Catalan Wines

Tasting Parés Baltà’s future, from 2021

by  |  07-09-2022

In cleaning up my tasting notes, I came across this, en primeur tasting of wines that I did in the early spring at Parés Baltà with the winemaker, Marta Casas. I believe I was up... 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 »

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 »

The second Corpinnat Festival Gastronòmic

by  |  18-07-2022

If you read the news lately, it can seem like the world is falling apart. This is why it’s important to take a minute to look at some positives as there are some good things... more »

The wines of DOQ Priorat 2022

by  |  14-07-2022

The wine industry continues to find itself in a wealth of challenges which is why this report on DOQ Priorat (and its corresponding Tasting Report) was one of the most difficult to put together in... more »

The return of la Cimera del Xarel·lo!

by  |  07-07-2022

A tasting featuring Xarel·lo sounds like a wonderful thing. That’s why back in 2015, Josep Cusiné of Parés Baltà and Ignasi Segui of Vinyes Singulars had the idea to make it happen at the 16th-century... more »

Five wines from Penedès to know right now

by  |  30-06-2022

Following is a curated selection of wines derived from the most-recent DO Penedès report. I’d hate to refer to them as “picks for the summer” but admittedly, four out of the five wines are whites... more »
Photo from Huguet de Can Feixes

The first “Vi de Mas” certifications arrive to DO Penedès

by  |  22-06-2022

It was just back in November of 2021 that Catalunya’s DO Penedès announced a massive overhaul of their bylaws with most of the changes aimed at re-orienting the region via a “10-year plan”. One of... more »