Olot is a town about thirty-six miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea and a two-hour drive from Barcelona; but as far as Fina Puigdevall is concerned, it may as well be on another planet.
Today, San Diego is inching back toward its wine heritage thanks to intrepid growers and winemakers determined to restore larger-scale wine production to the region.
Rather than head the half mile to the Mediterranean Sea, I drove inland to a town called Siurana, near where my mother-in-law lives, to check out what I was told is some of the best cheese in all of Spain.
Based in Marshall, California, Hog Island has become not only a day-trip destination for bivalve-loving bon vivants and a dining institution in San Francisco, but more importantly, a beacon of aquaculture sustainability.