Cava Avinyó is produced by the Esteve Nadal family of Avinyonet del Penedès. The winery is located at their home, Can Fontanals, in the heart of the Penedès region of Catalonia, near Barcelona. The family's delicious cava, or sparkling wine, produced by the painstaking champagne process, is the only wine the family makes for sale, preferring to concentrate their talents on what they do best. The patriarch, Juan Esteve, planted vines of Parellada, Xarel-lo and Macabeo 25 years ago so that he could have a fine sparkling wine for his family and friends. Today his two sons and his daughter carry on the tradition of Avinyó, providing a very small quantity of this exquisite bubbly for export. Avinyó is produced from 40% free run juice. The resulting wine is aged in the cellar for a minimum of 18 months. The use of such a high percentage of free run juice gives the wine its fresh, but non-astringent character, while the extended bottle aging practiced at this estate winery contributes to a very long, flavorful finish. It is this long, distinctive finish that remains the signature of the estate's outstanding Cava. On the Avinyó label, there is an inscription in Catalan that aptly represents the philosophy of the Esteve Nadal family. The inscription roughly translates into the following: "From the must of the flower, or free run juice, and with the rigor of a work well crafted." There also appears a tiara from the church of the local village. Indeed, the Esteve Nadal family has crafted a jewel that many in the wine trade have called "other worldly." The masio, or farmhouse, that housed the winery is also the workshop of Fina Via, the wife of Juan Esteve, who is a renowned ceramic artist. Her works appear throughout the region and all of it is done according to the same traditional methods that were used during the seventeenth century in Catalonia. "How much more beautiful the world would be with a little more art, a little more love, and a few more wines like the Avinyó Cava! Gracias Señor and Señora Esteve Nadal for doing your part- your pearls are not hidden, they shine forth in my glass," commented one of Avinyó's admirers. Certainly this tiny estate is doing its part to make the world smile. Salut!