Tag Archives: Pyrenees

Touring Andorra: Where Gray is the New Black

Posted on April 7, 2014 by waywardwine

100 days of travel finds us in our first, real, shiny hotel. We wake in Europe’s highest capital: Andorra la Vella: trapped between Spain and France.

Grape vines are scant (mainly Muscat), because mountains make up most of this tiny country. So our EU Austerity Drinking Adventure puts on its sober hat. We have a double bus tour.

It climbs out of town, winding through ravines. We stop by a tiny stone church.

Inside we find gilt wooden altars, tiny pews, a mirco-organ, and ancient frescoes (most of which were purloined by the Spanish). Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Andorra, Andorra la Vella, Charlemagne, off shore accounts, Pyrenees, Romanesque churches, Skiing, tax haven | 2 Comments

Climbing the Pyrenees to Andorra: Capdevila Pujol, Brut, Cava, Spain NV

Posted on March 31, 2014 by waywardwine

After a month of drinking our way through western France, we shift our EU Austerity Drinking Adventure south. But before bathing in Spain’s wine culture, we tack on three days in Andorra. We have no idea what Andorra will be. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Andorra, Capdevil Pujol, cava, France, Perelada, Pyrenees, Spain | 2 Comments

Festive Fizz: Skip Champagne for Sparkling Wine from Limoux, France for New Year’s

Posted on December 19, 2013 by waywardwine

Holiday parties, like the blob, suck all your time. New Year’s Day, like Dick Clark’s ghost, looms. Appetizers stare at us, like piranha on small plates. We need bubbly.

But we tire of bargain Prosecco. Champagne cost too much to share. American bubbly is either too cheap, or too expensive. Cava works, but seems too familiar.

Enter Limoux:

The Pyrenees Mountains cut France and Spain apart. Their foothills form Limoux: a region just south of the medieval fortress town of Caracassonne. Inland and high up, both Mediterranean warmth and Atlantic cold make Limoux the coolest region this far south in France. Its soil is equally rough: full of rocky, sandstone, limestone, and clay.

Cold temperatures, challenging soil, high elevations: the perfect recipe for quality bubbly. Continue reading →

Posted in EMPTIED BOTTLES, Limoux, Sparkling | Tagged Alfons Mucha, Blanquette de Limoux, Boucheron, Caracassonne, Champagne, chenin blanc, Dick Clark, France, French New Wave, Languedoc, languedoc-roussillon, Limoux, Limoux wine, mauzac, Mauzac grape, Mucha, Pyrenees, Sparkling wine, St-Hilaire | 4 Comments

Grenache Blend, Cuvée de Peña, V.d.P. Pyrénées-Orientales FR 2008 3L

Posted on January 9, 2012 by waywardwine

While I wait for my wine to age in tank, it’s time to consider the world of boxes. While I recorded this, I found that Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate newsletter gave Cuvée de Peña’s 2009 Red a 90 point score … Continue reading →