Articles

VdT Castilla y León wines, for when DO doesn’t do it

by  |  04-12-2018

Perhaps you’ve never heard of it but the Spanish Autonomous Community of Castilla y León is the country’s largest. And no, it’s not Castilla y La Mancha of Don Quixote fame as that’s another region... more »

“Carinyena”, the original Carignan now free to be itself

by  |  29-11-2018

Carignan doesn’t see a whole lotta love. It’s most certainly no Pinot Noir nor Chardonnay nor Cabernet Sauvignon in terms of name recognition nor pan-global wine enjoyment. It’s not even at the level of Grenache... more »

A small taste of Málaga

by  |  26-11-2018

You are spoiled, simply spoiled, when it comes to wonderful food and drink in Spain. There are however those more spoiled than others and I posit that anyone in Catalunya or the Basque Country lives... more »

Sta. Rita Hills on the up. Tyler – La Rinconada 2014

by  |  20-11-2018

For anyone who enjoys lunacy as a past time, blind tasting is there or you to occupy your spare hours and potentially drive away any potential spouse. I do sympathize with people in this pursuit... more »

The definitive wine guide for Thanksgiving

by  |  16-11-2018 ~ 1 Comment

My Great Uncle George had Thanksgiving food and drink pairing down pat: "Everything tastes better with Budweiser". Straight shooting and always to the point, you'd never have known George was first generation Portuguese given his... more »

Carignan abounds, Tomas Cusiné – Finca Barqueres 2016

by  |  14-11-2018

Sometime back, a group of enologists in Catalunya called, “10 Sentits” (10 senses) made a Grenache-based wine called “Cat Negre” that was culled from all 10 DOs of Catalunya (they nixed DO Cava as it’s... more »

The ever-mighty Xarel·lo. Recaredo: Turó d’en Mota 2006 & Serral del Vell 2008

by  |  29-10-2018

Perhaps it’s because t hasn’t popped up on #sommlife or the less-used but seemingly less annoying #awesomm. Or, perhaps it’s just that the punt volat (·) tosses people for a wobbly, but Xarel·lo is still... more »

What once was lost: Abadal – Mandó 2016

by  |  22-10-2018

When the spare thought allows, I often wonder how the vinous landscape of Europe would look today were it not for the scourge of Phylloxera in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. The root... more »

A heretic is born: Cellers de Scala Dei – l’Heretge 2016

by  |  16-10-2018

According to all facts and figures available, the Grenache grape is what dominates the vineyards and production in DOQ Priorat, standing at 39% of the total as of 2017. It used to be a bit... more »

New wine mag on the block: Root & Vine

by  |  11-10-2018

The current mantra for entrepreneurship in the United States is that of “success through failure”. It’s become a nearly religious belief among the web industry ilk as people have many, many failures until they have... more »