Viticultor Ramon Jané

Ramon Jané standing among his Xarel-lo vines in the Penedes, Mas Candi farmhouse visible behind

Ramon Jané was born in Guardiola de Font-Rubi into a family that has grown grapes in the Penedes for generations. After studying viticulture, oenology, and marketing in the Baix Penedes, he completed internships in Burgundy and Champagne before returning to Catalonia with a sharper understanding of what his home terroir was capable of. In 2005, he and his partner Merce Cusco established Mas Candi. In 2013, he founded his own eponymous label, Ramon Jane Viticultor, to make wines with no added sulfites.

Backstory

The Cusco family has farmed the land around Les Gunyoles since the seventeenth century. Ramon stepped into this long history and chose to deepen it rather than modernize around it. His time in France taught him precision and patience. Back in the Penedes, he dedicated himself to indigenous varieties and minimal intervention, long before these priorities became fashionable in Catalonian wine circles.

The Region

Les Gunyoles sits in Avinyonet del Penedes, at the edge of the Massif del Garraf Natural Park, roughly ten kilometers from the Mediterranean coast. The park moderates temperatures, bringing cool nights that extend the growing season and preserve acidity. The Penedes spans a wide range of altitudes and exposures, from coastal plains to elevated interior sites, allowing a diversity of grape varieties and styles.

Vineyards and Farming

Ramon cultivates over 20 hectares across Avinyonet del Penedes and Guardiola de Font-Rubi, all certified organic by the CCPAE. He prioritizes old vines with deep root systems that can navigate drought without supplemental irrigation. Biodynamic principles guide the farming calendar. Xarel-lo and Sumoll, both indigenous and perfectly adapted to the local climate, are the primary varieties. Ramon has also worked to recover ancestral varieties that had disappeared from the zone.

Winemaking

Both in the vineyard and in the cellar, Ramon keeps intervention minimal. Under the Ramon Jane Viticultor label, no sulfites are added at any stage. Fermentation proceeds with native yeasts. The wines are unfiltered and unfined, reflecting both the technical discipline he gained in France and the raw material his biodynamic farming provides.

The Wines

The Ramon Jane Viticultor range includes Tinc Set, a still wine and a petillant naturel from Xarel-lo, the ancestral method Cabories, and skin-contact expressions that explore the grape's textural depth. Orange and red interpretations round out the lineup. Each bottle expresses the particular character of the Garraf foothills and the old-vine parcels that Ramon has spent his career nurturing.

Italian Wine Regions

Valpolicella is versatility in a glass—cherry-bright Valpolicella, velvet Ripasso, and contemplative Amarone, all shaped by...
Etna is energy in a glass: Nerello Mascalese and Carricante channel lava flows, altitude, and...
Barolo is Nebbiolo at its most articulate—perfume and power shaped by Tortonian and Serravallian soils...

French Wine Regions

Savoie, nestled in the heart of the French Alps, represents one of France's most distinctive...
The Rhône Valley, in southeastern France, borders the Alps to the east and the Massif...
Bordeaux, located in southwestern France, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and...

Natural Winemakers

Heydi Bonanini practices heroic viticulture on terraced cliffs above Riomaggiore, producing Cinque Terre whites and the legendary Sciacchetra from rescued indigenous varieties.
Weingut Niklas is a family-run Alto Adige estate in Kaltern where Dieter Solva farms 7 hectares of calcareous mountain soils to produce precise, aromatic whites and structured Lagrein reds that have carried the family name for over 50 years.
A molecular biology graduate turned sparkling-wine cult figure, Michael Cruse founded Cruse Wine Co. in Petaluma to make fresh, serious, distinctly Californian wine, including old-vine Valdiguie.