La Festival (CLOSED)

This venue is closed 'Shelves full of so many unfamiliar wines have alienated people from the wine world,' says Íñigo, one of the five partners of this ambitious and much-needed project: a wine shop, in Gràcia, that stocks mainly natural and biodynamic varieties that classifies them by moments, because, 'we all know about those'. Íñigo explains, 'If you don't know the grapes, you can't choose the wine, but people are afraid to show that they don't know.'

La Festival was born with the aim of fighting those fears, and classifies its wines in four main categories: just a sip, for a great meal, all-terrain, and those to take your hat off to. All these categories have their own subcategories, as well, and they all employ a universal language. The shop's partners are entrepreneurs from the worlds of viticulture, sommeliers and distribution who bet on 'small and medium artisan wineries', especially but not exclusively, those that work with organic, natural and biodynamic wines. Mosaic tiles and Nordic wood mark the personality of a decidedly hipster space.

Prices range between €5 and €70, though they've also got top international wines to order. The main distributor for the shop is Human Vinos and the exporter Moon Wines, and they also work with an interesting selection of wines for the ten taps in the shop, all of them organic at the least. These come from reputable wineries and are 'high-quality wines that work great if you have a dinner with friends,' says Íñigo. 'You can take two litres of good wine for just €5.' And they also serve a decent bottle under the name Organic & Orgasmic. And La Festival doesn't use plastic at all.