Catalan Wines

A new look at Garnatxa Peluda… in Alella

by  |  14-11-2022

Whatever you do, don’t call it, “downy” Grenache. Much like how the peppers from Cuba are often misspelled as “habañeros” in the US or the Georgian aging vessel for wines is incorrectly transcribed as, “qveri”... more »

A Mediterranean exchange, Priorat on Hvar

by  |  04-11-2022

“Well, we like our wines strong here.” It was a statement that I was to hear in various forms during a recent trip to the island of Hvar on the coast of Croatia. In this... more »

Corpinnat calls for more transparent classifications

by  |  21-10-2022

In what was their first edition of “la Nit de Verema” (Harvest Night), Ton Mata, the president of Corpinnat called for immediate implementation of changes to the “Llei catalana de vi” (Catalan Wine Law) which... more »

Food Through Wine: Reus, Catalunya

by  |  07-10-2022

A regular series that reviews dining through the lens of wine. Anyone who lives in Spain is lying to your face if they don’t say that Euskadi (Basque Country) is the top culinary destination in... more »

The wines from Malvasia de Sitges 2022

by  |  28-09-2022

That there are 10,000 grape varieties in the world is daunting. That there are also the countless synonyms, madness. Here is the story of but one finding new a new life in the modern age.... more »

Capçanes & the wines of ‘La Nit de les Garnatxes’

by  |  19-09-2022

In the annual Fira del Vi for the Priorat region, there are really two tasting events that you can’t miss. The only problem is that they happen on the same evening as one another in... more »

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 »