Three wine shops, a thousand stories

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with restaurants and bars closed, the wine sector is left, for now, without the main buyersI'm going to take a stroll around Barcelona, to visit some wine shops that I love, to ask them how they are doing. From what I know,online wine sales have skyrocketed, and not because of me. I would never buy what I like most online (online, for example, I would buy an accessory that doesn't excite me, like a vacuum cleaner) because I like to go to the establishment and have the salesperson give me a spiel. Books, wine, cheese, flowers, and jeans... in the store. "Have you tried this one?" I'll ask. "Oh, you'll like this one, it's your style," they'll answer. This gives me life.

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I start the route at El Petit Celler, on Beethoven Street, almost in front of Catalunya Ràdio. The store now belongs to the Familia Torres group. It employs 70 families, if we count the sales representatives (13 in total, four of whom are in Barcelona), the accountant, the manager, those who buy, or the three waiters. Like in many stores, where they also serve wine by the glass, they have the Coravin. It's a device (one day we have to talk about all the accessories in the world of wine) that punctures the bottle cork until it goes through, extracts a quantity of wine, and fills the void with argon gas. This means that this bottle, despite being opened, can last a long time in good condition and, therefore, the customer can have half a glass, if they want, without having to pay for the whole bottle, which can be saved until next time. This allows for great wines by the glass. Also at home.

Carles Mata, who is the director of the establishment, receives me in one of the tasting rooms. The two waitresses have now taken their (forced) holidays, and only Miguel Ángel, the waiter (who is also a master of mixology) is left to sell. "Sales are mainly for export," Carlos tells me. "Nordics drink a lot of wine, they don't have as many bars as we do, and, therefore, they buy to drink at home." There has also been a rebound in sales in Germany and England. "During confinement, online orders skyrocketed," he tells me.

During confinement, online orders skyrocketed

And when I ask for data, he tells me: "Before, we had about 25 orders a month. In April, we went up to 650. Now we have about 150 a month." He smiles and gives me an example. "This week we had an order of 1,800 euros from a client who lives... fifty meters from the store!" As I smile seeing the order, which includesDofí, Alabaster, Las Lamas, Manyetes o Cos d'Estournel, adds: "Here there are people with high purchasing power. A lady can come with her two dogs to ask you to take a wine home for herat temperature". We ended up talking about which European states consume the most wine per person per year. The first, perhaps you would never guess, is the Vatican.

Next, I go to the city center. To El Born. On Agullers street, which, as its name indicates, is the street where ---since the mid-19th century, if we believe Joan Amades--- needle and fishing tackle manufacturers lived. There is the wine shop and grocery store Vila Viniteca, which distributes worldwide. If you love cheese and wine, go. There or to L'illa Diagonal, where they also have a spot. When I can, I will go back there to read the newspaper while I have a glass of bubbles and some cheese, as I used to.

270 families live from this business. Above all, they serve restaurants. That's why, Quim Vila, the co-owner of the company, tells me: "Since I am not a healthcare professional, I will do what I have to do, trusting that it is for health. Let's behave well for fifteen days. That's the message I convey to my people. What, we can't do tastings of eight? Well, we don't do them. I feel very supportive of those who cannot, like us, sell online, so I would like to appear as little as possible in this report. People, during confinement, have continued to eat meat and fish and drink wine. My solidarity is for bars and restaurants. How can they be helped? By ordering takeout. I know you can't do delivery of gin and tonics, but you can go buy food to take away. Maybe at home you don't have everything you like from the restaurant, but instead you can go in flip-flops, watch a movie or play the music you want."

It's a matter of happiness. If you're not happy, you don't uncork a bottle of bubbles

Quim tells me that one sector that has suffered losses is that of bubbles.Champagne sales have fallen by 30 percent. Surely those of cava too. "It's a matter of happiness. If you're not happy, you don't uncork a bottle of bubbles. Wine, maybe yes."

With the pandemic, city centers have emptied. Barcelona's is experiencing the same thing as the center of London, Madrid, or Milan. For now, we don't live there. The phenomenon paradoxically makes us live "locally." The shopkeeper in our neighborhood or town, who probably didn't see us during the week, now sees us every day.

I finish the tour at El Celler de Gelida, on Vallespir street. There I meet Meritxell Falgueras, an enthusiastic sommelier (one of still few women in the sector), daughter of the owners, fifth generation dedicated to wine. In the family, the parents handle sales, she handles communication (which she's excellent at), and her brother handles management. Going to El Celler de Gelida, with more than 5,000 references, is a pleasure.

Wine, during these days that you are at home and have time to cook, has been rediscovered; wine warms your soul"

"For me, what's depressing is the lipstick sector," Meritxell tells me, who is a big user of the product. "With this mask thing, they must not be selling any. Wewe keep selling, because people keep eating and drinking, albeit with less joyThe budgets have gone down, of course. And you don't have what you have when you go to the restaurant: the experience, the sommelier who tells you things...During confinement everyone said they drank more, because we were locked up, we didn't have to catch a plane the next day... I also ate and drank more. When I was studying in the United States, I always wondered: How can it be that wine, here, is seen socooland instead in Barcelona soold-fashioned? Wellit seems to me that now people have connected with wineBeer has always been associated with "freedom," therefore wine, these days that you are at home and have time to cook, has been rediscovered. Wine warms your soul.It is the landscape you cannot see but can drink. We have always been open because we were ---and I love it---basic necessity. There were many customers who didn't come but we took it to their homes. But customers like to come. We know them all! We know about their lives and we know for what occasion they want the wine they buy!", explains Falgueras.

At El Celler de Gelida, founded in 1895, they had a big party planned for March, when they celebrated their anniversary. Consumption habits have changed a lot over this time. "Now it's sold all year round, but before, eighty percent of sales were at Christmas, the batches for lawyers, doctors... Everyone came for Christmas. My father was born at the end of December. Days of a full shop. My grandmother gave birth to him, so to speak, behind the counter. Now this has changed. Anyway, I've worked in the shop since I was 13 without stopping." She laughs. "Maybe that's why I allow myself, now, to be a bit posh." They will have the postponed party when we are all well. It won't be long. In the meantime, Cheers!