Our Mission
The Rabassaires project was born with the intention of recovering the wine culture in Vallès Occidental, while also wanting to give back, in the shape of wine, the essence of this region to all those that want to enjoy it.
The Origins
Nowadays there is a residual presence of vineyards in the Vallès Occidental, but at the end of the XIX century, the district was known for being specialised in winegrowing, even more so than the Alt Penedès, Bages and Anoia.
With the arrival of the phylloxera plague in 1883, the wine culture in the area suffered a severe crisis with the loss of most of the plantations. Even so, the Vallès Occidental managed to replace all the vines.
This replanting did not have the desired effect, as the vineyards went through a period of overproduction and a subsequent price drop in sales. This evolved into a winegrowing crisis in the area, ending around 1950 with the almost complete disappearance of the vineyards in the Vallès Occidental.
The continuity
The Rabassaires endeavour will work the plots of land that still have live vines from the winegrowing past of the Vallès Occidental while also replanting in unused fields where vines used to grow in plenty.
The final objective is to talk about the land, it’s memory and above all, to share the essence of the region through a glass of wine.
The name – Rabassaires
It is not by chance that the project bears this name.
For many years, Rabassaires was the name given to the wine growers who grew their vines and worked the land under a contract called “rabassa morta”.
This long-term contract established the loaning of land from the owner to the “rabassaire” with the condition that they would be planted with vines and cared for during a certain period of time. Normally this time limit was determined when two thirds of the vines had died.
So, the name we have given this project fully identifies us with our current fight, with which we aim to recover unused lands in the region of Vallès Occidental via agreements with the landowners. The intention is to recover the history, heritage, landscape, and culture, and to do so by winegrowing.