Articles

The new take on Castell of Cooperativa Falset Marçà

by  |  26-08-2015

Sometime back I received this set of samples from the Cooperative of Falset Marçà in Priorat who fall under the auspices of DO Montsant. For those unfamiliar with the cooperatives of the county of Priorat,... more »

Remelluri & Reserva 2008

by  |  20-08-2015

While I generally focus on Catalan wines as I find them to be quite dynamic these days, I also try to review other regions of Spain and thus we arrive at Remelluri from Rioja. This... more »

Ivory Coast, now Spain’s #1 export market in Africa

by  |  18-08-2015

Naturally when one thinks about African wine, one thinks only about South African but of course that's not the only chapter in the book as there are wines produced in North Africa as well as... more »

In The Glass: Aixalà Alcait – Coster de l’Alzina 2011

by  |  11-08-2015

There seems to be a codified response to winemakers choosing a name for their wine. They go simple and call it "negre" "rouge" or "red". They go brash and name it "cardinal zin" or "bitch".... more »

Penedès, so fresh and so cold

by  |  04-08-2015

I'm not going out on a limb to say that we've had more than our share of hot weather this summer. I suppose it's making up for the relatively mild summer last year. Given this,... more »

A taste of Lledoner Roig

by  |  28-07-2015

As is the case with many old European wine grapes, Grenache Gris has a number of synonyms but one of the names you very rarely hear is "Lledoner Roig". By no means is this due... more »

Viens à Vingrau, a wine excursion in Roussillon

by  |  25-07-2015

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, then the French village of Vingrau is flattering the crap out of nearby neighbor Calce. You see, for some time Calce has put on a little annual... more »

Jean Jacques Confuron la Montagne & Burgundy 2012

by  |  23-07-2015

There is, typically a rush of air from the room when a bottle of French wine from the famed region of Burgundy emerges from a cellar. Care is taken upon opening with the foil neatly... more »

The tools of the sommelier trade

by  |  21-07-2015 ~ 2 Comments

I just received a box of some new and improved sommelier tools. While there aren't as many tools crucial to the work of being a sommelier (beyond cramming a literal library of knowledge in to... more »

An introduction to Montsant via Acústic

by  |  16-07-2015

Much as I previously wrote in An introduction to Empordà wines, it's important to know those wines of a region which allow you a good gateway in to the region at large. Sure, finding less... more »