Truffles, Chardonnay, & very different world

Year 12, No. 01

Mar 15, 2022

Greetings,

What a difference a month makes...

For those not in Europe, the refugee crisis from Russia's illegal attack on Ukraine is very real. In Catalunya, we already had a large Ukrainian population before the war which is growing as everyone does what they can to take in and support those fleeing these horrific crimes against humanity.

The Ukrainian courage is stunning but there is more we can all do to effect change (*) in the long term. I'll be talking more about some short-term initiatives in the near future as I can't stop thinking about the horrors people are experiencing when I'm doing even the most mundane parts of my everyday life.

In far less depressing news and from what seems like another lifetime ago, I've released the Petaluma Gap report from my visit to California in December. Also from California, I review the current releases from the low-intervention producer, Broc Cellars in Berkeley.

We had our first truffle-hunting dog competition here in Priorat which was enjoyed by all.

Bonafide English person, Dan Kirby, was gracious enough to write about the exciting changings happening in English Chardonnay (*).

There are also reviews of what Vina Carić has been doing on the island of Hvar in Croatia, tasty wines from Tejo (*), Portugal as well as details on the Valencia border conflict and exciting, new 'brisat' (orange) wines from Terra Alta in Catalunya.

Times are troubling. Help those you can and be well,

-Miquel

* articles are free to read

FEATURED ARTICLE

In Other News... *

It's impossible to ignore the tremendous Russian bear in the room so here I take a look at what we are citizens can do to try and avert such atrocities as this war in the future and how it's been a long-overdue wake up call about our sources of energy.

REGIONAL REPORT

Petaluma Gap, California

An appellation carved out of the wind. Novel concept? Very much so, but in the few short years since its founding, Petaluma Gap has shown a unique profile in the Sonoma region.