Articles

Another great year in the square for Nit de les Carinyenes

by  |  02-05-2017

Nit de les Carinyenes (“The night of the Carignans”) just saw its 9th edition last week. For those who sadly may yet be unaware of this event, it’s put on yearly by the Porrera Cellars... more »

Building a wine & the art of the blend

by  |  21-02-2017

There are those that say winemaking is an art, but in truth, making the wine is a relatively simplistic process as it just comes down to letting grape juice ferment. Sure, there are many more... more »

Sangenís i Vaqué – Lo Bancal de Granatxa 2015

by  |  31-01-2017

Across the square from my home sits the family winery of Sangenís i Vaqué. It was founded by Pere Sangenís and his wife, Conxita Vaqué, who have run it for years, thus the quite reasonable... 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 »

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 »

In The Glass: Uvas Veloces 2015

by  |  12-08-2016

Sometime back we'd posted about supporting the Uvas Veloces project on the Catalan version of Kickstarter, Verkami. We're not sure if it was our mention or a general curiosity for people to taste this wine... 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 »