Not surprisingly, Tom is also heavily involved with the Great Wine Capitals project. From their website:

The Global Network of Great Wine Capitals,which embraces Melbourne, Bordeaux, San Francisco - Napa Valley, Porto, Cape Town, Bilbao-Rioja, Florence and Mendoza, works to encourage international winery tourism, as well as economic, academic and cultural exchanges between these famous capitals of wine.

To tell you the truth, I don’t have much experience with the Great Wine Capitals, and have only run into it a few times. Bit from what I can tell, it is a project that helps the capitals themselves to embrace enotourism.

According to Tom, my sense of the project was accurate in that the project is geared towards supporting wine capitals to better assist travelers. Additionally, there is a new website currently being constructed that will offer various tools for wine travelers. After Tom participated in the EWBC, he is convinced that social media and blogging should also become a part of the strategy for future incarnations of the Great Wine Capitals website. We can only hope that he succeeds in convincing the group as a whole.

Today, Catavino offers you a short interview conducted by email with Tom. Please take note of the last question, as it is directed specifically towards our readers. So please take a moment to answer the question and show Tom what a bunch of wine blog readers can do!

I just spent about a half hour on your site, and I realized that it appears to have very little for the consumer. This makes me think, what is the message of Great Wine Capitals for the wine consumer? Or maybe I’m misunderstanding the focus, what is the goal of Great Wine Capitals?

I think the site has a lot of useful information for consumers, especially to help them identify excellence in winery tourism on an international level through the winners of the “Best Of” awards. It is also a potentially useful tool when consumers are planning a visit to one of the regions-there’s information about lodging, restaurants, wine routes, wineries…as well as a network of travel agents specializing in organizing visits to the regions.

The Great Wine Capitals also has a strong B2B focus, putting businesses together in the different regions through the Chambers of Commerce and regional development offices.

Cooperation among the regions is also important-joint research programs are carried out, information is exchanged between universities, speakers from one region are invited to lecture in other member cities, member cities visit each other’s wine regions and the like. For example, we are all benefiting greatly from South Africa’s biodiversity initiatives, Napa’s strength in the wine tourism business and Rioja’s experience with improving its image through outstanding winery architecture projects.

As an example, the European Great Wine Capitals (Bilbao-Rioja, Florence, Bordeaux and Porto) were recently awarded a European Union research grant to study the use of encapsulated, native yeasts in vineyards in each region. The goal of the study is to create and market native yeasts in order to preserve variety in the different wine regions rather than use international yeast strains.

I know the Organization’s annual awards, the “Best of Wine Toursim” to members of your group, but what does it take to win this award? What does this mean for a winery who wins it?

“Best Of”: Each region organizes a local contest among interested wineries, restaurants, winery tourism companies etc. in several categories:

* Accommodation
* Architecture, Parks and Gardens
* Art and Culture
* Innovative Wine Tourism Experiences
* Wine tourism restaurants
* Sustainable wine tourism practices
* Wine tourism services

Then, each country’s winners compete against one another on an international level to win the international awards.

In each case, the awards are given by a jury that rates the candidates on the basis of a questionnaire and personal visits.

For the winners, the award is recognition for excellence in each category.

I browsed last years Global Tourism winners, and went to the websites linked to from the winners page. What I noticed is that 1 of the sites, did not function at all. 2 of them wouldn’t let me past the home page. 2 Others, were covered with flash and hard to navigate. Question: Since the Internet is becoming to important to promoting wines, and tourism, might we see a “Best of Internet Technology” award somewhere down the line?

Creating a “Best Of” of Internet technology: a good idea! Let’s see if we can make it fly.

The website and winners’ information: the current website leaves a lot to be desired with few interactive features and difficult navigation. A new website is about to be launched that will be easier to navigate, with many more interactive features and more visuals.

Your point is well taken about the sites of some of the international winners. I was able to navigate through all of them. One was only in Italian which is obviously a mistake. About Flash: I don’t know why it’s so bad (apart from being invisible to Google).

Catavino note: Flash is bad for a viariety of reason’s, primarily because it’is hard to navigate in some browsers, is slow to load, and as a journalist, it does not allow us to copy facts and figures for use in articles. Apart from this, many sites do not load at all or eats up so many resources that the reader’s browser can freeze. Flash is good for videos and pictures, but not for text. It’s like using oil paints to write a letter to a friend. It’s slow and awkward, hence the invention of the pen, or better yet, the keyboard)!

Bilbao-Rioja: Explain as best you can this contradiction.

Bilbao-Rioja: not a contradiction at all. Historically, most of the startup capital for Rioja wineries came from Bilbao and the Basque Country in general (CVNE, Bodegas Bilbaínas, Bodegas & Bebidas, Olarra…and many more) and the port of Bilbao was where the wine was shipped from. Also, the north of Spain has always been the biggest market for Rioja.

