Catalan Wines

The rebirth of the Escanyavella grape in Priorat

by  |  20-05-2016

There existed many old grape varieties in Catalonia; many of them in much greater numbers before phylloxera. In the days that followed this catastrophic attack to European winemaking there was something of a viticultural reckoning... more »

What private, or “own-label” wines bring to the table

by  |  19-05-2016

If there is one thing more tedious than wine articles, it's wine articles about other wine articles which is why I try not to do it much here, although I do renege on this from... more »

DO Montsant, calling it “cheap Priorat” is just so 2006

by  |  04-05-2016

I've been giving a series of guided tastings in English at the Wine Aspects school in Vilafranca del Penedès. They started with DO Empordà and will finish with DOQ Priorat. But right in the middle,... more »
When there is wine, everyone is a protagonist

Why social media doesn’t sell wine

by  |  26-04-2016 ~ 7 Comments

Imagine walking in to a bar to meet up with your friends for a drink and a chat. Say there are four of you at the table and one person in the group is talking... more »

Color me unsurprised, Wine Folly gets Priorat dead wrong

by  |  12-04-2016 ~ 4 Comments

There's usually not too much to be gained in pointing out someone else's errors. At best, people see you as a smart ass. At worst, they see you as an asshole. Essentially, some varying shade... more »
Hudin.com

Support “Uvas Veloces” and get tasty Grenache wines

by  |  18-03-2016

For those who don't know Verkami, it's startup based in Catalonia that, while something of European take on Kickstarter in the US, has it's own angle, specifically in terms of funding wine projects. We've pitched... more »
Looking up California Street to Nob Hill with fog, naturally

The “San Francisco” cocktail

by  |  17-03-2016

This article was one I was kicking around for some time as it formed a perfect, San Francisco-Barcelona bridge albeit a cocktail-centric one. I ended up running it at my friend’s cocktail blog in Spanish,... more »
An open window in Cape Coast, Ghana

Transparency in wine journalism

by  |  15-03-2016

Overall, it feels like wine is being made more approachable with countless websites, books, and indeed, people trying to distill down what is ironically a very simple thing to make. Despite this, at the top-end... more »

What is Guildsomm, the “Guild of Sommeliers”?

by  |  20-02-2016

This article was written in 2016 and makes mention of Geoff Kruth, the founder of GuildSomm and its president at the time of writing. These are facts and while I’ve left the article as it... more »
First Growth, redacted

Bordeaux takes off the blinders

by  |  09-02-2016

There has been a bit of a controversy brewing with the forthcoming Bordeaux en primeur tastings in that the Union des Grands Crus or essentially, the powers that be, have banned blind tasting for any... more »