The Two Joans & the Farmhouse of 1724

The story of Celler Mas Gomà begins not with a winemaker but with a farmhouse — Mas Gomà, founded in 1724 in Les Cabanyes, a small town in the heart of the Penedès wine region, just west of Barcelona. On the estate stands the Romanesque church of Sant Valentí, built in 1135 — a stone witness to nearly a millennium of history. The Vendrell family acquired the property in 1918 and has been growing grapes and making wine, on and off, ever since. For five generations, the Vendrells have tended these vineyards, passing down knowledge, intuition, and a deep connection to the land from father to son.

The modern era of Mas Gomà began in 2009, when the current generation took control: Joan Manel Vendrell, the father, who brings over 30 years of winemaking experience, and Joan Vendrell, the son, who handles the business side, the vision, and the relationships that have brought Mas Gomà to the attention of natural wine drinkers worldwide. Together, the two Joans have redefined what the estate can be. They stopped selling all their grapes to cooperatives and large producers. They began selecting only the oldest vines — 60, 70, and even older — for their own wines, selling grapes from younger parcels to other producers in the area. And they committed to a philosophy of minimal intervention: organic and biodynamic farming, indigenous yeasts, little to no sulfur, no fining, no filtration.

The inspiration for this shift came from memory. Joan and Joan Manel wanted to make wines like their grandparents, Joan and Maria, did decades ago — wines that were alive, unadorned, and true to the place. They describe their approach as "going back to the past to build the future" — a rejection of industrial winemaking and a return to the traditions that made Penedès one of Europe's oldest and most respected wine regions. The estate is not merely a winery; it is a living inheritance — a farmhouse, a church, five generations of knowledge, and a commitment to the idea that the best wines are the ones that require the least intervention.

Today, Mas Gomà produces two distinct lines: long-aged cavas that rival the finest sparkling wines of Europe, and natural still wines that capture the freshness and minerality of Penedès limestone. The portfolio is diverse — from the 80-month-aged L'Arc to the 1-litre Brisat Catalan with velo flor, from the ancestral-method L'Alba al Turo pet-nats to the amphora-aged Cosí Joan with 21 days of skin contact. Each wine is a different expression of the same conviction: that Penedès, with its old vines, its limestone soils, and its centuries of tradition, can produce wines of extraordinary depth and originality — provided the winemaker has the patience to step back and let the land speak.

The guiding philosophy of Celler Mas Gomà is expressed in a single sentence: "achieve the maximum expression of a high-quality grape with minimal intervention in the cellar, without make-up, without sulfites." The two Joans are committed to winemaking that lets the grape express itself naturally, without limits and outside conventional frameworks. Their approach is deliberately simple and fundamentally non-invasive: organic and biodynamic farming in the vineyard, indigenous yeasts in the cellar, little to no sulfur depending on the cuvée, and no fining, no filtration. They see the cellar not as a place to correct or improve the grape, but as a place to protect what the vineyard has already achieved — to bottle the living, evolving expression of Penedès limestone and old-vine concentration.

The methodology splits into two distinct but complementary paths: long-aged cavas and natural still wines. For the cavas, the traditional method is employed with extraordinary patience. Grapes are hand-harvested from old vines, pressed gently, and fermented with indigenous yeasts. The base wines are blended, bottled with a small amount of sugar and yeast for the second fermentation, and then aged on their lees for 24 to 80+ months before disgorgement. Some cuvées, like L'Arc, are disgorged by hand to order. The result is a range of sparkling wines that run from fresh and invigorating to deep, brioche-laden, and Champagne-like in their complexity. For the still wines, the approach is equally minimal: hand-harvested grapes, spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel or amphora, short to medium macerations for skin-contact wines, and direct press for fresh whites. The Brisat Catalan develops velo flor — a film of yeast on the surface of the wine — adding a distinctive saline, nutty complexity.

The special cuvées are made with the same care and patience. Cosí Joan is 100% Xarel·lo from 70-year-old vines, given 21 days of skin maceration and aged in amphora for six months — a wine of profound texture and mineral depth. Tiet Jan is the same vineyard and vintage, but with only a few hours of skin contact and six months on fine lees — a fresher, more direct expression. Brisat Catalan is a 1-litre bottling of Xarel·lo with 30% skin contact for 40 days and 70% direct press, aged under velo flor with no sulfites — a wine of salt, nuts, and Mediterranean sunshine. L'Alba al Turo comes in both pet-nat blanco (100% Macabeu from 70-year-old vines) and pet-nat rosado (50% Garnatxa Negra, 50% Xarel·lo Vermell) — bright, leesy, and alive. Each cuvée is a distinct expression of a specific grape, a specific vineyard, and a specific moment in the Vendrell family's ongoing conversation with their land.

The cellar is not a technological facility; it is the evolution of a farmhouse — a modest space beneath a building that has stood since 1724, where stainless steel tanks sit alongside clay amphorae and bottles aging quietly in the cool darkness. There is no consultant recommending corrective enzymes, no recipe that overrides the vintage, no pressure to produce industrial cavas or polished, sterile wines. There is only the two Joans, the old vines, the limestone soils, and the patience to let each wine take the time it needs — whether that is six months in amphora or eighty months in bottle. The result is a portfolio of wines that are honest, precise, and alive — wines that have earned a place on the wine lists of discerning restaurants and shops from Barcelona to New York. As one importer noted, Mas Gomà's cavas are as serious as any entry-level cava ever tasted — and their still wines are equally vivid, textured, and original.

Celler Mas Gomà is not merely a winery; it is a living inheritance — a farmhouse founded in 1724, a Romanesque church from 1135, and a family who has been farming the same limestone soils for five generations. In an era when much of Penedès has been industrialised — when Cava has become a supermarket commodity and old vineyards are being ripped out for higher-yielding varieties — the two Joans represent something rare and vital: a bridge between the deepest traditions of Catalan viticulture and the most forward-thinking practices of natural winemaking. They are proving that Penedès is not merely the home of mass-produced sparkling wine, but a region capable of producing cavas that rival Champagne, still wines that rival the finest natural whites of Europe, and experiments that push the boundaries of what indigenous varieties can do.

The legacy of Mas Gomà extends beyond the bottle. They have become a reference point for natural Cava — a producer who demonstrates that long lees aging, old vines, indigenous yeasts, and minimal sulfur can coexist with the traditional method and commercial viability. Their wines are found on the lists of discerning restaurants and shops from Barcelona to New York, Paris to Tokyo. Their approach — organic and biodynamic farming, hand harvest from 60 to 70+ year-old vines, spontaneous fermentation, zero to minimal sulfur, no fining, no filtration — has influenced a generation of younger producers in Penedès and beyond. And their commitment to only using their oldest vines for their own wines, while selling younger grapes to other producers, is a model of quality-over-quantity that is increasingly rare in a region under pressure to maximise yield.

The future of Mas Gomà is tied to the future of Penedès. As the region fights to maintain its identity in the face of industrialisation and climate change, the two Joans continue to expand their work — not in hectares, but in depth. More precise parcel selections. More experiments with amphorae and velo flor. More long-aged cavas that demonstrate what Penedès limestone can achieve with patience. And more wines that taste of nothing but the Mediterranean — the salt, the stone, the sun, and the quiet persistence of a family who has been farming the same land since 1918. The story of Celler Mas Gomà is the story of a father and son who chose to honour their grandparents by making wines that are alive, honest, and true to the place — wines that go back to the past to build the future. It is a story that is still being written — one bottle, one vintage, one generation at a time.