Also, don’t forget that the Great Wine Capitals is a network of major cities located in or near important wine regions.

Porto, and Bilbao-Rioja are “Great wine capitals” in Iberia, though I think they have a pretty strong peer in Jerez. What does it take to be a “great wine capital” and what are your plans to expand?

Our charter says that there can only be one capital per country. There is no doubt that Jerez is an important wine capital but the selection committee preferred to have Rioja in the network. Until we have one capital from each of the major wine producing countries (we lack one from Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Hungary for example-but are working on all fronts to select suitable candidates) it will probably stay that way. Perhaps in the future the charter will be changed.

What are your future plans for Great Wine Capitals? What should we as consumers know?

Future plans for the GWC are to improve the Travel Network, create new cooperative projects in education, research, winery tourism and business opportunities, as well as improve our communication capabilities. FYI, I’m the leader of the communications committee and one of the points on the agenda of the upcoming annual meeting is using social networks.

Since you have an audience on this blog of wine lovers and producers., what questions do you have for them?

A question for the blogging community: if you are interested in visiting a wine region, what concrete resources do you use (specifically, which resources on the internet) to plan your trip?

I want to Thank Tom for answering my questions, and I ask that all of you take the time to answer Tom’s question above, if not add your own questions for Tom. I know he’ll be listening!

Cheers,

Ryan Opaz

All content protected by a Creative Commons License2005-2008. Catavino.net.

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We have begged, pleaded, and gotten on both knees trying to convince the Iberian wine community to take notice, but it seemed as if our voices were merely bouncing off of brick walls, only reaching the chosen few who really were open to change.

So we tried another route, creating an Internet marketing company to provide wineries the support and tools they needed to launch themselves into the new Internet. It seemed to work, but our reach was rather limited. A dozen here, a hundred there, but nothing on the scale that we knew was necessary.

In turn, this led us to co-creating the annual European Wine Blogger Conference, in hopes of not only bringing together the vast array of wine bloggers around the world, but to also bridge a previously held gap between wineries and online journalists. The results were incredible, allowing all sides to find ways in which we could communicate and collaborate more effectively through the internet. (Note: more details on the 2009 conference coming very soon!)

But this still wasn’t enough! We were constantly finding wineries looking at us doe eyed when words such as “social media”, “blogging“, “microblogging” and “social networking” crept into the conversation. This was exemplified this past weekend, when at a wine fair in Catalunya, I was told by a winemaker that “the internet is for those uninterested in a true conversation, fearing to face their potential customer head on and say ‘hello“. Huh??!??!??

To him I responded, “Can you say hello to someone in Iceland, China, Australia, Chile, or simply Galicia, Spain, when you are here in Terra Alta crafting your wines? Can you answer their questions about the earthiness of the Grenache grape; why your wine costs the amount it does; their confusion over the name of the wine versus the winery; or if you will be exporting your wine to India? Can you network with distributors in China, retailers in Denmark or sommeliers in Mexico from the convenience of your own winery?”

His respond, “If they are interested in my wines, they can send an email through my website.” And by “website”, he is referring to a page that his been under construction for 6 months. And if my gut is correct, I guarantee you that it will be full of flash, slow moving, and only available in one language, Catalan. OOH BOY CAN’T WAIT!

The EUREKA Moment

The Eureka moment happened approximately 3 months ago when Ryan and I looked at each other and realized that we could provide the same tools we have provided others but on a grander scale.

Wineries will learn:

• How to enter the online community without feeling panicked
• How and why to create a customized wine blog and have it work for you
• Where to find your wines on the internet in a matter of minutes
• How to interact with wine bloggers on a honest and sincere level
• Where to find and network with like minded people in the wine trade
• And so much more..

Two months we have been working diligently on this packet, and we are still the throes of editing and re-editing it. But as the holidays are approaching, we figured it was about time to at least offer you a taste of what we we will be releasing in the coming months

If you sign up for our November newsletter, located yellow box located on the right side of the page! Once you sign up you’ll get this month’s Catavino.net newsletter, which has within it links and information on how to get our FREE PDF for wineries.

So if you are a winery interested in garnering some FREE online wine marketing information specifically created for wineries located anywhere in the world, or if you’re just a wine lover who just want’s more Catavino news and advice, sign up for our Newsletter today!

Update: If you sign up for our newsletter, you will be sent to our Catavino Marketing site where you will sign up for a second newsletter. This has confused some people, so if you would like to only sign up for marketing tools for wineries please go here!

Update 2: The link to the Catavino Calander was not working in the Newsletter, to see it, please go here!

Saludos,

Gabriella and Ryan Opaz

PS: Some of you may have already received the Newsletter, and some will in the coming days, tell us what you think in the comments below! Cheers!

