Celler Frisach
Francesc and Joan Ferré
Brothers Francesc and Joan Ferré produce superbly energetic natural wines from their 20 hectares of vines in Corbera d’Ebre, located in the Terra Alta region of Catalonia. For well over 200 years, the Ferré family has been growing grapes and olives in this area. Traditionally, farmers would sell off their grapes at low prices right after each harvest. One year, a large buyer cancelled their purchase at the last moment, and in 2009, the young brothers Francesc and Joan decided to produce their own wines in order to find their independence and create their own wines that properly reflect their proud hometown of Corbera. The name Frisach was the surname of their great-grandfather, and the name Ca Frisach still adorns the family home where they live.
For many years, Catalonia has had an active scene of natural winemakers, and Francesc began to taste it with eagerness and driven dedication. He spent time at natural wine fairs with other winemakers to absorb as much knowledge as possible. Travel across Catalonia and through France (especially yearly trips to prepare Paella for friends in the Jura) allowed him to broaden his vision of winemaking, and his style rapidly evolved towards less extraction and less intervention. Today, the wines are joyful, dazzling, and playful while still evolving.
The principal grape in Terra Alta is Garnatxa Blanca (Grenache Blanc), which is used for the famous white wines of the region. Frisach also farms Garnatxa Gris, Garnatxa Fina, Garnatxa Peluda, and Carinyena (Carignan). One can find many local references to the nature and history of the place on the labels - for example, the swallows on the Abrunet label (Abrunet means swallow in Catalan), and the tears of blood on the Sang de Corb label represent the sadness of the Spanish Civil War that scarred the Ebro River valley.
Key information
The wines
Terra Alta Vernatxa
Franscesc writes: "With this wine, we wanted to revive an ancient way of Terra Alta winemaking: los vinos brisants. Once the grapes are harvested (manually and very carefully), they are introduced for joint fermentation with the skins in order ...
Terra Alta L’Abrunet Blanc
Franscesc writes: "With this wine, work in the vineyard is very important. To elaborate, we play with different maturity levels of the variety. We conducted two harvests of the same plants. The first harvest was around the 11.5º to achieve the ...
Vino de Mesa L’Abrunet Rosat
Franscesc writes: "What do we get if we put together all grapes (of different varieties) from the rural state? What can we do with an almost nonexistent variety? These questions arose when crafting Abrunet Frisach Rose. The union of three varie...
Terra Alta L’Abrunet Negre
Franscesc writes: "Our ancestors performed the assembly of their grapes in the vineyards, specifically Cariñena and some Garnacha, which is known today as a vineyard blend. With this wine, we wanted to recover this kind of elaboration, but for ...
Vino de Mesa Sang de Corb
Franscesc writes: "What we see here in this wine is something that we locally call “Lo vi fa Sang” which is best described as the power of a wine that provides energy and force to keep fighting and moving forward. The wine is made from Garnach...
Vino de Mesa Les Alifares
This is a skin-contact orange wine made from old vine Garnacha Gris. Franscesc writes: "Les Alifares de Celler Frisach is a Vernatxa Gris fermented with skins and nothing else."
Terra Alta La Foradada
Garnacha Blanca with a few days of skin contact. Franscesc writes: "A tale of the Garnacha Blanca, of the land, and of our people. A wine fermented with the skin of the grapes for a few days in stainless steel, this wine remains with its lees wi...