Articles

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 »

Finding the finesse in a ‘rancid wine’

by  |  02-01-2017

It may impossible when gazing upon the crumbling slate and the rugged landscape, but in 1893 phylloxera arrived to the Catalan county of Priorat, starting in the village of Porrera. From there it spread rapidly... more »

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 »