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Terra Alta, meaning high ground, is a Spanish wine region situated in the south-western tip of Catalonia, where low mountains and valleys extend south to the border with the Teruel province. This is a geographically diverse region, but with two very prominent features: the eastern end of the province, which is layered with craggy mountainous terrain highlighted with peaks of the Espina, Pàndols and Cavalls mountain ranges rising between 600 and 1200 meters. The western side shows its rich rolling valleys filled with olive, almond and hazelnut orchards intermixed among expansive vineyards.

Additionally worth noting is that the western end of Terra Alta is the precursor to the Ebre Depression. I trust you have no idea what the Ebre Depression is? No worries, nor did I before this article. The Ebre Depression is an orographic barrier which acts as a solid wall, forbidding the Mediterranean air to flow through. The benefit of this natural barricade for vines is that it creates extreme climate conditions in both the summer and winter; in addition to a lack of rain. Limestone and clay, low in organic matter, allow for good aeration and drainage.

Historically, the road from Zaragoza to Totosa meandered its way directly through this region during Roman Times allowing for settlements, which in turn, let to the first planting of vineyards. Later, in the medieval times, it is suspected that the Knights of Templar also grew vines in Terra Alta, but as result of the long distance between the vines and local markets and the sea, they were most replaced with olive trees. However, in the 19th century, this upcoming wine region had gained fame for its ‘amber blanc’ oxidised wines, that was until phylloxera wiped them out, as it did the majority of vines throughout Europe. It wasn’t until the 1920’s through the 50’s when vines were replanted, and later exploited positively by cooperatives, many of which only began bottling in the last few decades. Consequently, it hasn’t been until last few years, that Terra Alta has slowly begun to obtain a name for itself as a high quality wine producing area, despite its natural predisposition to craft incredible wine.

Although not the first Terra Alta we’ve fallen in love with, the Mudèfer 2004 from Sat la Botera Vins was an great recommendation from our friend Juan Manuel at Neyras Vins. Located in the town of Batea, located approximately 50 km northwest of Tortosa, the winery grows Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah, among their indigenous varietals Samso, Garntaxa Blanca and Negra an Macabeu. The Mudèfer, however, is crafted only with 25-30 years old vines of Syrah, Samso and Garnatxa Negra, fermented at 20 degrees with continual remontage and aged for 20 months in both French and American oak, followed by an additional 4 to 6 months in barrel.

The wine itself was a breath of fresh air. Dark burgundy red in color with a brilliant light purple sheen, this wine bursts with dark cherry and boysenberry on the nose, supported by perfectly integrated notes of dark chocolate, eucalyptus and slate. The aroma was so tantalizing that I found myself tasting the wine before I even drew the glass to my lips. The intense flavors immediately awoke my senses, followed by a gentle wash of silky fine tannins and layers of rich black cherry, under a veil of green earth embodied in a medium long finish. This is a big wine, but a perfectly elegant wine, with great balance and structure.

In the early months of last year, in an interview with Tim Elliot from Winecast, Ryan voiced his interest in Terra Alta wines, sensing a promising future for this region. And although Terra Alta is still unknown to the majority of the world, if this wine is any indicator of what’s currently being produced, I truly hope that more people take note.

Have you tried a wine from Terra Alta, and if so, what is your prediction for the wines of this region?

Cheers,

Gabriella Opaz

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FEV, The Spanish Wine Federation, is a private group dedicated to tracking, promoting and defending the image of Spanish wine both nationally and abroad. In Spanish, they emailed me a decent newsletter full of information on Spanish wine sales and conferences which they host to discuss issues relevant to the industry.

In today’s press release from the FEV:

“Márgenes y Estrategias en la Industria del Vino” - Las empresas del vino analizan en Madrid los efectos de la crisis en el sector

“Margins and Strategies in the Wine Industry” - Wine Businesses analyze in Madrid, the effects of the economic Crisis on the Wine Industry

The “crisis”, as it is called in Spain, refers to the downturn in world markets that we are all surely aware of. However, it is far beyond a crisis here in Spain, and getting worse. High unemployment, expensive housing and immigration issues are all starting to take a toll on the Spanish economy. So far, we have not seen this become a huge issue within the wine industry, but it will eventually, so any preemptive talk is welcome in my opinion.

To the release: It states that 150 businesses in the wine sector helped support a study at the international level, focused on both the competitiveness of the Spanish wine sector and the current key markets for wine sales. They first took a look at a new report presented by Rabobank on the need for wineries to balance profitability and investment to ensure a healthy future. I believe you can find information on the report here, though there is no link to which report mentioned.

Through this analysis, they came up a with several factors which they felt were fundamental to the future success of European wineries, but more importantly, zeroed in on the Spanish market and singled out the following:

• that Spain has huge stocks of wine - Ever been to a Rioja or Cava house?
• a long return time on investments (one of the highest in the study)  - Can you say Gran Reserva aging in my cellar?
• and a large investment in fixed assests - Maybe they mean stupidly big hotels?

