Cuvée de Peña

Les Vignerons de Cases de Pene. Cellier d'Agly. Château de Pena.

The cooperative winery in Cases de Pene, a tiny village in the Roussillon region of Southern France, goes by many names, but with its Catalan culture, most Americans simply call it "Peña".

Situated less than 10 miles from the city of Perpignan, in the Agly Valley of the Pyrénées, the name "Cases de Pene" is a derivation of the Catalan for "house of stones". It is a hot, rugged, wind-swept place with distinctive, marne and black schistic soils.

Five growers jointly own the vineyards of the original Château. Another five grow wine full-time for a living, and every other family in the village owns a few acres. With nearly 1,000 acres under vines and an annual production of almost 150,000 cases per year, it is not a small operation! Though almost half of the production is of the region's sweet, fortified wines (much of which is still sold in bulk), sales of dry table wines in bottle and 3L bag-in-box continue to grow and have become a sizable portion of the business. The heart and soul of Peña is winemaker Joseph "Tony" Gonzalez, who has 20+ years experience at Peña, a brilliant flair for winemaking, and an instinctive and profound knowledge of the vineyards and terroir. He has been offered more money by private producers, but loves his job working with the growers and crafting the wines of Peña.

The Cuvée de Peña Rouge is the flagship HPS wine from Peña, and it has become a cornerstone of the HPS portfolio. The wine has been blended by HPS at the Peña since the very beginning (1991)! An unoaked, unfiltered blend of Grenache, Carignan and Syrah, it has been recognized by The Wine Advocate for its character and outstanding value in 11 of the past 14 vintages. The Cuvée de Peña 3L Bag-in-Box has also garnered a host of press, and was recently featured on AOL, Esquire Magazine, and even NBC's The Today Show! The new packaging for the Cuvée de Peña Rouge, which was introduced with the 2006 vintage, was so well-received that HPS now sells Peña's fantastic rosé and Viognier under the same label.

Peña also produces a range of young, easy drinking wines under the Ninet de Pena label, and a great red Côtes du Roussillon Villages and number of sweet, fortified wines (for which the Rivesaltes region of Roussillon is renowned) under the Château de Pena label.