Just a reminder that on the 11th of March, we’ll be co-hosting a Blogger’s meet and greet in Barcelona. And although the event is hosted by a winery and wine blog, we are extending the invitation to anyone who is a blogger in wine, food, tourism, marketing, etc to please come join us. It’s our way of rallying the blogging troops together to network, share stories and generally just have a good time! If you’re interested, please leave a comment or send an email to let us know your joining us. One of our clients, Bodegas Tintoralba, will be providing the meal and the wine, a treat I trust you’ll enjoy. More detailed information is provided in the press release below, and please, pass on the information to others!

What: Wine Blogger’s Dinner (informal Tapas and Tintoralba Wine)
Where: Hotel Chic and Basic, carrera de la princesa 50, Barcelona
When: March 11th, 2008 - 8:30pm to 10:30pm
Who: Bloggers and people interested blogging who are attending Alimentaria 2008

Bodegas Tintoralba, is cooperative located in D.O. Almansa, Spain, producing wines from Garnacha Tintorera. This year during the Wine and Food event Alimentaria, they along with Catavino.net will be hosting a dinner for bloggers of any make and model. Any blogger attending Alimentaria is welcome to come to Wine Bloggers Dinner 2008 along with bloggers who will be in Barcelona the night of the event. Regardless if your passions fall to food, wine or travel, you are more than welcome to attend.

The bloggers dinner will be held at the restaurant Hotel and Chic in downtown Barcelona. For more information, check out Tintoralba and Catavino. During the dinner you will have a chance to talk with the winemaker from Bodegas Tintoralba and learn more about the grape …

Ahhh, actually, they have absolutely nothing in common, but because we had a fair amount of material to cover today, we thought we’d create little hodge-podge of fun facts and interviews. Plus, after week of being inundated with information on global warming, we thought you deserved a break, or at least a quasi break (keep reading and you’ll understand).

D.O. Arlanza and D.O. Tierra del Vino de Zamora
I’ve forgotten how many Denominacion de Origens there were when we first began Catavino three years ago, but damn, it feels like their increasing as quickly as Brittney Spear’s rap sheet. Our two newest additions, D.O. Arlanza and D.O. Tierra del vino de Zamora located in Castilla y León, have finally joined the ranks to encompass a total of 67 DOs. After four years of patiently wading their way through Vinos de Calidad (quality wines) and Vinos de la Tierra (Regional Wines) classifications, they’ve finally earned the title of DO on January 24th.

You can expect to find white wines in DO Arlanza made from Albillo and Viura, and Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mencía, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot for the reds; while DO Tierra del Vino de Zamora recognizes the white varieties of Malvasía, Moscatel, Verdejo, Albillo, Palomino and Godello, and Tempranillo, Garnacha and Cabernet Sauvignon for the reds.

Catavino Newsletter Status and Rioja Adventures

So we’re feeling a little ambitious! Although we originally intended to settle down to a bi-monthly newsletter, we figured we’d surprise you all with an Odds and Ends Newsletter, filled with several tasting notes ranging from the eastern coast of Portugal all the way to the western coast of Spain, in addition to a featured article and a fun podcast. Unexpected? We hope so, because we didn’t plan on putting this together, but …

As we mentioned in one of our first articles debating the merits of the Climate Change and Wine conference, feeling a little frustrated that adaptation was given more weight than prevention, we were left with two predominant voices who appeared to agree that prevention, albeit important, must go hand in hand with adaptation. One Richard Smart, an internationally renowned viticulturalist, suggested that even if we globally cut carbon emissions, it would still take another fifty years before the climate would balance itself out. Hence, he emphasized acceptance toward change, and that we as an industry need to push forward in our research, while investing in adaptive measures now. Some of his suggestions included investing in real estate to ensure a prosperous future, “The warming temperatures are opening up new regions.” These “new” regions lie south of the equator in countries such as Chile, Argentina, Tasmania and New Zealand, where temperature change will be moderate as compared to the northern half of the globe, containing greater land mass and less water to absorb the sun. Cooler and/or higher regions are also worthy of consideration, as is research into varietals that will be better suited to your future regional climate. However, keep in mind that although Richard accepts climate change as inevitable, he also adamantly advocats political activism on behalf of concerned citizens who want to act now.

Miguel Torres, owner of the legendary Spanish winery, Bodegas Torres (podcast with Miguel’s daughter, Mireia) not only agreed wholeheartedly with Richard’s assessment, but has implemented strategic measures to both conserve resources now, while preparing for dramatic changes in the future. Señor Torres made it known that consumption was one of our greatest human faults, driving the climate to change faster than if we used in moderation and shared resources. Hence, he …

In Al Gore’s speech to us in the final hour of the II International Conference on Climate and Wine, he was asked by an attendee of the conference if children were being adequately educated on the topic of climate change. His response was simply that no, they weren’t, but that we needed to take great caution when we do choose to educate them on the inevitable, considering that it is they who will see the most dire consequences of this phenomenon. And if, and when, we do decide to step up to the plate and present them with the facts of figures of tomorrow’s changing world, we must do so with great caution so that they may not look upon the future with fear and hesitation, but rather hope. And when they look back to the past at their parent’s efforts during a time of change and instability, they will do so with pride that their ancestors stood up against great odds to make the hard choices necessary to permit change towards a greener, healthier, more balanced, existence: an existence that changed its focus from consumption to preservation, from greed to sharing and from fear to openness.

As an educator, I took these ideas to heart, because I still feel that the majority of people look at this issue as if it is too big, too large and too ominous to tackle. And because CO2 is odorless and invisible, we can’t quantifiably measure our contribution against it. If we had a little dial mounted in our kitchen tracking each time we chose not to use our car, chose energy efficient appliances or recycled our waste, maybe this would make a difference, but for now, many feel as if they cannot do anything to significantly change …

There are times when a bit of luck and good timing align to provide you an incredible opportunity. At the conference, there were so many people we wanted to talk to and many we unfortunately missed. Thus, I honestly didn’t expect Bruno Prats to talk with us. I had just listened to his speech on climate change, using three different continents as examples, when suddenly during our lunch break, I found myself being introduced to him as he poured me a glass of the stunning wine Chryseia, a Douro red he produces alongside Charles Symington. The wine was amazing and Bruno Prats himself happened to be one of the kindest and most sincere men I have spoken to. Quickly, I asked for a word with him on camera, and the video below is the result.

Today, Bruno produces wines in Chile, South Africa and Portugal, and this experience has taught him a considerable amount about how the world of wine is changing in the face of climate change. I hope that you enjoy the video, and if you have a chance, do not pass up the opportunity to taste Chryseia, a wine that clearly shows that the Douro Valley is one of the most promising terroirs in the world of wine today!

Cheers,
Ryan Opaz

Video content from the conference was produced by Richard Gillespie please contact us if you are interested in hiring Richard for your next project.