Great Wines for a Great Cause
The current quarantine has impacted many aspects of the economy, and the restaurant industry is one that has been hit particularly hard. It’s an industry near and dear to our hearts, and we’re pleased to be able to offer a way for our customers to help—which, in this case, involves buying (and subsequently drinking) amazing wines. For every bottle of the following sold through August 2020, importer Ole & Obrigado is donating to the Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, which directly provides aid to restaurants and restaurant workers. The beauty is… you get some gangbusters wines out of the deal.
2018 Forja de Salnés "Leirana" Albariño Rías Baixas $29.99
Rodrigo Mendez is a fifth-generation winemaker from the small fishing village of Meaño, located in the Rias Baixas’s very coastal subzone of Salnes, which also happens to be the birthplace of the Albariño grape. This is a grape that I absolutely love in the summer, because it tends to have a good amount of texture with a succulent sea-kissed salinity. The Leirana is no exception: there’s plenty of volume, with notes of honeysuckle, lemon, and minerality undertones. Mendez is a descendent of the founder of the Rias Baixas DO, and is committed to preserving heritage vineyard sites—if you love this great Spanish region, you will love this wine.
2016 Pinyolet Garnacha Montsant $14.99
In northeastern Spain, the Montsant region surrounds Priorat like a horseshoe, but it’s higher in elevation and cooler in climate, so you often get an elegant, floral lift to the wines. This pretty Grenache is sustainably grown on old vines, and named after the limestone pebbles of its vineyards in the upper hills of Montsant. It’s medium- to full-bodied with violet, blackberry, raspberry, and spice notes. It has depth without being heavy—a great red to drink in the summertime while munching on grilled sausages or pork.
2018 Fitapreta "A Touriga Vai Nua" Touriga Naçional Alentejo Portugal $23.99
This is Portugal’s signature grape, and in winemaker Antonio Maçanita’s hands, it’s lush and ripe but still light on its feet. It retains a fresh, young personality via a winemaking technique called partial carbonic maceration (a method often used in Beaujolais that essentially causes grapes to ferment from the inside out). The name is a play on the story of the Emperor’s New Clothes—the name of the wine means the Touriga has no clothes! As it’s sustainably grown and raised in stainless steel with wild yeasts, it really isn’t dressed up at all: just straight, juicy Touriga goodness.
- Kate Soto