Articles

Vi Ranci in World of Fine Wine

by  |  13-12-2016

My personal history with the wine known as Vi Ranci goes as such: I tried it for the first time about eight years ago and didn’t know what to make of it, I tried it... more »

A review of “Priorat” (The Movie!)

by  |  07-11-2016 ~ 7 Comments

The opening night of the Most Festival saw the premiere of, "Priorat" a documentary created to tell the story of the rebirth of a wine region that nearly faded in to the sands of time.... more »

Catalan Carignan & The “Best” Catalan Wine

by  |  10-10-2016 ~ 1 Comment

Last Friday the winners were announced for the 4th edition of the Vinari Awards. This is the main wine award for all of Catalonia and this year I participated as one of the judges. So,... more »

Bridging wine’s language silos

by  |  30-09-2016

Vinum is a wine shop in my adopted village of Porrera where it's usually the mother of the family that owns it, Cori who you'll find behind the counter. She's from the next county over,... more »

Gettin’ Grenachey – Cellers de Scala Dei & RAR

by  |  21-07-2016

There are those who, if a wine hasn't spent at least a year in the finest French oak and isn't from the finest block of vines, then they consider it to have little worth. Honestly,... more »

Cooperatives, terroir, and finding place in 21st Catalonia

by  |  05-07-2016

Previously, I wrote about the rise of the small cellars in DO Montsant which, unsurprisingly was well-received by those in this DO who have been working hard to present a unified front of quality wines... more »

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 »

Taking a balanced look at the Priorats

by  |  16-05-2016

Whether viewing it as a yolk and its white or a donut and its hole, it's hard not to see DOQ Priorat and DO Montsant closely linked given that the latter wraps nearly completely around... more »
Photo courtesy of Clos 93

Discovering “Garnatxa del Po”

by  |  27-04-2016

Clos 93 is one of those cellars in DOQ Priorat that exemplifies how the winemakers in this appellation are more closely resembling those in Burgundy than anywhere else in Spain. With just 12,000 bottles a... 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 »