Catalan Wines

The 2022 vintage so far: Iberia and its northeast

by  |  05-08-2022

I’m usually quite loathe to talk about a vintage in progress unless there’s been some kind of major event such as the mildew insanity of 2020. Unknowns are a plenty and the knowns far and... more »
Photos, Danae Rodríguez for Marisol Rubio

Marisol Rubio, Pedro Ximénez at the limits

by  |  03-08-2022

The white Spanish grape variety, Pedro Ximénez is something of a curious creature. For those who may know its name, there’s probably the association with Sherry where it (along with Moscatel) produces the dessert wines... more »
Photo courtesy of Abadia Retuerta

Spain’s newest Vino de Pago in Abadia Retuerta

by  |  01-08-2022

It seems that there’s been a bit of activity again in terms of regional approvals from Brussels as on 31 May, 2022 the Official Journal of the European Union certified the Abadia Retuerta and Bolandin... more »
Road leading to "Los Laureles"

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 »