. I don't know how
to say it, but teamwork,team building, you know, And I

(09:37):
think this is the most important thingwhen we are in harvesting. Many producers
they walk around the cellar, theytalk to the bottles, they talk to
the barrels. The jority do thesame. I don't know. I'm not
sure, but I would say thathe does. Wine is developing step over

(10:03):
step. When when the wine isdoing the aging, of course he's uh,
it's changing month over month. SoI think it's good if we tell
the wine that he's doing fine,like he's doing a greage up. Just
a little pit on the back andthe way, that's it. You're doing
You're doing great. You just keepon going. You're doing great. That's

(10:24):
so maybe yes, he does.I'm not sure, but maybe he does.
Some people they actually read tea leaves, obviously to try and predict the
future. At the bottom of ared wine glass, sometimes we see your
fine sediments. What would you likethose sediments to reveal? That's a very

(10:46):
nice question. I would say thatI would say that the best thing that
glass of wine could tell you,it's the history behind the bottle you're drinking.
I always try to imagine, andI really like imagine imagining that behind
every bottle there's a different history.Of course the vintage is different, but
also the moment you're drinking it.So I would like to tell for it,

(11:09):
to tell the history about the bottleyou're drinking. Nice. What did
you want to be when you grewup? I don't know. I had
like so many dreams. I didn'thave like a concrete idea of what I
wanted to be, just I justhad one thing for sure that it's like
I imagined myself with twenty thirty,like when I was older living in Priorad.

(11:35):
So I think my dream has cometrue. So at the moment,
you're live in the dream. Yeah, that's it. How do you spend
your free time? I really likedoing sports. I like going for a
run or walking in Monsan, whichis our magical mountain. So for me,
it's the best thing that I cando in my free time. What's
your favorite singer or group? Impossibleto tell, Like I it's impossible.

(12:01):
Like if you look at my Spotify, you'll find so many different things.
And like in the morning, I'mlistening to something, in the afternoon,
something completely different. It depends onthe moment. I really like getting to
know a new artists every day,so I'm not I cannot anything and everything.
Yeah, that's it. What's yourfavorite film dedicated to the world of

(12:26):
wine? Um. Some months agoI was doing a tour with some American
people and they asked me if Ihad seen one American film that was called
Sideways, and I didn't, butthey made me watch it. So I
watched people and I think it's oneof the best things, best films.
Regarding why it's a good film now, quite funny. Yeah, that's it.

(12:50):
It was funny. It was likesuper good to see it. There's
actually there's a before and after withwine culture, especially in America, but
also to the rest of the worldwith that film. Yeah, that's it.
That's it, that it's an importantfilm. You would say, and
for a really really romantic evening,which wine would you order? M I
would say a wine from Brunet obviously. Yeah. I would go to a

(13:15):
blending of red Na and Karinean orKaryyan, which is my favorite variety,
but a strong red wine with abit of body. Yeah, that's it.
Do you support any sports teams oranything or yeah, Arsa for the
win always. So now the questionwould be if they were to win anything

(13:39):
at the moment they've been they haven'twin nothing for many, many years,
right, But if they were towin something, what bottle would you give
them to to to celebrate. Well, I hope they win something like in
the next month, but I'm notsure. I would give them one bottle
of Bulletoms, which is a blendingof Karnyan and Red Nash. It's a

(14:01):
very elegant wine, and I thinkit's the perfect, the perfect wine for
them. What was the best pieceof advice that you've ever received? I
would say some months ago I wasdoing a tour to someone like a couple
that works from Belgium. I thinkit was one of my first tours.

(14:22):
So I just joined the company andthey told me, like to keep showing
the passion that I feel from Briadand to keep loving the region, keep
loving the wines, and keep likecommunicating it the way I do. So
I think this is the best adviceI have ever received. Nice And which

(14:43):
piece of advice would you give othersto keep learning as much as they can
about wines? I think wine it'syou never know everything about wines, So
you have to get to know newnew wines, new regions, new people,
pull and hear everything they have totell you. Once, your proudest

(15:05):
achievement in at work, I wouldsay making people feel happy and making people
laugh at wines. I think thatwhen someone comes, they have a tour,
they have the tasting, and thenthey live and they are happy and
they have learned a lot, andthey tell me it's been one of the

