News
Road leading to "Los Laureles"

Single vineyard certifications come to the Canarias

by  |  20-07-2022

The Denomination of Origin Islas Canarias (the DO created in 2012 that covers all the islands) updated its pliego de condiciones (by-laws) one year ago this month. These revisions don’t happen often so there were... 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 »

An update on Valencia’s wine border conflict

by  |  11-07-2022

The largescale border conflict between denominations of origin (DO) in the Autonomous Region of Valencia in Spain that was reported on back in February of this year appears to have continuing issues. In brief, at... 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 »

Cul de Cuvée 25-06-2021

by  |  25-06-2022

A bluntly-curated selection of absolutely random recent bits from around the wine and drink world served up “mostly fresh” for your enjoyment. As it turns out you can grab a bull by the horns and... 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 »

The wines of DO Montsant 2022

by  |  20-06-2022

I’m very happy to be releasing the latest tasting report for DO Montsant today. Over half of the nearly 90 wines tasted resided within the vintage boundaries of 2018, 2019, and 2020. But, with 1/4... more »

The Hail Mary to save La Palma’s vine heritage

by  |  15-06-2022

It was on September 19th, 2021 that the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge in the island of la Palma, Spain began a massive, three-month long eruption. It’s no small thing to say that this was a... more »

Cul de Cuvée 11-06-2022

by  |  11-06-2022

A bluntly-curated selection of absolutely random recent bits from around the wine and drink world served up “mostly fresh” for your enjoyment. Well Sue Gray really put the “downer” in Downing Street as now that... more »

The wines of AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2022

by  |  31-05-2022

I’d missed that view of the “Pope’s new castle” seen above. It’s striking in how it lords over the village of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, making for spectacular photos whether day or night. My longing for it was... more »