The report then went on to say that Spain, above all else, needs to focus on brand building, while at the same time, maintaining sales growth. And as a result of a lack effort during boom times to both build strong brands and consolidating overall brands, wineries are now left in the position of having to do it now, during a “crisis”.

Finally they looked at both the North American and UK markets as potential areas to exploit. With respect to North America, they pointed out the need for distribution, selling wines at a good price and a nice range of products, which are all good points. But with respect to the UK, they were focused on restaurants and the food sector as a whole; which could be considered strategic, with the art of cooking currently enjoying a renaissance and restaurants continually improving their offerings. The Gastro pub could mean big bucks for the industry!

Finishing the newsletter, I was left with 2 images of the event and a conclusion that went something like this:

In conclusion, the Spanish wine sector is facing a national and world crisis; which although is complicated, offers great potential to compete for those who are willing to grow with the creation of strong brands and the increase of distribution capabilities.

Ta-da!! Anyone see anything missing? A conference on how to survive the economic slowdown and that brand builiding is ever so important, seems to be missing one very importent word? Anyone see it?

Yes, the word is the Internet. According to the Internet World Stats webpage:

As of June 30, 2008, 1.463 billion people use the Internet

Now if that number is even off by a billion here or there, it’s definitely a number that should not be ignored. But the report, from what I can see in this release, fails to mention it even once.

The US alone shows internet usage at: 248,241,969 individuals which is over 73% of the total North American user base. Seems like a great place to start if you:

1. want to do some brand building
2. don’t have a lot of money to invest

But you could make the argument that those billions of people are only young kids playing World of Warcraft and wasting time, thus not of interest to a Spanish winery. Well, that is until you see this: Direct to consumer wine sales topped 2.8 billion last year in the USA, with the internet seeing a 3% growth. The website, Digital Lifestyles quotes:

Investment firm Cowen & Co. put the total sales figure for 2006 slightly higher at 108 billion dollars, predicting that it will hit 225 billion by 2011.

Now granted, this is a figure for all internet sales, but what it shows me is that people are shopping online. And if your shopping online, you most likely are doing a few other things while your at it like researching information and communicating with friends and family; which are all things that could lead to people finding your brand.

Why would you NOT be online?

When you look at Europe the users are still impressive albeit not at large. 384,633,765 users were online last year in Europe, which equalled approximately 43% of the population. For the purposes of their focus on the UK market, you’ll see that it’s almost at 70% of the population plugged in. You can even dig a little deeper into this graph and find that there are some countries in Europe with as high as 90+% usage! WOW!

Seems like the Internet may be a good strategy for a winery looking to weather the economic crisis. Low start up costs, elbow grease investment, and great brand building all seem to be pluses as to why this might be a topic that should be looked at. But knowing Spain, they’ll wait till it’s too late and then point out the obivious benefits if you had done it. They’ll hold up the two or three wineries who did do it and hail them as pioneering examples, and then explain why their plan worked. Or not.

Portugal, you could do it. You could trumph your bigger neighbor, and actually begin the conversation on the web. Talk about Portuguese wine, and spread the news fast. But then again, you wouldn’t want to get your neighbor mad. Better to continue ignoring the web, avoid causing waves, and continue to leave the consumer high and dry when it comes to good information.

What do you think?

Ryan Opaz

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Additionally, to her great fortune, she gets to celebrate her birthday on the most important day of the year, election day [it's an honor]! And because we live in Spain, where the average voter turn out on election day is often 3 times the amount it is in the USA!, Gabriella is asking for one single wish on her birthday, GO VOTE! [PLEASE!]

If you are a US citizen, we feel as if it is a crime to not vote! You cannot complain if you don’t take the time to do this one little thing. It truly is the most important part of being a US citizen. So, please do it.

And if your not a citizen? Then you can vote in other ways:

• If your on twitter, vote here
• If your located anywhere in the world other than the USA, vote here, or here

So there you go! GO VOTE! Let us know in the comments that you did, and wish Gabriella a great Birthday!

As for plans tonight, looks like a dinner of Thai food per Gabriella’s wishes, with some fine wine, and good friends. Then off to find a bar to watch some election results. Could be a very long night for us!

Happy Election day to all!

Ryan Opaz [and Gabriella]

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It’s probably no surprise for many of you to learn  that I love shooting photos. From time to time Catavino has shown pictures I have shot, and ever since Gabriella came to work full time for Catavino, we have a protocol when visiting vineyards that leads to many more exposures than before. Gabriella is a great writer and listener, and with her big blue eyes, her job is to charm the wine maker and get the story, as I wander about shooting pics and snagging shots of this and that. It works well and I love doing it.

I suppose I had no choice but to like photography. As a child, my dad probably looked more like a lens to me than a face, as he was constantly taking shots. I would follow him around with a block of wood shaped like a camera that my Grandpa made me, shooting at everything and anything my dad took a picture of. My other Grandpa, and all my uncles, are still perpetual photo bugs. One of my uncles is even a professional photographer in Belize!

