New Vineyard in the Emporda

I collected wood from last years vine pruning, from the floor of of a vineyard in the D.O. Emporda wine growing district at the foot of the hills behind the Costa Brava coast.

After a couple of weeks in grit and compost you can see roots forming at the base of the vine wood and that the buds are beginning to break. It will be a while before Carol treads the grapes or we can invite you to a tasting!

Map of wine producing areas of Spain

If you are interested in learning more about the wines of Spain read Quentin Sadler's wine page

"The worst drink"

Watch the video clip by clicking on this link rtve.es

The documentary The worst shot of climate change is about the rise of temperatures has affected the quality of wine

The rise in temperature causes an early ripening of the grapes. The premature ripening involves changes in the quality of the fruit. On the one hand increases the sugar and other low acidity. This, in practical results, results in wines with higher alcohol content and reduced ability to grow old. 

J aume Gramona and Miguel A. Torres is among the few Spanish businessmen who have already begun to adapt to this new reality climate. Gramona makes most of its vintages at night, to get fruit with a temperature lower than the harvest day. Thus, the grapes reach the winery at a temperature that allows the press with greater assurance of quality.Bodegas Torres in carrying out various experiments and initiatives to adapt to climate change. On the one hand improve the methods of wines from indigenous strains, less vulnerable to climate change, and other vineyards planted in areas where rising temperatures before the vine was not profitable. 

Wines of the Iberian territories

The Story of Catavino

Catavino.net

catar [ka-tár] ES v. to look at, examine; (saber) to taste, sample
vino [bí-no] m. wine
catavino [ka-tá bí-no] .net a site dedicated to the wines of the Iberian Peninsula.

The idea behind moving to Spain began August of 2004, when both Ryan and Gabriella, husband and wife duo, decided to buy a plane ticket to Spain. Now, there are some who may like to “plan” such an adventure, but these two like to live on the edge, daring to fly across the Atlantic to a country they had never seen, speaking a language neither had studied, and creating a life for themselves based on, well, chutzpah! With a few thousand in their back pocket, dollars mind you, Gabriella started teaching English while Ryan scoured the streets for work in the wine trade. After months of coming up empty-handed, Ryan began Catavino in June of 2005 to merely record his frustrations. “For a country that has some of the most incredible and diverse wine in the world, why can’t I find anything comprehensive to educate myself!” he would say.

And then came the lightbulb…

Now based in Barcelona, Spain, the two have founded a company that does just what Ryan begged for, a comprehensive website dedicated to Spanish and Portuguese wine.

Spanish wine makers fight climate change

BBC news report extract

Between the Torres vines, giant solar screens generate heat energy, dozens of photovoltaic panels produce electricity and water is recycled.

"We are dedicating 5m euros (£4m) with two purposes," he explains.

"Purpose number one is reforestation, we have done this already in Catalonia and in Canary Islands.

Read the original article by Danny Wood.