Gori Masip: "A good wine is one you shouldn't mix with soda."

Gori Masip (Sitges, 2002) has a physical map of Catalonia hanging in his home, a testament to his passion for geography. The broadcaster, who found the ideal environment to launch his career on social media, has carved out a niche for himself on the TV3 meteorology team thanks to his rigorous, clear, and approachable way of explaining weather. His ability to make complex phenomena understandable without losing his humor and enthusiasm has made him one of the most recognizable and viral faces on Catalan television, to the point that many affectionately call him "the weather kid."

Do your tastes change depending on the weather?

— It's true that I associate white wine more with summer. Because it's chilled, it seems refreshing. Red wine, in summer, at room temperature, doesn't really go down well.

But do you think there are wines for sunny days and wines for rainy days?

— If I drink wine, it's usually with dinner, so the sun isn't out anymore… But perhaps I do associate it with good weather. Well, the good weather We already know it doesn't exist. I indirectly associate it with the steady weatherFor example, if it rains you no longer go out to dinner on a terrace.

What is your relationship with wine?

— I've only liked it for a short time, maybe three years at most. I drink it very occasionally, certainly not every day: maybe on a weekend or at a weeknight dinner.

Is it a family tradition?

— Yes. When we had big Christmas dinners and lunches, we started with vermouth. Then white wine for the first course, red wine for the second, and cava with dessert. I remember that in the last days of my grandfather, who died four and a half years ago at 96, he would go to restaurants and order an Irish coffee for dessert. He would leave there singing Christmas carols or traditional songs.

Do you have any particular quirks?

— I'm not fussy about it. I'll drink it whether they accidentally put it in my water glass or my wine glass. But I do find it funny that in restaurants, they make you taste the wine first. And when I go with friends, I always end up doing it, even though none of us has a clue how to do it. I swirl the glass, smell it, and pretend I'm an expert, but I really don't know the first thing about it.

What is a good wine to you?

— A good wine is one you enjoy slowly… I don't know how to put it in technical terms. To put it simply: a good wine is one you shouldn't mix with soda.

Any special experiences?

— I inevitably think about the dinners we have with the meteorologists from TV3. We have two dinners every year, one in autumn and one in spring; we're all together, and wine always ends up being part of the gathering. Each dinner is organized by a different meteorologist, and last year's spring dinner was mine to organize. We went to Sitges. We drank a white wine that contains a touch of Malvasia, which sweetens it and is quite dangerous, because it goes down like water.

Where did your interest in meteorology come from?

— I don't recall a specific point in my life where I said, "I want to do this." I suppose there were several. inputsI remember always watching the storms from the window with my half-brother, and also the excitement I felt every time there was a chance that even a single snowflake might fall in Barcelona. I started teaching myself, created profiles on social media, and began sharing things.

What did social media offer you that traditional media didn't?

— The immediacy. For example, when there's a storm, just by going online you can find out that this town is flooding, that there are cars trapped under the bridges in that city, that that university is closed. And as a communicator, social media has allowed me to make myself known. If I wanted to go and film a river, I'd go, upload it, and there was a chance it would reach a lot of people because of the spectacular nature of the images.

How did you get started?

— I started on Twitter in 2015. I must have been in late elementary school or early middle school. My profile grew very slowly. But I'm sure that the profile I created has helped me a lot professionally. In the end, I was a really annoying kid who kept posting things about meteorology. It was a kind of demonstration of my passion for my work.

Did you already have any television role models?

— Yes. In fact, it happened that my role models became my coworkers. This is very strange and wonderful at the same time. You go from seeing Francesc Mauri every day while you eat lunch to having him sitting next to you at work… At first, it caused a bit of a mental short circuit. Like my boss was saying, "Wait a second, what's going on?" But then you realize they're just people who breathe and eat like everyone else, and the silliness fades away.

What is the relationship with them like?

— It's really cool. There are ten of us, and we're a close-knit group. Everyone experiences meteorology in their own way. Some are incredibly passionate and send messages at three in the morning because it's hailing in Sant Cugat. At the same time, since we come from diverse backgrounds—some are more into physics, others into geography, like me—it's like a puzzle that eventually falls into place. Everyone ends up bringing their own unique expertise.

Do you get the feeling that since the Valencia storm, people are paying more attention to the weather?

— I think interest in meteorology has always been there, because we're a Mediterranean country, we spend a lot of time outdoors, and we're always interested in knowing what the weather will be like. But it's true that since the Valencia storm, there's been a certain fixation. Every time we see a storm, we think about the Valencia storm. And it's easy to fear that there will be more "death and destruction," but that's not the case. We have many storms a year, and some go completely unnoticed. We're in an educational phase, trying to teach people what is and isn't a storm.

Do you think emergency alerts can set a negative precedent? When the alarm sounds but then nothing much happens...

— The story of the boy who cried wolf… But it wasn't like that: two weeks ago, the prediction came true. There were floods in Sabadell, Barberà del Vallès, the Terres de l'Ebre region… The storm was forecast to hit during the school rush hour, and some people took their children to school late, started work later, and moved their commutes earlier. The ES-Alert system is new and obviously needs to be adjusted. Right now, there's only one sound, which can be a little alarming, but they're working on finding a system with different sounds depending on whether it's an urgent alert or a preventative warning. Overall, the system has been positive, but it still needs fine-tuning.