If you’ve stayed with Catavino for long enough, it’s inevitable that you’ve heard us debate over the exact number of indigenous grapes in Iberia, and the fact that none of us are certain how many there are.  By some accounts there are approximately 400, and by other accounts, the number soars to over 1,000. This rather large numerical gap was one of the main reasons why we began our Iberian Grape Wiki (currently in a state of renovation), and the same reason why we’ve done very little with it. To keep track, fill in, and monitor such a bear of a database is rather daunting. So it sits, patiently waiting for some loving grape enthusiast to come by and fill in its rather vacuous empty spaces. If you just happen to be one of those happy grape folk needing a little project to aid the greater Iberian wine community, let us know, and we’ll put you to work

That said, my second project beyond our Grape Wiki is to complete my Wine Century Club application. The Wine Century Club is the brainchild of Steve Delong, the same mad genius who created the Delong Iberian Wine Map. His goal in founding this club, as I interpreted it, was to not only highlight the vast array of indigenous grapes of the world, but also to challenge each and every one of us to expand our palate beyond the international varieties of Chardonnay, Merlot, Riesling, etc. And despite the fact that Ryan had completed his application a few years ago, tasting 100 different grape varieties, it wasn’t until Dr. Debbs of Good Wines Under $20 started publishing her accounts of …

‘Twas the night before Conference, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a computer mouse;

The nametags were hung by their lanyards with care,
In hopes they’d be worn when they bloggers arrived there;

Each and every wine geek were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of black-cherries and licorice danced in their sweet heads;

While I sat panicking over every tiny detail,
Ryan smiled proudly regarding the conference’s grand scale;…

Yeah, not going to happen! Our creative juices are completely dehydrated. The conference is now on cruise control, and barring any strange twists, we should be enjoying a fine Participant tasting on Friday night. Still a bit nervous? Of course! Seeing that this is our conference, or rather, this is the first international wine bloggers conference ever, we just hope all the wine bloggers behave themselves!

So for now a few pointers too things we think you should look at.

Another winery sent to the sidebar

This time it’s Port wine, and damn fine port wine at that, Quevedo. A few months ago, we started working with this small winery and we’re proud of the results. Located in the Douro Valley, right next to some of the most historic wineries in the region, this is a young winery with old roots. We’re holding back a bit on the details, because they’ve done a superb job telling their story at this point. So, please check them out and say hello from us!

Thank you Sponsors

We don’t do advertising on Catavino, but we did need sponsors to help us put together the EWBC conference. Therefore, we’d like to offer a …

Editor’s Note: If you remember, a little while back, Ryan reviewed the book “Valencia, Land of Wine“, written by Joan C. Martin and translated and edited by John Maher. While, in Valencia, we asked John how he felt about writing the occasional piece for us on Valancian wine, being our resident expert and all. And to our great surprise, he agreed. You’ll see from his elegant prose and witty humor that our choice was a good one! We are very happy to have him join us and suggest you check out his profile on our “About” page for more information.

That said, his piece today is a request on my part to have him share his knowledge on the native Valencian grape, Vernil, as a reaction to a rather blah experience we had while in Valencia. Although Vernil had a nice aromatic nose, we found the palate to be a touch empty, lacking in both body and acidity. So I tried to do a little research on the grape to see if others were having the same experience, when I came across John’s description of Verdil on his website, Wines of Valencia. The proverbial light bulb went off, and it suddenly occurred to me that there would be no better person to tackle this subject than John.

John, thanks and welcome aboard!

The wine reference books I have to hand don’t have much to say about the Verdil grape. The “Oxford Companion to Wine” says it makes “rather neutral wine” in Yecla and the southernmost part of Valencia, while my much-thumbed “Dictionary of Drink” says incorrectly that it is grown in the Alicante region. …

There are bars and there are great, secret gems well worth going out of your way to experience. In the city of Valencia, Casa Montaña happens to be one of those incredible finds completely saturated in both history and beauty.

If left to our own devices, however, we would have never have found this bar, as it’s tucked away between Puerto de Valencia and Mercado Cabanal in a tiny residential street in the area of “El Cabañal”. But because our trusted guide, Joantxo Llantada , just so happened to be the head of tourism for the regional government of Valencia, we were clearly in good hands, able to both learn about the Valencian culture and cuisine over the course of a lazy afternoon.

What makes this restaurant so unique and special? A very romantic and winding story. In 1836, the restaurant was separated into two houses, one occupied by a love-struck son, and the other by an equally smitten daughter. These two married, eventually living in the back of the house and setting up a small and intimate shop in the front in 1836, where they became renowned for their bottled soda water, derived from the well not 10 feet from the bar. Conveniently located near the shore, their name eventually spread among sailors, who would purchase their goods for their long journeys across the Mediterranean.

In 1970, the shop was taken over by a well respected Frenchman, who implemented a tapas bar, including a billing system where customers tabs were written on the marble bar with soap - one of many antiques you can view in the bar today. Twenty years …

I love to read. I say this as someone who has read very little lately. Sometimes the world of blogging, and my Google Reader, seem to devour what time I have each day to dedicate myself to the written word. I find that I turn more often to a book on tape or a podcast about the latest world events, rather than reach for a physical tome. Both enjoyable and fine alternatives to holding pages in my hand, but I do miss reading books. Fortunately, I find that my reading comes in spurts where I’ll consume 3-5 books in one month and then take some time off from it. Right now, I feel like I’m heading into one of my reading phases, and just in time as the rooftop slowly warms. With Spring soon to come, I assume that I’ll find myself more often with a glass of wine in one hand and a new volume in the other, lounging happily on our terrace.

I say all this because I just received a new book to read/review and it appears to be the perfect motivation to reinvigorate my desire to read. Valencia Land of Wine is a book that came to me by way of a friend in Valencia. John Maher is someone I met about 12 months ago when attending the Vino Elite wine show. We connected through his site Wines of Valencia and later attended a fun tasting together put on by the folks at Verema.com.

John is the editor and translator of this book. Having moved here in 2006, he found that he had a similar problem to me when …