Spain · Priorat

Celler de Capçanes

A village cooperative in DO Montsant, Catalonia, farming Garnacha Negra and Cariñena bush vines of up to 110 years on slate and limestone at 250 to 550 metres. Founded in 1933 and producing organic-certified still reds and whites alongside one of Spain's longest-running kosher wine lines.

The producer

Celler de Capçanes sits in the village of Capçanes inside DO Montsant, the appellation that encircles the more famous Priorat in southern Catalonia. It is a cooperative, founded in 1933 by five families, and in 1995 it became the producer of one of Spain's first modern kosher wines. The request came from Barcelona's Jewish community. The cooperative said yes, bought dedicated fermentation tanks that could never revert to standard production, and launched Peraj Ha'abib. The tanks are still in use and the line has run unbroken for thirty years.

The vineyards rise on steep slopes and flat terraces around the village, sheltered by the Llaberia mountain range, from roughly 250 metres at the lower terraces to 550 metres on the higher plots. Garnacha Negra and Cariñena are the core varieties, grown as low-yielding bush vines of up to 110 years old on soils of slate, limestone, clay, and sand. On limestone parcels, roots descend 8 to 12 metres into the subsoil. The altitude keeps acidity firm, the old vines keep yields low, and the kosher protocol runs inside the same building as the rest of production, supervised by the US Orthodox Union, the Kashrut Federation of London, and local Chabad Lubavitch rabbis from Barcelona.

Known for

Montsant reds from old Garnacha Negra and Cariñena bush vines; Spanish kosher wine under the Peraj Ha'abib label

Notable facts

The story

The Village That Built a Kosher Cellar

Sometime in the early 1990s, members of Barcelona's Jewish community approached the Capçanes cooperative with an unusual request: they wanted a kosher wine grown in Catalonia. The cooperative had no Jewish investors, no rabbi on call, and no cellar equipment configured for kosher use. They said yes anyway. Over the following months they bought stainless-steel fermentation tanks dedicated entirely to kosher production, tanks that by the rules of kashrut could never be switched back to standard use. They trained staff to work under rabbinical supervision and brought in Chabad Lubavitch rabbis from Barcelona, with oversight reaching the US Orthodox Union and the Kashrut Federation of London. The first vintage, Peraj Ha'abib 1995, carried a Hebrew name meaning Flower of Spring. The 1996 vintage was cited by the Montsant regional body as one of Spain's best wines. The dedicated tanks are still in use, and the cooperative still makes the wine every harvest.

From the atlas

Celler de Capçanes

At A Glance

Producer: Celler de Capçanes Type: Cooperative Village: Capçanes Appellation: DO Montsant, Catalonia, Spain Principal grapes: Garnacha Negra, Cariñena Range: Still reds and whites, kosher wines (Peraj Ha'abib line), Cava Vine age: Up to 110 years Elevations: 250 to 550 metres

The Producer

Celler de Capçanes sits in the village of Capçanes, inside DO Montsant, the appellation that encircles the more famous Priorat in southern Catalonia. It is a cooperative, founded in 1933 by five families, and it operates from the village itself. That is the ordinary part.

The unusual part is that in 1995 this small Catalan village cooperative, with no Jewish investors and no Jewish residents, became the producer of one of Spain's first modern kosher wines. The request came from Barcelona's Jewish community. The cooperative said yes, bought dedicated fermentation tanks that could never revert to standard production, and launched Peraj Ha'abib. The tanks are still in use. The kosher line has run unbroken for thirty years.

Today Joan M. Sabaté is director and manager, Anna Rovira is technical director and winemaker, and Joan Bea manages the vineyards. Kosher wine is roughly ten per cent of total output. The other ninety per cent is still red and white wine from Montsant's indigenous and international varieties, with most reds carrying vegan certification.

Place

Montsant is not Priorat, and that distinction matters for the label and the price. Priorat occupies a tight, dramatically steep core; Montsant wraps around it as a broader ring appellation, sharing the altitude and the indigenous red varieties but covering more varied terrain and typically yielding wines at more accessible prices. Both appellations lie in the province of Tarragona, in the far south of Catalonia, where the Mediterranean climate is tempered by altitude and mountain shelter.

Capçanes village sits near the eastern edge of the Montsant zone, with the Llaberia mountain range rising around it on all sides. The range acts as a windbreak and shapes the local microclimate. Vineyards spread across both steep slopes and flat terraces in the hills immediately surrounding the settlement, from roughly 250 metres at the lower terraces to 550 metres on the higher plots. At those elevations the growing season is longer than the latitude alone would suggest, and night temperatures drop enough to preserve acidity.

Soil And Site

Four soil types cross the Capçanes vineyards: slate, limestone, clay, and sand. Each pulls the vines differently. Limestone parcels force the deepest root searches; on these plots, roots have been measured descending 8 to 12 metres into the subsoil before finding compact layers. That depth is not unusual for very old vines on permeable rock, but 8 to 12 metres is at the extreme end. Clay parcels retain more water and deliver fuller fruit. Slate drains fast and warms quickly in the morning sun. Sandy soils add vigour and aromatic lift.

Part of the vineyard area holds organic certification, though a precise certified-hectare figure is not confirmed across sources.

Story

The cooperative was born out of necessity in 1933, when five families pooled resources rather than sell their grapes to whoever would pay. That model held through the mid-twentieth century. Then, around fifty years after founding, the cooperative took a deliberate second step: 80 village residents were persuaded to invest, broadening the ownership base and giving the collective more capital to work with. Replanting and vineyard improvement followed.