(15:28):
best tours that we have ever done. For me. This is the best
thing that they can tell me,very very very satisfying them. Yeah,
that's it, Yes, and wegoing to complete this sentence right. A
table without wine is like a tablewithout without wine. It's like you have
no table. I mean in prioratwe drink wine all day long, like

(15:52):
when you have breakfast, when you'rehaving lunch, at dinner, anytime,
we're drinking a glass of wine.So a table without wine, it's nothing.
Back to the imagination side of things, a VP is being photographed in
or on a terrace. Right,sat down with a bottle and in all

(16:12):
the light, all the light,under the light in exactly the best focal
point you can see one of yourbottles, which famous person would you like
to be having your wine? Sothis morning I was just scrolling on Instagram

(16:33):
and I saw a video of GeorgeClooney. So now when it comes to
my mind, it's George Clooney drinkinga glass of our wine, because it's
wines from pre rad are strong wines, full bodied wines, and elegant wines,
and it's the famous person that comesto my imagination right now. What
sort of wines do you think we'regoing to be drinking in the year two

(16:55):
thousand and three hundred. It's complicatedbecause with all the climb change and all
the situation that we are we're havingright now, it's kind of complicating imagining
this. But I think that forsure, wines that are in well in
vaneyards in high altitude, I hopethat they can still drink wine in that
year. But it's getting complicated.Did you think we're going to be drinking

(17:19):
wines in two thousand years time?I hope. So I think wine it's
a very important thing just for thesociety, and also it's a cultural thing.
As I said, so I hopethat we can still be drinking wine,
but I'm not sure because the situationit's been pretty complicated. I want
to try and name Try because Iknow your your likes and dislikes with music,

(17:45):
it's very difficult for you to choose. I want to try and name
three wines that you would actually takeon a desert island. Impossible, I
cannot. I can't. She likeseverything. Yeah, no, I like
everything, and it's impossible to justpick three wines like I prefer staying here,
end up going to the dessert islandand just have all the bottles that

(18:06):
I want just for me and tobe able to taste everything. I couldn't
pick just three. It's impossible.Okay, I'll let you off with that
one. Which winemaking area? Wouldyou like to explore every single one?
As I said, I haven't hadthe chance to travel a lot, so
I would really like to get toknow every wine making area and just get

(18:30):
to know their own wines, theirculture and their way of working. As
I said, you can never knoweverything about wines, so I would really
like to get the chance to traveland to learn new things. We've not
finished yet, Raquel. Okay,we've come from imagining situations. Now we're
going to play little game. Iwant you to I'm going to give you

(18:52):
two varieties, right, a whiteand a red that we should already spoken
about, and I want you topair them with a song or a style,
a music style. All right,so let's go first with Karna,
which is the same some sort,No, so let's go with Karna M.

(19:12):
Karnynian. It's my favorite variety,I would say, and I think
it would pretty pretty good with redred wine, like one of the most
famous songs in the wine girl.But for me, it's an important song
because I remember when I was younger, just listening with my with my dad
and my brother. So I wouldsay this one, and let's go with

(19:37):
which is white grenache? M fora white grenache? I would say some
song that it's like calm, relaxing. For me, white grenache, I
really like drinking a glass of whitegrenache, like outside just enjoying the viewers,
or candles in the bath. Alsolike something really really calm and relaxing.

(20:00):
So I don't I'm not able topick just one song, but I
would say something calm and relaxing.Thank you ever so much for letting us
come today. Fantastic talking with you. Please remind the listeners where they can
find your wines. Can they cometo the tasting room and your website.
Thank you Andrew, it's been apleasure for me. Yeah, of course

(20:22):
they can come whenever they want.It would be a pleasure to have them
here in Scalidate. So if youever travel to brrrat you have you must
visit Scalidate. So you'll be verywelcome to La Coonredia and you can find
our wines here on our shop oralso on our website which is bins La
Condreia dot com. Perfect. Thankyou very much, see you see,

(20:44):
Thank you so much. It's apleasure. Thanks for listening to a new
episode of Wine Soundtrack International. Fordetails and updates, visit our websites Wine
soundtrack dot com.
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