I just wanted to point out a great article over at www.wineint.com on the tradition of the Almacenistas in Spain. John Radford, the author of “The New Spain“, takes and gives some background on what exactly an Almacenista is. Taken from the article:

…‘almacen’ is the Spanish word for ‘store’ or ‘warehouse’, and the person who runs it is known as an ‘almacenista’. The warehouseman (or storekeeper) in question could be holding anything from grain to building materials to machinery parts, but in Sherry country, the word has come to mean an entrepreneur who buys young wines from major producers, shortly after vintage, and sells them back into the trade later on at a profit…

He goes on to talk about how the house of Lustau is helping to revive this tradition. Lustau is a producer that I have come to respect more and I am glad to see them leading the charge. Make sure to look at the entire article here: New life for an old tradition

till soon, ryan