After more than four years of silence, I am happy to write here again. It is not that my passion for wine has decreased. Neither the interest of Catalan wine has dropped; far from it. But I have had a considerably complex time since then, from the professional point of view, including relocating from Barcelona to Basel, Switzerland. As my family has stayed in Barcelona, I have now to take care of many things (shopping, cleaning, cooking...) that were before family business - or, to be frank, my wive's😚!
Even commuting to Barcelona to be with my family on most weekends, my available time for winery visits and tastings has been greatly reduced. Nevertheless, I want to restart blogging my experiences and opinions, such as they may be. I hope to make them interesting for anybody that is kind enough to read them.
I will perhaps focus less on wine descriptions and more on wineries and wine people. Anybody using the Vivino app can find under Joan Massana my tasting notes, now over 800.
Other areas of interest come up. I now live less than one kilometer away from Alsace, although the vines may be a little further afield. Also the German Baden region is at hand. And Switzerland, unknown to many people, is home to many quality wineries, often using obscure grapes that render personal, unconventional wines that the Swiss, shrewd and knowledgeable, tend to keep to themselves. Now and then, I may drop a post about these areas where I am still feeling my way.
My first post will be about the Falset wine fair, due next weekend. It is the best way to feel the' pulse of Priorat and Montsant: three days packed with events, good food and fund. A great introduction to one of the world's most remarkable wine zones, its wines and their makers.
I only want now to apologize to the hardy souls that have been fruitlessly visiting this site in the last years. I will do my best to repay them!
