Actually just a new look. Stay tuned, we should be up and running in the next day. So check back often or if you subscribe to us with an rss reader don´t worry we´ll only be down for a day or so and then you can find us at the same location: www.catavino.net. See you all soon!

Ryan and Gabriella

Ok everyone we caved in and joined the bandwagon and finally made our own group at Flickr! Our goal is to let people share their expiriences with Spanish and Portuguese wines. We’re hoping the rest of you can join in and help our group grow by adding your own photo experiences with Spanish and Portuguese wines! There are basically two ways you can get involved.

1. We are requesting your photos of either the Spanish and Portuguese wines that you have tasted and/or of the event at which you tasted the wine. The main goal behind this is to help others find the wines that your drinking. Often as a retailer I was asked about a wine a friend had once at a party that tasted like cherries! Ok so I may have been a decent retailer, but I was no mind reader. Here’s your chance to share the wines you have had, so others can remember. Remember at the next party your at to snap a photo of the host and the wine! Then tell us about it!

Please include some or all of the following information in the comments section:

2. On the other hand, maybe you have pictures from your whirlwind trip through a vineyard in Portugal displaying the beautiful olive or cork trees or maybe you were recently on a leisurely bicycling adventure through Spain’s Pyrenees. As long as your experience relates to Spanish or Portguese wines go ahead and share them! Just make sure to let us know a little about what made it so special by leaving a comment in the photos comment section.

You can find our Flickr group at this address www.flickr.com/groups/catavino/. All you need is a flickr account and you can start posting your photos to our group. Can’t wait to see what you’ve been drinking! From time to time we’ll share our favorties at Catavino.

-Ryan and Gabriella

The OIV, a Paris based organization, recently published the State of Vitiviniculture World Report for 2005. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the OIV, they describe themselves on their site as:

…an intergovernmental organization of a scientific and technical nature or recognized competence for its works concerning vines, wine, wine-based beverages, table grapes, raisins and other vine-based products.

Each year they release a report showing where wine production and consumption stands in the world. The report lays out in detail how much wine is being produced in each country, how much land is planted under vines, and how much wine is being consumed by countries worldwide.

Interesting facts and figures in this year’s report include:

The next two points I want to address go hand in hand, consumption of wine by country and volumes exported. It really comes down to the fact that if you can’t drink all the wine you produce, you better have someone to sell it to! So who’s drinking it? (more…)

I came, I saw, I drank wine and I ate Jamon Iberico! Club Gourmet as further explained here is a “trade show” dedicated to the finest wines and foods of Spain. I say in quotes “trade show” because while you need a pass to prove your legitimacy in the trade, these passes are handed out like Halloween candy and getting one is about as hard as finding a glass of Sangria in Plaza Mayor - the favorite tourist attraction in Madrid. Consequently, your left with a lot of professionals with their friends and family, forcing me to quickly develop my own personal philosophy for these types of shows, “get there early and get out by lunch.”

The enticing word “free” is a pleasant sound to just about anyone’s ears, and when paired with “100 euro a Kilo Jamon”, everyone on the peninsula comes running. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Jamon Iberico, it is a cured ham that rivals anything that has ever come out of Italy. The famous black-footed Iberian pigs are raised on “bellotas”, or acorns, that come from the same family of Oak trees that we get cork from. From birth to “sacrifice”(as the Spanish say it), these famous animals are treated like kings. (more…)

First one is from the legendary Wine Lovers Page, and is noted in their 30 second wine advisor section. They highlight this week a tempranillo from Tierra de Castilla, called: Bodegas Tikalo 2004 “Rubens”. Giving it a thumbs up they recommend others seek out small treasures from Spain’s lesser known regions. Read their Spanish wine tasting note here.

The second is from a place that when I think of it I rarely think of Spanish wine, Honolulu. Todd Ashline the manager and sommelier of Chef Mavro restaurant, has a nice article about Spanish wine and the importer Jorge Ordonez. Check out his article on Spanish wine here.