Spain is well known for the rich and diverse gastronomy that characterizes every region. This time, we focus on four artisan producers of the central Pyrenean province of Huesca and their traditional and sustainable approach to the products they manufacture. Buen Provecho!
El Grillo y La Luna Wines
El Grillo y La Luna (‘The Cricket and The Moon’) is a family winery born in the heart of the Somontano region in 2007 and since then has always aimed at making unique wine. “Patience” is the motto at this winery, to wait for the optimum ripeness of each grape variety in each lot. With 53 hectares of vines, this is one of the smallest wineries in this D.O in the Aragon region.
Here, the entire crop is harvested and selected by hand, creating more job opportunities and respecting the environment. Don’t be surprised if you find their beautiful horse “Brutus” pulling the plough to shape up their fields because they keep the traditional use of the horse-drawn to avoid damaging the roots of the vineyards by using heavy tractors in the area.
Saravillo´s Artisan Cheese
Twenty years ago, in Saravillo, a small town in the Chistau valley of the Aragonese Pyrenees, Andres founded one of the most representative products of these valleys nowadays. Manufactured with the milk that more than 600 goats provide, the cured and semi-cured cheeses are still made in an artisan way, breeding their own livestock and feeding it with high mountain pastures.
Travellers are welcome to visit their premises, and besides being delighted by a varied selection of traditional goat cheeses, they will be able to understand how traditional grazing favours the maintenance of Pyrenean biodiversity in these mountains.
Rondadora Brewery
Rondadora” brewery in La Cabezonada began its journey in 2014 when a group of young beer lover entrepreneurs started developing what has become a respected brewery, not only because of the internationally awarded and innovative flavours they come up with but for serving as an example of sustainable and responsible local business.
Besides their active participation in local projects on path conservation in their region, Rondadora brewery decided from its origins to only use silk-screened bottles, which allows the glass to be reused, avoid discarded labels, and distribute them in hand-made recycled wooden boxes.
Redolada Honey
Placed at the heart of the Serrablo region, Redolada was funded by Azpe, a biologist dedicated to beekeeping and environmental education. She has lived her entire life in Artosilla, a small town in La Guarguera Valley, except for the years that she has gone away to study. She started with three beehives, and thanks to lots of work and some help from public fundings for young farmers, she has reached the number of 150 beehives.
They work in organic honey, pollen and propolis from the first day, and they are still in the process of achieving the certification as the process takes a few years until being fully accredited. Still, they were very determined to work in organic from the beginning. Accompanying this most productive part of the project has always been the part that involves environmental education, such as the workshops they organize to talk about the world of the bees.
