In 2006, while I was teaching Spanish bankers how to chat up a beautiful woman in English (hey, how else do you get students interested in learning a second language?), Ryan was slaving away at the computer, inventing new and creative ways to involve wine lovers from around the world in Spanish and Portuguese wine. After many creative attempts, he stumbled upon a zany idea he called, the 2+1 Iberian Wine Survey. Sent to a handful of bloggers and wine geeks, the survey asked them to answer 2 questions about Iberian wine, and in return, they could ask 1 of us.

However, at the time, we weren’t entirely confident the idea would work. Having only been in the wine blogging scene a year, we didn’t know if our readers would be interested in hearing about a wine blogger’s selection of Spanish wine in Canada, or whether a blogger based in the UK enjoyed the unique and diverse wines coming out of Portugal. It was a crap shoot, but indeed, it worked! Why we didn’t continue the idea? I don’t have a clue, but we are now!

We’re bringing back the 2+1 Iberian Wine Survey, and over the next few weeks, you’ll be hearing not only what other bloggers are experiencing with Iberian wine, but also some of the pressing questions they’ve had about Spanish and Portuguese wine mulling around in their heads. Let’s cross our fingers that we can make up a convincing answer

In addition, we’d like to include everyday folk who are simply interested in wine, like you! So if you’re simply a wine lover, or an uber geek interested in chiming in your ideas on our blog, let us know so that we can get a survey out to you asap. All the collected surveys will be posted on Catavino beginning on June 1st.

And to get you in the mood, I’ve included a series of questions asked of Catavino way back in 2006 when we were all still green to wine blogging!

Steve DeLong of the Delong Wine Chart
“Spain is always considered both an old and new world country. Where are the traditions being maintained? Rioja really throws me off because it seems to be all over the place stylistically.” Check out how Spain is coping with its traditional ways while adapting to the modern age.

Dave Worthington of Tinto y Blanco
“The promotion of Spanish wine seems to be left up to a few small importers in Australia, why is there not a “Brand Spain” marketing campaign?” Find our how ICEX has missed the mark on promoting Spain wine

Andrew Barrow of Spitton
“Is sherry destined to go the way of Marsala and be relegated to cooking use only?” We sure don’t think so!

Erin and Michelle of Grape Juice
“We’re very curious about Basque wines. Are the wines as unique as the language and culture, and if so, what sets them apart from the typical Spanish wines we’re likely to encounter? Do you yourself enjoy them? Are there any that you would recommend us trying for an introduction? I realize that’s actually about four questions, but we’re very nosy people, so I hope that’s okay.” Txakolis are typically misunderstood and under appreciated.

Roy Hersh from For the Love of Port
“What is the real difference between the Pedro Ximenez grape from Jerez and Malaga?” Although the differences are slight between the production of PX in Jerez and Malaga, there is a distinct separation

Tim Elliot of Winecast
“I’m reading quite a bit about how good Portuguese red wines are and would like to explore this region for one of my podcasts. What 3 wines, $25 USD or less, would you choose for a tasting that would give me an idea of the quality of these wines?” Here are our suggestions!

Cheers,

Gabriella