Family Connections at Navarra's Bodegas Chivite

Will write more soon about some extraordinary wines about to be released by Chivite, the leading winery in Navarra, but first, we must eat, right?

The new facility, burrowed into the rolling Navarra hills, was designed by a friend of the Chivite family, Pritzker Prize-winner Rafael Moneo. An extraordinary barrel cellar connects the winemaking and administrative wings, which in turn bracket a vineyard, guardhouse and chapel. Can we eat now, please?

Marifé Blanco, who manages European exports for the winery, says Chivite's top-selling wine remains their strawberry pink Gran Feudo Rosado; the 2004 vintage, made from five grape varieties, was served with a lunch that featured foie gras, iberico ham, the famous red ("crystal") peppers, lettuce with asparagus and a deeply-flavored braised lamb shank. All catered by a nearby restaurant called Maher. The chef is one of the most famous in Spain, Enrique Martinez, whose grandmother started the restaurant 40 years ago. Her name? Sabina Chivite.