Researchers from the IPNA-CSIC take the natural wines of the Canary Islands to El Celler de Can Roca

On 7 October, IPNA-CSIC researchers Eva Parga Dans and Pablo Alonso González gave a talk on science and natural wine at El Celler de Can Roca restaurant, which has been awarded three Michelin stars and regularly features at the top of lists of the world's best restaurants. The event, aimed at a dozen sommelier professionals, was organised by El Celler de Can Roca and the photographer Clara Isamat and was entitled Entre ciencia y creencia: vinos naturales en Canarias (Between science and belief: natural wines in the Canary Islands).

During the presentation, Parga and Alonso shared the results of their research on natural wine in the islands, food heritage, respectful viticulture, production cultures and traditions, wine and health, etc. with the audience. A tasting of a selection of wines illustrative of the issues raised was also part of the talk.

Among those attending the talk were Josep Roca himself, co-owner and sommelier at El Celler de Can Roca, and one of the most prominent and influential figures in the wine sector. Also present were Marie-Louise Banyols, sommelier, former director of Lavinia and now organiser of the Vins Oxidativs Secs show in Perpignan; and Carlos Orta, co-owner of the Villa Mas restaurant (Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Girona) and a specialist in Burgundy wines.

Also among the participants were Montse Lao, a specialist in natural wines, visual artist and head of the Ca l'Arpa restaurant (Banyoles); Clara Isamat, photographer and author of the book Raíces del vino natural, un año de viña; Audrey Doré of El Celler de Can Roca - voted best sommelier in Catalonia in 2019 -; and Marta Cortizas of Casa Solla (Pontevedra).

Science and wine

Eva Parga Dans holds a degree in Sociology from the University of A Coruña and a PhD in Applied Economics from the University of Santiago de Compostela. She specialises in the sociology of innovation and socioeconomics of cultural heritage. As a postdoctoral researcher, she has benefitted from research stays in Denmark, Madrid, Ecuador and Lisbon. She has also been a consultant for the Spanish Ministry of Education in the evaluation of the social and economic impact of Altamira as a World Heritage Site (2013). She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at IPNA-CSIC where her studies focus on the wine sector, analysing the quality processes of production, health and labelling and their connection with consumption in Spain and Portugal.

Pablo Alonso González, a senior scientist at the IPNA-CSIC, holds a PhD and MA in Heritage Studies from the University of Cambridge (UK) and a PhD in History from the Universidad de León. He has published several books on the anthropology of cultural heritage, archaeology and social theory and more than 60 international articles on these subjects. Alonso González's most recent research has focused on the culture and heritage of wine in the Atlantic axis, focusing on local, sustainable and natural production, distribution and consumption practices. In June he was selected as one of the ten new members of the Academia Joven de España (AJE).

Both researchers are responsible for a documentary trilogy on wine in Galicia consisting of the titles Albariño Rías Baixas: de la tradición al mundo, El despertar del vino en Galicia: la vuelta al terroir y Envino veritas: Galicia del terroir al natural, winner of the Best Documentary Award at Most 2021, the Penedés International Wine Film Festival.