So while I still have a lot to learn, and a long ways to go, I love doing it, and I love the ability to use tools like Flickr to share my photos and Lightroom to develop my RAW photos. And for all you bloggers out there, I believe in the Internets; therefore, all of my pictures on Flickr are licensed with a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Creative Commons license. What does that mean for you? It means I encourage you to use my photos on your blog, as long as it’s non-commercial and you give me credit. Also I would REALLY appreciate it if you tell me when you do use a photo, just so that I can say thanks, and see how you are using them. That said, if there is a commercial site out there who wants to do something with my pics, I’m all ears! Just drop me a line.

Today, there is a new tool that I hope some of you will check it out. It’s called Imagekind. This summer, my Dad turned 60, and since he has been one of the major reasons that we are still  pursuing our dream of living in Spain, working in the wine world, we thought it would be appropriate to give him a picture of some vines for his wall. Unsure how the quality would be, we tried out Imagekinds printing service, using some of their high end paper. The results were incredible!

This past month, while I was in La Rioja, the vines were just starting to turn colors. EWBC sponsor, Dinastia Vivanco, we’re harvesting their first grapes and I didn’t want to miss the opportunity of seeing my first vintage in La Rioja. After a quick peak at the harvest inside the winery, I contented myself to wander through the stony vineyards and shoot photos of multicolored Tempranillo vines, while occasionally testing grapes for proper sugar levels. Yum! What I took away from my shooting adventures was one of my first photos that I am truly proud to offer up for sale.

This picture is of vines in a rainbow of colors, simply calling for someone to come and harvest them. Through Imagekind, you can order this image in a variety of paper stocks and sizes. Take a look at this pic with a black background in a larger size. I’ve recently taken and added some other photos to my Imagekind account that are also available for print. The pricing is quite good, so if I sell even one photo, I will put the sale towards upgrading my account to allow for more pictures, and to maybe, separate galleries so that photos from different regions are in there own place. My gallery can be found here: http://ryanopaz.imagekind.com/. Also, as with any website today, there is an element of community involved. So if your a budding wine photographer, feel free to add your photos to the new wine group I just started.

So let me know what you think, and everyone have a happy Halloween! No wine of the week today, but we may have a special Sunday edition, since we will have some friends coming over Saturday night for a tasting.

Cheers,

Ryan Opaz

PS: Special OFFER! If anyone does buy a print, send me an email and let me know. I’ll send you a signed card that can be fixed to the back of the print, with details of the photo. Just email me which print you bought and your mailing address!

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1ST INTERNATIONAL WINE TOURISM CONFERENCE & WORKSHOP

Port Resort Sitges 24th - 27th January 2009

The first Wine Pleasures International Wine Tourism Conference & Workshop in Sitges next year promises to be very exciting. We plan to provide you with a Catalan flavour and a very memorable experience.

I’ll be focusing on some of the ABC’s of wine and technology. Here in Spain, we have Webblogs SL and a vibrant Beer and Blogs culture, but our wineries are woefully behind the times when it comes to harnessing the power of the Internet. Well, maybe not “behind the times”, so much as “before the times”. For most Spanish wineries, “web”sites are those annoying white lacy things found in your barrel room that either need to be removed, or in the case of Lopez de Heredia, support elements for the architecture. As my US “geek” readers will note, California wineries are waking up fast, and as witnessed by this last weekend’s Wine Blogger Conference, the industry knows they need wine bloggers to pay attention and I have seen a move to websites that function, rather than just flash.

Is there hope for Spain? I think so, but first let me rant a little bit more.

The other point I want to make is a bit more controversial. The best way for a Spanish winery to do something innovative and effective when it comes to optimizing their online presence is to hire someone who is NOT Spanish. We work with five wineries, all of which, minus one, are run by ex-pats or have ex-pats in some position of influence. Having traveled and talked with hundreds of wineries across Iberia, I can tell you that if you look at a winery’s website, you can tell two things: one if they have a foreigner working for them, and two if the owner/manager/CEO has traveled much. You seem to need a worldly perspective to see the way in which Internet marketing is changing the wine world, potentially leading to a change in your own website as well. I’m not partial to ex-pats mind you, I just happen to notice this trend.

This same theory extends to tour operators, winery tourism intiatives, and some areas of traditional marketing. But, it doesn’t have to be this way. There are wineries who buck this trend by doing things differently. Some of those mavericks include:

• Torres: A Catalan marketing a Spanish wine. And with a Kickass tasting room/tour.
• René Barbier: A French man making Priorat wine.
• Port wine: The most successful region in all of Portugal’s wine country is run by the Brits, or least it used to be!
• Pingus: One of the most ridiculously priced wines in Spain made by a Dutch man. Not a good example, but it always amazes me, that anyone would pay that much for that wine. But I digress…
• Gonzalez Byass: They have a train, regular tours, and multiple languages, plus a mouse that drinks out of a cup!