The third turn came in the 1990s. Winemaking in Catalonia was changing, and Montsant had not yet separated from the larger Tarragona DO. Into this period of reorganisation arrived a request from Barcelona's Jewish community for a Catalan-grown kosher wine. The cooperative's decision to accept was not simply commercial. Kosher production requires a permanent, dedicated cellar commitment. Tanks bought for kosher use cannot revert. Staff protocols change permanently. Rabbinical oversight from the US Orthodox Union, the Kashrut Federation of London, and local Chabad Lubavitch rabbis from Barcelona became a feature of harvest at a small Catalan village winery. That decision, made quietly in the mid-1990s, is what separates Capçanes from most cooperatives of comparable size.

Vineyards And Cellar

Garnacha Negra and Cariñena are the core varieties, both grown as bush vines, a training system that forces each plant to support itself without wire or trellis. Bush vines in the Montsant hills typically yield less fruit per vine than trellised equivalents, and the oldest plants at Capçanes are around 110 years old. At that age the root systems are deep and extensive, yields are very low, and the fruit tends to concentrate sugars and flavour compounds more than younger vines on the same soil.

The additional variety roster covers Tempranillo, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Pinot Noir for reds, and Macabeo and Garnacha Blanca for whites. The altitude range of 250 to 550 metres means parcels at the top of the estate ripen later and carry more natural acidity than lower plots.

For the kosher range, only the rabbi or a Jew with full knowledge of kosher protocols may perform the work by following the winemaker's instructions. Fermentation tanks are dedicated exclusively to kosher production and approved for that use only. This is not a separate winery; it is a separate protocol running inside the same building, supervised internationally.

Wines

The range divides into three groups.

The kosher range centres on Peraj Ha'abib, the founding bottled label, with the name translating from Hebrew as Flower of Spring. Below it sits Peraj Petita in two colours. Peraj Petita Negre is a five-grape blend of Merlot, Syrah, Tempranillo, Grenache, and Carignan: red-fruited and approachable, with the Carignan and Grenache adding the herbal, iron-inflected character of Montsant's old vine plots. Peraj Petita Blanc is built on Macabeo with lees treatment that adds body and breadth to a grape that can otherwise run thin.

Mas dels Ponts is a bag-in-box red from the estate, with French-oak élevage producing a wine with soft tannin, red berry fruit, and a gentle wood-spice finish.

The Sense Cap range carries the Cava: Sense Cap Brut Reserva, made by the traditional method with extended lees ageing. The mousse is fine, the base wine is citrus-driven, and the time on lees adds a slight brioche and toasted-almond character to the finish.

In The Glass

The Montsant reds from old Garnacha Negra and Cariñena share a particular character: dark cherry and dried herbs on the nose, with a mineral edge that comes from the slate and limestone soils, then a mid-palate that carries warmth without heaviness. The altitude keeps the acidity higher than most Spanish reds at this ripeness level, so the wines feel fresh despite their depth. Tannin is firm but not angular, shaped by the low-yielding old vines and long hang-times at elevation. Peraj Petita Negre shows this most accessibly: the Merlot and Grenache round the fruit, the Carignan and Syrah add grip and spice.

The whites are lighter in body, the Macabeo-based Peraj Petita Blanc showing melon and white blossom with a creamy mid-palate from lees contact, then a clean, slightly saline finish. The Cava Brut Reserva is dry, lemon-zested, and long, with the extended lees ageing showing as a soft, yeasty breadth behind the citrus.

A Bottle To Understand It

Start with Peraj Petita Negre. It is the most widely exported wine in the range, the most clearly documented, and the most direct expression of what this cooperative farms. The five-grape blend puts Garnacha Negra and Cariñena in context alongside the international varieties the estate also grows, and the kosher production protocol means the wine carries the full story of what makes Capçanes different from other Montsant cooperatives. In the glass: dark cherry, dried rosemary, a touch of iron from the slate soils, firm mid-palate tannin, and enough acidity from the altitude to keep the finish clean and direct. Drink it with lamb or cured meat.

Anecdote

Sometime in the early 1990s, members of Barcelona's Jewish community approached the Capçanes cooperative with an unusual request: they wanted a kosher wine grown in Catalonia. The cooperative had no Jewish investors, no rabbi on call, and no cellar equipment remotely configured for kosher use. They said yes anyway. Over the following months they bought stainless-steel fermentation tanks dedicated entirely to kosher production, tanks that by the rules of kashrut could never be switched back to standard use. They trained staff to work under rabbinical supervision and brought in Chabad Lubavitch rabbis from Barcelona, with oversight ultimately reaching the US Orthodox Union and the Kashrut Federation of London. The first vintage, Peraj Ha'abib 1995, carried a Hebrew name meaning Flower of Spring. The 1996 vintage was cited by the Montsant regional body as one of Spain's best wines. The dedicated tanks are still in use, and the cooperative still makes the wine every harvest.

Final Word

Celler de Capçanes is a ninety-three-year-old village cooperative farming some of the oldest Garnacha Negra and Cariñena vines in Montsant, at elevations that give the wines their freshness and the soils that give them their mineral depth. The kosher decision of 1995 is the mark that separates this particular cooperative from the regional crowd: a permanent, internationally supervised commitment taken by a village with no direct connection to the community it was serving. The wines are honest, the old vines are real, and the bottle with the Hebrew name has been earning its place on the label for thirty years.

Sources

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