William Pollard Jr | aka: Wild 4 Washington Wine

Transformed by my first visit to Catalonia. I shared with an acquaintance this summer, who is a little lost in life, that, " When I was in Catalunya two years ago, it was the first time I felt like I found a place where I belonged. It was as if I had finally found home. That's the kind of place I believe you are seeking." The Catalan people, their beautiful language, delicious cuisine and their world class wines, all felt familiar, but somehow forgotten. While I was there, I realized that a part of me was missing, and I found that essential part of me in Catalunya. I now consider Catalunya the home I did not know. The home I yearn to return to. Somehow. Today, I am sharing my sentiments toward Catalunya, vi Català (Catalan wine), my desire to return and a bit about what I have learned and wish to experience. “Wine brought me to Catalunya, wine will likely bring me back.”  Visiting the village of Gratallops in Priorat, Catalunya. Where is Catalunya? Catalo...

Ruins at Monastery of Poblet, founded 1150.  We visited two expat friends of Manel's in Torroella De Montgrí, Catalunya. We drank wine and talked for hours. I mentioned that this was my first visit to Spain. One of his friends responded,  "Really? I've never been to Spain." I thought. "Ah, I'm beginning to understand." To understand a place you need to understand its past. Those of you who follow my Twitter , Instagram and Facebook page, know from the steady flow of photos that the past week I have been in Catalunya, the northeastern portion of the Iberian peninsula. This is Part 1. of my series of posts about Catalunya, what I experienced and what I learned. I believe it will take at least eight posts to cover all I want. At least eight. I learned a great deal. Of course, there will be information on Catalan wine. You can jump to the Outline if needed. Admittedly, it was overly ambitious, and naive of me to attempt to describe th...

Mural in Falset, Tarragona, principal village of comarca of Priorat. “Many of us have the desire to travel and visit wine regions around the world. There are many places I want to visit. Getting there is not always possible. When you bring home a bottle of wine from NE Spain, read about the region, its people and cuisine, it helps to bring that part of the world a little closer to home. Thinking about you Catalunya.”  William Pollard Jr, 3 March 2016, Poema White and Red Two DO Catalunya Wines from Catalan . Vineyard tour DO Emporda, Mas Llunes old vines. In order to properly share what I learned and experienced in Catalunya, I need to cover a lot of territory. Consequently, I have created this outline to guide me and you my reader. It may change over time as I create the content and try to tell a cohesive story. As I mentioned in the previous post, Catalunya a Return Home , I was notified by DO Catalunya ( Consell Regulador de la Denominació d’Origen Catalunya ) t...

Time to take home a taste of Catalunya! Wine is truly about food, family and friends. This self-evident truth was presented clearly to me when I received two bottles of wine from DO Catalunya for review. Unexpectedly, the following week I received two gifts from my sister-in-law who lives in Spain; the first a book on the Catalan wine regions and the second a book on Catalan cuisine ! That is synchronicity. Thank you Crystal for the wonderful gifts.  DO Catalunya is one of twelve Denominació d’Origen in Catalonia. Catalonia/Catalan is the wine growing region in Northeastern Spain surrounding Barcelona. Catalan? Catalunya? The DO Catalunya is one of twelve Denominació d’Origen in Catalonia. Catalonia/Catalan is the wine growing region in Northeastern Spain surrounding Barcelona. Catalonia produces over 140 million bottles of wine and 240 million bottles of Cava. Wine has been produced in Catalonia for over 2,500 years. Rome was particularly fond of many wines from t...