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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 »

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 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 »

Two very different sides of DO Ribera del Duero

by  |  08-04-2022

This is a short comparison of the wines from Abadía de San Quirce and Bodegas Veganzones. While both are located in DO Ribera del Duero, they illustrate just how much difference there can be in... more »

The wines from Tempranillo Blanco in Rioja 2022

by  |  06-04-2022

While color mutations of grapes do happen from time to time, they’re not an everyday occurrence. Their existence is one thing but the real question is whether a mutation can actually produce a quality wine... more »

Deeper details on Valencia’s wine border conflict

by  |  11-02-2022

For years now, a local skirmish between the three denominations of origin in Spain’s Autonomous Region of Valencia has been brewing. While in no way living up to geopolitical crisis that’s been unfolding in Ukraine,... more »

The wines of Rioja’s Viñedos Singulares 2022

by  |  14-01-2022

If someone has not spent time in the Rioja region, it’s nearly impossible to impress upon them as to how incredibly large and diverse it is. Something like 100km long and 50km wine in terms... more »

Best Spanish wines of 2021

by  |  08-12-2021

For the first time I’m doing a Best Spanish Wines list which is accompanying my yearly Best Catalan Wines list. Why are they separate? Some may assume it’s some kind of political statement but the... more »

The growing fraud case of Reserva de la Tierra

by  |  25-10-2021

As I reported in my article for Decanter last week, there’s currently a breaking story of massive wine fraud unfolding in Southern Catalunya. The perpetrator is alleged to be the company, “Reserva de la Tierra”... more »

I tasted these 2€ Spanish wines so you didn’t have to

by  |  04-10-2021

Spain has no problem selling its wines… as long as they’re “a good value”. This has become a double-edged sword given that the common perception, especially in markets like the UK, is that Spanish wines... more »