Articles

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 »

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 »

Five wines from Penedès to know right now

by  |  30-06-2022

Following is a curated selection of wines derived from the most-recent DO Penedès report. I’d hate to refer to them as “picks for the summer” but admittedly, four out of the five wines are whites... 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 state of DO Penedès 2022

by  |  09-05-2022

The DO Penedès has been on the move lately. The biggest news of course is their ten-year plan where they’ve set up a system under the Vi de Mas for vineyard classifications. Even more impressive... more »

Ukraine meets Penedès

by  |  28-03-2022

When Anna Zahorodnya was a teenager in Kostopil, Ukraine she had no idea how different her adult life would be. And who could, given that now in her 30s, she lives in a completely different... more »

Understanding DO Penedès’s ‘Vi de Mas’ certification

by  |  03-12-2021

Last week, an article I wrote for Decanter covered a rather massive number of changes that DO Penedès has planned up through 2030. Some of the highlights are: All vineyards fully-certified as organic by 2025... more »

A deep dive into the Garnatxa of Parés Baltà

by  |  09-08-2021

History can be an incredible teacher if of course one is willing to listen. This is doubly so in wine when it comes to tasting what was done in the past and it’s why vertical... more »

Checking in on Plana d’en Jan

by  |  19-03-2021

I like to say that “curiosity sates the palate”. This is why last year I did a tasting of “native” red varieties in DO Penedès. Initially I had only wanted varieties that were considered native... more »

In The Glass: Torres – Forcada 2016

by  |  19-02-2021

A story in wine spheres that probably hasn’t received enough attention is the work that Torres has been doing to recuperate the “lost” grape varieties of Catalunya. As the story goes, starting back in the... more »