Articles

DO Empordà first region in Spain to allow the Carinyena Blanca grape

by  |  04-03-2020

It has finally been announced in the almighty, Official Spanish State Bulletin (Boletín Oficial del Estado) that Carinyena Blanca (White Carignan) will be allowed for use in DO Empordà starting with the 2020 harvest, making... more »

A hop across the Douro: Quinta de Tourais

by  |  02-03-2020

When heading to the Douro Valley for The New Douro tasting last year, I came across a little hotel called, Original Douro Hotel in Peso da Régua. It was a touch more expensive than some... more »

Catalan exports up, wine down. Time to bend tariffs?

by  |  28-02-2020

The Catalan Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fishing, and Foods (Agricultura, Ramaderia, Pesca i Alimentació) had their annual round table meeting this week to discuss final figures for 2019. The good news is that exports of... more »

A book review of “The Concise Guide to Wine & Blind Tasting 3rd Ed.”

by  |  27-02-2020

Not terribly long ago, I reviewed the second edition of Neel Burton’s foundational tome on tasting wines blind. Towards the end of 2018, he brought out a revised third edition which probably makes anyone with... more »

The absolute best Rioja wines! (available in the UK…)

by  |  24-02-2020

If you’re going to hold a tasting that focuses on one of Spain’s oldest quality wine regions, a sure-fire way to juice it up a bit is to have the venue be one of the... more »

Playing the game of Three-Cab Monte

by  |  14-02-2020

I was leading a tasting recently and out of random curiosity, one of the clients asked, “By the way, what Cabernet Sauvignons can you recommend?” I wasn’t really expecting that as we were tasting through... more »
Photo by Edetària

El Mas d’Edetària Selecció, the first ‘Vi de Finca’ in DO Terra Alta

by  |  07-02-2020

And now for some much-needed good news in wine: I’m happy to report that there’s been a new Vi de Finca announced which is also the first one from DO Terra Alta! Yes, “El Mas... more »

The ‘solidarity’ efforts to rebuild the Rendéu Masdéu cellar in Conca de Barberà

by  |  29-01-2020

These have not been the finest of months for wineries when it comes to Mother Nature… and sadly, probably won’t be the last that we’ve seen. Fires have ravaged Southeastern Australia destroying cellars, homes, vineyards,... more »
Photo by Corpinnat

And then there were 10: Celler Descregut joins Corpinnat

by  |  20-01-2020

While they were some of the absolute best Cava producers, it was admittedly just a handful of them who left to form Corpinnat last year. Momentum appears to be gaining however as shown by the... more »

DO Penedès & ‘native’ reds

by  |  14-01-2020

In simpler times, if one were drinking a white wine from Spain, it would most likely have been a white from Penedès. This shouldn’t come as much of a shock given that 80% of the... more »