Column
Column: The birds of Celler de les Aus
Just outside the hustle and bustle of Barcelona, where the city buzzes with tourists, lies an oasis of tranquility: a breathtaking vineyard hidden in a nature park.
Here, far from the hurried world, time seems to stand still. The birds, with their singing, set the atmosphere – and even more, they determine the names of the wines. Red, white, orange, sparkling – each bottle tells a story, inspired by aerial acrobats who protect the grapes. Here, nature, and thus natural wine, takes precedence.
Purity. As if the grapes have absorbed a piece of the surrounding trees and the clear sky. And yes, that sky… Its blue sheen sometimes looks like a reflection of the nearby Mediterranean Sea, as if you can see both air and water in an instant. In this serene environment, where the silence almost intoxicates you, it's hard to imagine that the city just a few kilometers away is torn by the buzz of anti-tourism protests.
Here you only feel the wind, gently carrying the scent of freshly picked grapes and, with a bit of luck, some smells of tapas. Heavenly, you might say, just as it would be to lie under a starry sky, with a glass of wine in hand. But the birds here are more than background music. Protectors of the vineyard, guardians of grapes. Like concerned parents, they hover above the vines, ensuring that no enemy – neither animal nor element – endangers their precious fruits. As if each grape is their egg, ready to burst, and each bottle of wine their child, born from the marriage between earth and air.
As we wander further into the nature park, I think of the mist I missed this morning. A strange thought it seems, but the contrast between the soft morning mist and the clear afternoon sky feels like an extra night. A night in which the stars disappeared, as some birds do when the seasons change. No medicane approaching – or was it medicare? Who can keep up, with all those news flashes from the world. Obama, Sanders, Biden, Harris… they feel so far away here, just like the city itself. Perhaps that is the real magic of this place. While the world spins on, here you find a piece of eternity, where birds, grapes, and wind come together to tell stories. And as you take a sip of that natural wine, you taste not only the grapes, but also the timeless rhythms of nature itself.
Come on, where are the tapas?