Articles

Choice, the problem is choice.

by  |  02-09-2022 ~ 10 Comments

If we live in any age at the moment, it’s the Age of Solutionism. There seems to be a never-ending supply of guys (always guys) who believe that for anything in existence, surely a technological... more »

The wines of Montilla-Moriles 2022

by  |  31-08-2022

At the beginning of June, I boarded a highspeed AVE train down to Córdoba in Andalucía, Spain. It was a trip of 4.5 hours (vs the 8.5 it would take to drive) but my fingers... more »

An update on the Ukraine charity auction: a Priorat tour

by  |  29-08-2022

Back in March, when I was interviewing Anna Zahorodnya, the co-owner of Terra de Marca in Penedès who is originally from Ukraine, she told me, “If this war is over in say, six months, people... more »

Eight wines from Montsant to know right now

by  |  12-08-2022

I’ve been working on the review for the latest edition of a well-known, 700-page wine reference. About midway through, I had to pause for a bit when I came across this mention of DO Montsant,... more »

Ora Hotel, Priorat’s newest lodging destination

by  |  10-08-2022

Today sees the grand opening of the Ora Hotel in Torroja, a lovely stone village at the dead center of the Priorat wine region. It’s an opening that got quite delayed from its original timeline... more »

A taste of 2021 Pošip from Korčula, Croatia

by  |  08-08-2022

There’s little debate about the fact that one of my most favorite white grape varieties from Croatia is Pošip. Please immediately make note that this is not a synonym for the Hungarian grape, Furmint. That’s... more »

The 2022 vintage so far: Iberia and its northeast

by  |  05-08-2022

I’m usually quite loathe to talk about a vintage in progress unless there’s been some kind of major event such as the mildew insanity of 2020. Unknowns are a plenty and the knowns far and... more »
Photos, Danae Rodríguez for Marisol Rubio

Marisol Rubio, Pedro Ximénez at the limits

by  |  03-08-2022

The white Spanish grape variety, Pedro Ximénez is something of a curious creature. For those who may know its name, there’s probably the association with Sherry where it (along with Moscatel) produces the dessert wines... more »
Photo courtesy of Abadia Retuerta

Spain’s newest Vino de Pago in Abadia Retuerta

by  |  01-08-2022

It seems that there’s been a bit of activity again in terms of regional approvals from Brussels as on 31 May, 2022 the Official Journal of the European Union certified the Abadia Retuerta and Bolandin... more »

The hidden truth of alternative wine bottle formats

by  |  28-07-2022 ~ 2 Comments

A few weeks previous on Twitter, someone in the wine trade was extolling the virtues of a new, non-glass wine bottle format that uses a plastic liner for the wine. There are many of these... more »