My goal with the time I have to speak at Wine Pleasures workshop is to illustrate a changing of the guard among Spanish wineries, from an old marketing perspective to a new dynamic and innovative perspective. It’s clear that Spain needs a comprehensive plan for wine tourism. This plan would slap Spanish wine makers in the face to get them to realize that their complaints about not wanting to work with “competitors” (I call them colleagues) only leads to more of the same, something they have no problem complaining about. Spain has a treasure trove of wine delights that should be shared with the world, but until this mindset changes, they will remain behind locked doors to only those of us who know about them.

Maybe Spain is not right for tourism? Maybe the cultural divide to large? Part of me wants to suggest that Portugal is ready. You can maneuver around the country with ease, and although their wineries are still difficult to get into, but this is changing. First step is to realize that Tourists don’t have “summer hours”, and that they tend to travel with cash. You won’t get that cash out of their pocket and into yours if your winery is closed for “siesta”.

In an effort to practice what we preach we have offered to help set up the Wine Pleasures Conference with a blog, which will contain speaker proposals and aggregate some of the content into one location. We’ll announce the address in the very near future, once it’s done.

If you want to learn more about Catavino Marketing, sign up for our newsletter.

Till soon,

Ryan Opaz

PS: If you want to sign up for the Wine Pleasures International Wine Tourism Conference and Workshop, you can do so here. Oh and if your a winery doing something innovative in wine toursim, you can even request to speak and tell people about it. Would be a great  opportunity to prove me wrong. Just fill out this speakers proposal form. 

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GOOD LUCK and enjoy the ride! There really is something powerful about meeting with your virtual friends in an environment full of good food and wine. Our hats off to all the bloggers in attendance, and we can’t wait to hear all about it!

Iberian Map

Onto other news, Catavino is excited to be officially distributing the Delong Iberian Wine Map out of our small home in Terrassa, Spain. This was done to help reduce shipping costs from the USA, and for now, we’re only shipping to EU countries, though feel free to contact us if you live outside of the EU, and we’ll see what we can do! Having spent the better part of Monday going from wine retailer to wine retailer, the responses have been incredible. From “wow, this is really impressive” to “I had no idea there was a Vino de Pago there!”, it is a great reference to hang on your wall as you follow our adventures through our articles. If you live in the EU, order the Iberian Wine Map now! Supply’s are limited, or at least until we order more!

Wine of the Week

Some of you know Ryan was in La Rioja last week. He had a great time and posted a series of fun 12 second videos as they crawled for Tapas on Calle Laurel. He also had the pleasure of staying with Robert McIntosh and his lovely family, drinking a lot of fun wines! One particular wine literally shocked him, reinforcing one of the many reasons why he loves Spain. The 1998 White Wine (yes 1998) Gravonia from Bodegas Todonia, which they enjoyed at lunch time in the beautiful town of Briones, ran them a whopping 12.70 euros!!!!! No really, it did! That’s a 10yr old white from one of the most important wineries in Spain, and to top it all, it tasted like a 50euro Burgundy. Rich and full bodied with a huge amount of acidity, this wine was a wine Ryan could drink to no end. An hour later, after the wine warmed a touch, it was even better, with creamy touches and lemon balm notes. They ate it with suckling pig, and while the waitress opted to point out that it was white and not red, so that the foreigners wouldn’t be surprised, Ryan was pleased to see the acidity and richness of the wine paired wonderfully with the rich pig.

It’s a 100% Viura from their own vineyards, aged in barrels for 4 years, racked twice per year and fined with fresh egg whites. Labeled as a Crianza, it is only a Crianza in terms of what Todonia defines Crianza. If you want a value and great wine when ordering in Spain, you really can’t do wrong with Todonia wines. That said, this one is a treat, so definately seek it out!

Cheers and Have a Great Weekend!

Ryan and Gabriella Opaz

PS from Ryan: On a final note, I did return to Monvinic. If  you read my last report, you can tell that weren’t impressed. Granted if you like a place that is highly designed, and chic, it’s right for you. That said, I went back to visit after receiving a comment on Catavino from one of the sommeliers apologizing for the service we received.  I only stopped into talk and did not stay for a drink, but was privy to more information about the project.

Monvinic is funded by a wine lover with money. The aim is to build a monument, and center, to wine that allows one to simply enjoy a glass or become a member. Members can enter the wine library, which is indexed and searchable, containing a wide range of wine literature and leading wine rags. I love the idea, and I understand the yearly fee, though I would like to see this part opened up to the public in some way. If you really want to spread the word about wine then these tools would naturally do a lot of good in the hands of an amateur wine lover who is not willing/able to pay the annual fee, or even someone traveling through who just wants to quickly reference something. Maybe they can create a 5 day pass at some point or a limited membership? I know that it would appeal to me, since I read Parker about once a year, and don’t particularly need a monthly subscription!

