Wines made from Bobal grapes of Rheinhessen

‘Por fin se ha hecho justicia.’ (Finally, justice has been served) This strongly-worded statement was made by the Denomination of Origin Utiel-Requena in Spain’s Autonomous Region of Valencia as part of a press announcement in July. It refers to a Spanish Supreme Court ruling that was fully ratified at the end of September, closing a decade-long conflict between the region’s three DOs that pitted Valencia against Utiel-Requena and Alicante. The latter two had demanded that grapes fro ...

The awards were created to recognise those from various sectors who have worked to reduce CO2 emissions and promote sustainability. This year’s winners were: viticulturist Tomàs Peig from the Terra Alta region, French glass maker Verallia, Córdoba-based transport company Juan Ruiz, the town of Caldes de Montbui in the Barcelona province, and Spanish environmental journalist José Luis Gallego. The five individuals and entities that were awarded represent a broad range of initiatives in line with ...

We all have different motives in choosing wine. There are those hoping for a journey into unexplored regions of sublime sensation, and those with earthier desires, happy when the first glass has them seeing double. There are wines to accommodate them both: a prickly little Mosel on the one hand and a 15% Barolo on the other. Doesn’t the ideal wine, though, combine the two – inspiration with stimulus, perfume with punch? The three little letters ‘abv’ (alcohol by volume) only tell half the story, ...