Cooperatives, terroir, and finding place in 21st Catalonia

Previously, I wrote about the rise of the small cellars in DO Montsant which, unsurprisingly was well-received by those in this DO who have been working hard to present a unified front of quality wines in a relatively new appellation. But in praising their efforts, the larger cellars, and more specifically, the cooperatives appeared to have been offended by this. Cooperatives, despite seeming such an integral part of Catalan wine now, were born out of a necessity as this was a broken land at the end of the 19th century. […]