To be honest, it’s a very nice place, and Isabelle the French sommelier who showed me around is a passionate woman with an open mind. I will go back, but it will take time for it to grow on me. Having been open since July, they are still working out the kinks. They are unique in that they have an amazing collection of wine, and a policy of buying wine at auction that has spent little time on the road. Hence, they don’t buy French wines in New York or South African wines in London. They figure that would be too much travel for such treasures. Then again, they do buy wine in New York and it does travel to Spain, so take it for what it’s worth.

One last point which is very important for all wineries, restaurants and retailers to take notice of: a sommelier from Monvinic actually took the time to comment on our site. Not only that, but they took the time to leave an apology, publicly, that not only led to me to revisit their business, but also gave me a deep understanding of what the internet can do for them. My article was somewhat harsh, but they played ball, as it were, and joined in. I want to compliment them for this and to thank them, otherwise, I might not have taken the time to give them a second chance.

I have a lot more to say about Monvinic, and we’ll see how often we return. Maybe in te future, I’ll take some wine geeks there for a dinner, as I have a feeling this is exactly what this restaurant was made for.

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Anyway, the value wines account for the largest part of the steady decline in sherry sales and since most sherry in the UK (largest sherry market) is sold through the the supermarkets, these were necessarily my main ports of call. All the supermarkets I went into had house brands, which seemed to be fully representative, even including Amontillado and Oloroso wines (this surprised me). Tio Pepe was ubiquitous with Croft Original and Harvey’s Bristol Cream popping up in most places, including even smaller off-licenses (bottle stores), but not so much in the off-license chains, like Oddbins and Majestic. I’m certain if you ask any Briton to name a sherry, one of these three brands above will come up.

Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket, has their house brand produced by Zoilo Ruiz-Mateos (part of Grupo Garvey). The Tesco packaging did nothing for me (nor did “Bodega Jerezana” at Waitrose and Sainsbury’s “Taste the Difference”) but I was not really expecting own-branded goods to do much. I’m sure the wines in these own brand bottles are very good but I could not help thinking that buyers own brands can’t be doing sherry any favours, as people will associate these good sherries with all things “cheap”. On top of this I was struck by the confused message Joe Bloggs might get seeing wines like Tio Pepe and possibly La Gitana (posing as light whites) on the same shelf as Croft Original and Harveys Pale Cream (posing as sweet fortifieds). The Harveys bottles put me in mind of Port more than anything else. This confusion can’t be doing any good to the “sherry” brand.

The off-license chains had more up-market wines, as you would expect. Emilio Lustau was well represented. The bottles (posing as sherries this time) were usually dusty, on low shelves and behind counters.  I came away from my little tour of London sherry shops feeling slightly downbeat.

Why is it that, almost to a man, the UK wine trade loves sherry, but consumers just don’t seem to get it? Is it because the sherry trade is not selling through to their consumers and potential new converts? I get the feeling the sherry trade might have lost touch slightly…

Thankfully I’m already converted and there is no need to preach to me and on a more positive note: If you ever find yourself in London and feel like a copa or two of decent sherry, head to one of the restaurants below, as they have a great selection of sherry on their wine lists.

Moro - 34-36 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE (just down from Sadlers Wells, off Skinner Street).

Friends took me to Moro. We had a fun time and ate great food. The staff really know their onions, especially when it comes to sherry. I enjoyed a glass of Matusalem in lieu of pudding. Conveniently, I was able to hop on the 38 bus, which whisked me into the West End in no time.

Barrafina - 54 Frith Street, London W1D 4SL (Soho).

You can’t book here, so turn up early to make sure you get a spot. I was last there in February 2008 and ate Navajas (Razor Clams), Gambas al Ajillo and Tortilla. The Tortilla was made from scratch right in front of me and tasted delicious, the Gambas were nothing an Andaluz would recognise, a bit “Anglo” with their garlic portions, but tasty nontheless. My tipple, a glass of Valdespino Tio Diego. The food was great. They were a bit rude, but that wouldn’t stop me going back.

Fino - 33 Charlotte Street, London W1T 1RR (entrance around the corner).

The last time I went to Fino was a while back. We enjoyed some tapas at the bar and quaffed Manzanilla.

Cigala - 54 Lamb’s Conduit Street, London WC1N 3LW

Two of my London mates have recommended this place. I have yet to go, but their sherry list looks promising.

Hasta la proxima!

