Catalan Wines

Adieu France – The regrafting of Catalan vineyards

by  |  09-03-2017

“I can’t speak for all of Spain, but Cabernet Sauvignon sucks in Catalunya. You pick it when it’s ripe and you’re going to be making dessert wine. You pick it before it raisins and it’s... more »

Building a wine & the art of the blend

by  |  21-02-2017

There are those that say winemaking is an art, but in truth, making the wine is a relatively simplistic process as it just comes down to letting grape juice ferment. Sure, there are many more... more »

The best of Catalan white wines

by  |  07-02-2017

Last fall, I received a commission from Decanter to do a report on the white wines of Catalonia for the March issue of a publication in the UK. You of course may be asking yourself,... more »

The white wines of Terra Alta

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Terra Alta is a region that I’ve been tasting regularly for nearly a decade and the changes they’ve been making are impressive. This really all came to head with the election of a DO president... more »

The white wines of Penedès

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A logical starting point in any article about Catalan white wines is DO Penedès. They are by far the largest wine producing region in Catalonia and 80% of what they produce is in the form... more »

Sangenís i Vaqué – Lo Bancal de Granatxa 2015

by  |  31-01-2017

Across the square from my home sits the family winery of Sangenís i Vaqué. It was founded by Pere Sangenís and his wife, Conxita Vaqué, who have run it for years, thus the quite reasonable... more »

All the bubbly fit to drink

by  |  26-01-2017

The clouds part when the middle of January presents itself. This is of course only in the figurative sense as literally, the weather is quite squalid, but this moment of clarity is due to reaching... more »

Tasting four decades

by  |  21-01-2017

It’s a fun stunt to try and taste the decades of your life via bottles of wine. As one gets older, it becomes ever more difficult as the older wines get more scarce, somewhat giving... more »

Finding the finesse in a ‘rancid wine’

by  |  02-01-2017

It may impossible when gazing upon the crumbling slate and the rugged landscape, but in 1893 phylloxera arrived to the Catalan county of Priorat, starting in the village of Porrera. From there it spread rapidly... more »

Wine Predictions for 2017

by  |  28-12-2016

This is of course that time of year when anyone writing in wine sets forth their grand predictions for this next trip around the sun. Yay! They can sometimes be interesting but, despite its slow... more »