Sliding into winter, sparkling at the ready
Year 15, No. 17
Once all the olives are pressed and the oil runs free, winter has officially arrived to Spain.
Sometimes this arrival is in kind, gentle ways, such as the graceful fog seen above when visiting Raventós i Blanc recently. Or then, it’s the 213mm (8.5in) of rain that arrived to Priorat, unleashing nearly half the annual rainfall in less than half a day. Unlike what happened in València last year, we all seem to have survived this thankfully, but these events are constantly getting more extreme with the last one in 2019 at ‘just’ 160mm in half a day.
It seems that we can’t change the weather however, so why not pair it with with a fine sparkling wine, like those of Raventós or another savory bottle of bubbles like the Gran Torelló.
Such fine wines helps us through these dark days, although, as of today, it’s only getting lighter from here on out and in case you need additional suggestions, do have a glance at the Top 100 for 2025. (*)
Please note that we’ve updated the formats (*) for subscriptions to make them much, much clearer. There’s also the introduction of a new Commercial option that has a special offer right now for those interested in either a new subscription or upgrading their current one.
I also want to mention that this will be the last newsletter for the year as we take our winter pause. There are a wealth of exciting new items coming early in January, so as always, please stay tuned. Do note that the videos shall keep coming while the articles take a breather. Continue following the new and very fun to produce, “Drink it or Sink it” series which you can find on YouTube and/or Instagram Reels depending upon your preferred media poison.
Thus, we hope your celebrations see you in fine spirits as we head into whatever might be waiting for us in 2026.
Drink well, be well.
-Miquel
(*) Free to read
And now this
The Catalan authorities have released a new slate of Vi de Finca wines which is always worth having a look at, given that they’ve now grown to two dozen in total.
For those in need of a last-minute gift for enotourism lovers or perhaps for themselves, have a look at these new guides for Switzerland as well as the Rhône Valley.
How about a fun sparkling wine to celebrate the 25th anniversary of a small Cava producer from the Penedès region?
And there’s nothing quite like a ‘fresh’ wine from Ribera del Duero that offers up a great deal of pleasure and the inability to stop drinking it!