Panoramic view of Empúries Hostel
Since its owner, William Archer , an ecologist by vocation, fell in love with what was once a simple hostel in front of the Portitxol bay, has only grown the sensible evolution of a hotel establishment without damaging a peaceful and unique environment.
Being located next to Greek and Roman ruins, the adjacent land and beaches are protected, allowing the Hostel Empuries be the luminous reverse of the vacation resort concept. In addition to being nourished by renewable energies, what first dazzles the eye is the good taste that prevails in all its corners, letting natural light and vegetation on take center stage.
Sea views from the Villa Teresita terrace, the restaurant located in the hostel
What if, sustainability is one of the admirable points of this place that is enjoyed both in summer, with bike rides or swimming in the crystal clear Mediterranean waters, and in winter, observing the winds and rains through its large windows (real-time cinematographic screens) and lounging in that room with a library where time stands still and even the most foolish is curious to leaf through a few pages.
On the other hand, we already know that it is phenomenal in the cover letter of any hotel to be able to link one of its spaces to a name with cache, if possible of a chef. A few years ago, it was Rafa Peña who believed or the letter and, with her team at the forefront, she stressed the importance of work with local products and reflect the local horticulture in the dishes.
Since then, the kitchen of the Empúries has not deviated from that path, and although there was a brief period in which it was sensed that a captain was missing at the helm, currently the address The hotel manager has decided to promote his own kitchen employees, relinquishing the responsibility of taking care of all the cards.
No matter how much name you have in the gastronomic sections of the local newspapers, Nobody knows better the possibilities of a kitchen than those who spend more hours in it than at home. They are there to confirm Miguel Angel Garcia Diaz and Carlos Alberto Hernandez Jimenez, with more skill in his eyes than any enfant terrible that adorns the pages of a Sunday paper.
If the trend of gastronomists is to abandon so much authorship and turn towards simplicity, the team led by these two chefs has it easy to satisfy a clientele that prefers the feeling from being in a second home to that of an amusement park with some other fireworks. Both in the dining room of Villa Teresita and on its terrace you are so comfortable that you could serve only fried eggs with potatoes and continue to be the favorite restaurant in the middle of Empordà.
The luck is that the natural pantry that they handle, both in the L'Escala fish market as in the own gardens, It gives enough variety to satisfy any craving for the lazy eater. Talking to the chefs, they themselves admit that they still a bit of “salt and pepper” is missing from the bistro menu or but, if we grant them the patience that we reserve for our loved ones, A lifetime full of pleasure awaits us at Empúries.
About twenty minutes by car from here are six hectares of a vineyard that follows biodynamic farming methods. The winegrowers who choose this path, one of the longest and most difficult to vinify, they see themselves burying a bull's horn pointing towards the cosmos and recycling fermented grape skins to mix with wildflower seeds along with manure and thus create their own fertilizers, which favorably multiply noble bacterial activity.
This vineyard follows biodynamic farming methods
No type of chemical pesticide is used, since the biodynamic philosophy consists of create life and let them form a biological cycle that affects the quality of the terroir, and therefore, the grapes that grow from it.
Besides being a scientific and agricultural work, face the endless variables that arise from all four sides in order to produce delicious wines for the enjoyment of the one who takes them, it is probably one of the most laudable trades on the planet.
Mr Anthony Falcon he had it clear when he dreamed of leaving behind the gardens of Barcelona that he cared for to appropriate this land in the Empordà and put into practice the years of experience and wisdom growing plants.
when you find out that he started making wine in a garage, It is inevitable that the memory of Walter White will come to you (if you have followed the Breaking Bad series), while also understanding why he has called his winery ** Vins De Taller .**
Even more amazing than discovering that what they manage to extract from those impeccable plots adds up to 11 references is to verify that there are only three permanent employees along with two field assistants attending to the needs of the vineyards and the entire estate.
Meanwhile, the young winemaker Angela Salvi She is in charge of putting into practice everything she has learned in her oenology career with excellent results, as in one of her recent hits, the Phlox 2018, short stint in wood.
Cellar detail
And so, suddenly, after a walk through all these plots far from the aggressive urban world and its incessant pollution, you believe that the world can be a wonderful and sustainable place.
Forty minutes further north along the coast you reach the coastal town of Llanç á, where for 70 years the Miramar hotel and restaurant has served the usual food that is expected from a coastal restaurant, but with the excellence of the phenomenal and affable Paco Perez, that he has been keeping two Michelin stars in his family restaurant –also with its own garden– since he took over the reins in the 90s.
There are not many people who dare to put tarragon in a rice in which the sea prevails over the mountains. But Pérez always manages –and in so many ways– a memorable balance that leaves indelible memories and lets savor a kil zero meter of truth.
With how easy it is to feel fear on an increasingly hot planet, between infinite forest fires and the young Greta Thunberg sowing panic every time you look at a screen, in the surroundings of the Empord you feel like you've arrived on another planet, and that they have all the keys to live in harmony... without thinking all the time about the future.
***** _This report was published in **number 133 of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (November)**. Subscribe to the printed edition (11 printed issues and a digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website). The November issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device. _
The mythical (and photogenic) façade of the Miramar restaurant