Story No. 2. Àngels Saumell’s Grape Jam

“This summer I’ll be preserving my own harvest.

But not strawberries or plums,

Not blackberries or cherries,

Not peaches or pears.

Into my jars will go

The sea breeze, the summer stars,

Quiet woodland paths,

Orchids in bloom and the songs of wild birds...”

From a poem by Anita Gray Chandler

Àngels Saumell’s home is just a few minutes’ drive from Sant Sadurní d’Anoia. The road winds its way through vineyards. In Penedès, they are everywhere, accompanying you wherever you go: lining the roads, surrounding quiet villages, and stretching beyond the stone walls of old masies.

The house sits slightly back from the road. A white hydrangea is in bloom by the entrance, while the garden is home to a pomegranate tree, a strawberry tree, and several oleander bushes. Draped across one of the large shrubs is a magnificent spider's web, shimmering in the sunlight.

We settled onto the terrace. I wanted to begin with family stories.

“What was little Àngels like?”

She laughed.

“Quite ordinary. There were nine of us children. I suppose in a family that big, it's hard to be anything especially remarkable.”

Àngels grew up in a farming family. Her father worked at a factory and, when his shift ended, came home to tend the land. The family lived from what the farm provided: they grew vegetables, cereals, and grapes, and raised livestock.

“What does your childhood smell like?”

Àngels paused for a moment.

“It depended on the season. In spring, it was the scent of almond blossom. In winter, the smoke from fires made with pruned vine cuttings. In autumn, the aroma of grapes. Every season had its own fragrance.”

She told me that nothing was ever wasted at home. Everything the land produced was carefully preserved. Some things were dried, others bottled or canned, while the rest was stored away to last through the winter.

Our conversation turned to family recipes. Like so many Catalan households, theirs revolved around simple, hearty dishes made with homegrown vegetables and meat from animals raised on the farm. Àngels smiled as she named her signature recipe: pig's trotters in a rich chocolate sauce.

Grapes had always been part of Àngels's life, just like vegetables, cereals, and fruit trees. But her family grew only a small amount—just enough to make wine for themselves.

After she married, grapes came to occupy a much larger place in Àngels's life.

Her husband's family had been tending vineyards for generations, and before long, grape growing became the family's main livelihood.

“That was when I began to wonder,” Àngels said. “It always seemed strange to me that grapes were thought of only as something to make wine from, when first and foremost they are a fruit.”

Remembering her family's habit of preserving everything the land provided, Àngels decided one day to try making grape jam. At first, she prepared only small batches at home. She kept refining the recipe, experimenting with different grape varieties, gradually searching for the flavour she had imagined.

In time, another idea took shape—to make the jam without sugar.

“I had to start all over again,” Àngels recalls. “Without sugar, grapes behave completely differently.”

I asked whether her family had supported the idea.

After all, making jam from grapes in a region where everyone turns them into wine was quite a bold thing to do.

“Thankfully, everyone was behind me.”

“And did you ever doubt yourself?”

She smiled and shook her head.

“Once I decide to do something, there's no room left for doubt.”

The first real test came at a local market fair. Àngels brought along just a handful of jars and admits she was terribly nervous that day. But people were intrigued by this unusual jam. They tasted it, asked questions, and bought jars to take home.

She returned that evening with the feeling that the idea born in her own kitchen might appeal to more than just her family.

Today, under the Vinyet label, Àngels produces grape jams made from both white and red varieties.

“Which is your favourite?”

“Xarel·lo.”

“And which is the most challenging?”

“Moscatell. Because of the seeds. There are so many of them, and removing each one is a long, painstaking process.”

I picked up one of the jars and held it to the light. Behind the glass, the jam glowed a deep amber, and it was hard to imagine how many hours of patient work were hidden inside such a small jar.

I asked Àngels how she most enjoys eating her jam.

“Most often with aged cheeses, or as a sauce for meat. Sometimes with fish too—for example, salmon. It makes for a surprisingly delicious combination.”

Before saying goodbye, I asked Àngels the question I ask every person I meet at the end of our conversations:

“If you had to describe your work in just one word, which one would you choose?”

She didn't hesitate for a second.

“Paciència. Patience.”

Then I asked what brought her the greatest joy.

I expected her to say something about a new harvest or a particularly successful batch of jam, but Àngels gave a different answer.

“When people tell me how they enjoy it. They send me photographs and show me the dishes they've created at home. That's when I feel truly happy.”

Before I left, I reached into my bag and took out a watercolour postcard. The artist Valentino Ferrari had painted Àngels standing beside a large copper pot, where grape jam was gently simmering. Small jars were lined up on a wooden table, bunches of grapes lay nearby, and beyond the open window the vineyards of Penedès stretched into the distance.

She studied the painting for a long moment before smiling.

“It's remarkably true to life.”

In return, Àngels gave me several jars of jam, each made from a different grape variety.

Back home, I opened the jar of Xarel·lo, Àngels' favourite variety.

It was rich, vibrant and gently tannic. It was hard to believe there wasn't a single gram of added sugar.

It seemed that everything we had seen that day had somehow found its way into that little jar: ripe grapes, the warm Penedès sun, and the patience of someone who had once looked at grapes in an entirely different way.

Where to Taste Vinyet Grape Jam

Where to Find Vinyet Grape Jam

The easiest way to discover Vinyet is to order the jams directly from the producer's website. The family also regularly takes part in food and artisan fairs throughout Catalonia, with their latest schedule always announced on Instagram.

Vinyet produces a range of sugar-free grape jams, each made from a different grape variety. Every one has its own distinctive flavour and character, so it's well worth trying more than one.

Wabsite: www.vinyet.cat

Instagram: @ melmeladavinyet

My heartfelt thanks to Àngels Saumell for her warm welcome and for sharing her story with such generosity.

Until our next meeting—and the next story.

Yours,Vero