Justin Roberts

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Arriving early, while the rest of group was maneuvering the various train schedules, my first impression started off poor. Walking up to two large, what appear to be, glass windows, I searched in vain for an entrance. Walking back and forth, I searched for a way to get in, even going so far as walking into the adjacent apartment building, hoping to find a side door. No luck. And just as I was about to give up, I decided to give it one last shot. Peering into the window, slowly inching my face towards the glass, the huge window/door slide open. As if this wasn’t frustrating enough, the employees were watching me search for the entrance, and just stood and stared without helping me. UGH, strike one!

From the moment you walk in, you immediately realize that this is to be an UBER-modern experience. From the front entrance halfway down the left side, you have a unique glass library of sorts with a wide range of wine books lining the room. I suppose this is very nice and interesting, but I’m not sure a lot of people come out for a drink with the intention of picking up “The Oxford Companion to Wine“. Then again, this is not a fault. Actually, some of us bigger wine geeks might enjoy having a place like this to meet and talk.

However, in an obvious state of confusion, it took quite awhile before anyone decided to talk with me, as I wandered looking for either my friends or a place to sit down. Eventually, I was greeted in English, which moved to Spanish, and guided to a bench on the right side of the room with modular cubes and tables that worked to create an organic setting depending on your group size. Handed a tablet computer, the waitress explained that all the wines can be searched by style, price, color, grape, region, soil….etc, etc. It was fun to see wines I had not seen in Spain before, such as a Turley Zinfandel and obscure South African wines. I was also impressed by the choices and enjoyed browsing through the menu. The only flaw I noticed was as you navigated inwards, you occasionally hit dead ends.

The list is wide ranging, and for someone who lives in Spain, this is a treasure since it’s unusual for us to have so many choices. That said, for anyone visiting from abroad, you come to Spain to taste Spanish wine, don’t you? The Spanish selection was decent and included wines from regions that you don’t usually see on a menu, but wasn’t anything to write home about. That said, I won’t criticize them on this aspect, and instead, emphasize the fact that they have a great wine list for a wine geek.

Yet despite the modern sleek design and diverse wine menu, I most likely will not return. When our group had all arrived, we decided to start off with a bottle of white. Turning to the electronic menu, I chose a 2006 Clos Nelin from Clos Mogador, an interesting Spanish white, big in body and unique in style, from the Priorat region. My idea was to give my visiting guests something they wouldn’t expect. Made with Viogner, Pinot Noir and Granatxa Blanca, it’s a wine without peers.

Having taken our order, the waiter promptly prepared a large square fish tank with ice and water; a bit of an overkill, but stylish nonetheless. Approximately 10 minutes later, nice glassware was placed before us, followed by the wine, which was taken out of the large fish tank and poured into my glass. Following the tradition, I quickly took a sniff, but before I could even taste the wine, he began filling the rest of the glasses without even looking at me. Clearly, I was a bit shocked, but decided to let it go. I’ve been to places with much less style, who at the very least, had a serving protocol in place. It seemed rather strange to not allow the person who ordered the wine, sample it, especially on a bottle that ran 50+ euros. But sadly, that wasn’t even the worst of it. When I tasted the wine, it was warm. Clos Nelin, from the Priorat, is an elegant wine that needs to be chilled to show off its complexity, due to it’s 14.5% alcohol. This wine was served at red wine temperatures, and consequently, was disjointed, out of balance and hard to swallow.

But I had no fear, because I was in a wine bar, where despite their slip up on their wine service, would clearly understand the issue with temperature. After a struggle to get his eye, the waiter finally made his way back to us. And after I explained the problem, one that could have been solved if I had had the chance to taste the wine before he poured, I was promptly told I was wrong. “But sir, the wine came from the cellar at the right temperature.” Strike 2 and 3.

After our server left, we continued talking, while the remaining half of the bottle cooled down in its glass fish tank for approximately 15 minutes. And sure enough, it was a wonderful wine when served at the right temperature. Worth every penny! But next time, I’ll bring it home and serve it myself.

And although I haven’t been able to give them a chance to redeem themselves, Gabriella did go back a few nights ago, having ordered a few whites ‘by the glass’; but unfortunately, her review wasn’t much better. The wine service was similar to our first experience, and when she had tried to find the bathroom, she passed it three times in vain, as it too was a sliding wall. Tricky! But rather inconvenient when your single desire is to simply find, and use, the facilities.

Here’s my recommendation. If you want to appear to know a lot about wine, wile sitting in a “stylish new bar”, this place is for you. If you want, on the other hand, to fall in love with wine, go elsewhere. After our Monvinic experience, we stood in line at C24, a small restaurant just a few blocks away and ordered a few fantastic tapas and a bottle of Mestres Visol Cava, which was served at the correct temperature, despite the busy night. If you stop in, try the rabbit ribs, as they’re amazing! Not to mention, in the middle of what was an incredibly crazy and hectic Tuesday night at C24, they took the time to pour me a sample of the wine, asked what I thought of it, and above all, smiled.  Home run!

Cheers,

Ryan Opaz

Update: See this post for Ryan’s Return to Monvinic

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