CLOSED INDEFINITELY
From Barcelona to Malaga, the fashion of calling Wine Bar & Kitchen —in English— to what we Spaniards have always called “bares” and “tabernas” spreads almost at the speed of light. In a globalized world, the use of English to communicate is understandable, but what feels phony is when a so-called wine bar only stocks half a dozen mass-market brands served by staff with little interest in wine, something that happens all too frequently.
This is not the case of La Catalista, a through and through Wine Bar & Kitchen that we discovered thanks to Fintan Kerr (Wine Cuentista) during the recent Barcelona Wine Week. Located in Barcelona's Born district, it opened its doors in the summer of 2019 with an idea that is both simple and innovative: to serve Catalan wines each paired with a dish on the menu.
Behind this interesting strategy is American owner and sommelier Erin Nixon, who left behind a successful but exhausting career as a technology consultant to move to Europe and focus on wine, a passion she discovered, as she writes on Jancis Robinson's website, thanks to a delayed flight in Seattle.
Crafting the dishes is her friend Laila Bazham, also owner and chef of Barcelona's Hawker 45 restaurant, whose Filipino-Brazilian roots and international background can be felt in a menu with flavourful fusion dishes combined with local flavours such as akami tuna ceviche with kimchi emulsion, cream of horseradish and apple (€8), patatas bravas with gochujang sauce and kewpie mayonnaise (€5) or the butifarra sandwich with wild mushrooms, cabbage, sesame and quail's egg (€12.50).
These dishes, plus the others on the menu, can be ordered as individual portions or to share, while the wines are served by the bottle or by the glass. As an example, the recommended wines —all of them with a short tasting note— for these three dishes, are: cava Castell D'Age 1988 Brut Nature Reserva (€5.10 glass, €28 bottle), Sota Els Angels Pink Flow 2018, a natural wine from Empordà (4.80 glass, €26 bottle), and Bàrbara Forés El Quinta 2017, an old vines Garnatxa Blanca from Terra Alta (€6.50 glass, €35 bottle).
They have recently started offering a daily set menu (€15) which includes a starter, main course, dessert, a glass of wine and coffee. Dishes are simplified versions of those on the menu and remain unchanged throughout the week.
In addition to the 15 wines by the glass suggested with the menu, Erin has put together a Secret Nerd's Wine List, with an extra 20 wines served only by the bottle —with cuvées such as Terroir Al Límit Terra de Cuques (a dry PX from Priorat) or Joan D'Anguera Altaroses Garnatxa— as well as what she calls "Wild Card wines", a rotating set of wines by the glass that Erin has particularly enjoyed. On our visit, the Wild Cards were Sassera de Vega de Ribes Malvasía de Sitges (€5), Blan 5:7 Macabeo by Jordi Llorens from Conca de Barberà (€7) and Radix, a 100% Syrah by Parés Baltà (€7).
As La Catalista grows, Erin's idea is to change the wine and food list three times a year. The next one is planned for the beginning of April when she will probably renew 60% of the 40 wines of the list.
La Catalista, which hosts live music shows on Sunday afternoons, is a bright space with large windows and high ceilings, hanging plants above the bar counter and stools and mirrors that make you feel you are in a bigger space. At the rear, a dining room with several tables and low chairs accommodate groups and special dinners. The service, which is friendly but very professional, is another of the joys of this charming wine bar where locals and visitors from all over the world mingle among glasses of wine. Y.O.A.
