The Cabellut Effect

Hugged and safe. Those were my feelings the first time I entered the Cabellut lands.

7 years later

I still get the same feelings whenever I visit the vineyard. Nothing else is in your eyesight – just the vines, trees and beautiful landscape, nothing else you can hear – just the birds, cicadas, and the sound of the heat. Well, correction, now there is a big sound of construction and local radio, as we are bringing a beautiful 12^th century masia back to life, where new families will be created, where people will be able to relax and meditate, where new wine is made and enjoyed every year…

But let us start from the beginning. And the beginning started from a man’s dream, Peters` dream. A dream to have a vineyard. I was just a good partner and supported him, while visiting all twenty-plus vineyards in Catalonia.

The magic

At some of the places I did not even get out of the car – as I lacked that magical feeling…but with Cabellut it was so different – after leaving the car, I did not want to come back to it. All I wanted was just stay there and absorb all the feelings that arose from the first second – those smells, those sounds and those amazing views. I would call it the “Cabellut effect” – it is hard to explain if you never visited it, but you will understand me once you do.

So, Peters` dream became Our dream and that is how in 2013 we began the resurrection project. We started from the land, though it was beautiful and fertile – it was forgotten and missed some loving care. So, we gave that. But loving hands were not enough to restore the glory of Cabellut, obviously it needed another important element – money. And that is when we got lucky for the second time – we met Nico and his daughter Anse, who are true lovers of nature and wine – and shared the same dream – to own and run a vineyard! Apart from being balled and having an IT-background Nico and Peter shared the same values, same respect to the land and local culture and the same vision.

Piece of my heart

So Cabellut became a family business with the goal to make quality wines and olive oil and to reconstruct the old masia into a modern, luxury Spanish estate, which would become a great venue for weddings, retreats, various business, and family events.  And of course, our personal vacation place. Business is business, but a piece of my heart was left in the masia on that beautiful 2013 autumn day and I will come back there to re-fill my soul not only by drinking tasteful wine grown in the fields but also sunbathing by the swimming pool or strolling in the Cabellut gardens…

In my next post, I will write about the garden project as it deserves a separate story.  To make an Eden-like lush garden in an empty 3000 sq. m land in 5 days is not an easy feat. And I will tell you how.

But now all the focus goes to choosing the right tiles for a secret courtyard with a babbling fountain, the right floors for a bright grand master bedroom, the right wooden beams to hold the ceilings, the right water taps for ballroom toilets where beautiful ladies with their gorgeous dresses will come to powder their noses. Looking for a big rustic-modern dining table, made in the area by a local carpenter who will give the spirit to the piece of furniture that will witness many great and loving words of friends and families.

I think about it all the time, as when I don’t do the research or talk with the designers and specialists, I dream about it, how it will look, what feeling it will give, what stories it will create. What stories will this place tell a hundred years from now? We are now all enchanted by the place. I call it the Cabellut Effect. And that is what I want to share with you all in this journal and along this journey.

With love and big dreams,
Jurate