Our friends at Ole Imports, one of our top Spanish and Portuguese importers, is partnering with top chefs from around the country to offer a special food and wine pairing experience. First up? None other than North Carolina’s own Chef Katie Button of Cúrate in Asheville! Chef Button is a 4-time James Beard Award nominee and was honored as Food & Wine’s “Best New Chef”.

Next Thursday, September 24th, at 7 pm, she will host a virtual cooking lesson, teaching everyone how to make her famous Patatas Bravas. For pairing,a Ole has selected wines that will match. As fate would have it, we’ve already sold out of two of them, but never fear… we’re just going to choose even better wines from Ole for you to enjoy!

Tickets for the event are $10 with 100% of the ticket sales going to support the World Central Kitchen. Tickets can be purchased at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/making-and-pairing-curates-patatas-bravas-tickets-116675203675

The Pairing Wines? Of course, you can purchase that from us! Here ya go…

Gaintza Txakolina 2019 – Sale $18.99 – 90+ pts Wine Advocate – “Their flagship and eponymous white 2019 Txakolina is the classical tapas (locally known a pintxos) Txakoli, fresh and with a slight spritz that provides even more freshness. It's produced with 85% Hondarribi Zuri and 15% Gros Manseng grapes from limestone and clay soils with a granite mother rock, and it has 11.6% alcohol and a touch of sugar to compensate the acidity. It's fermented with care to preserve some of the carbonic gas dissolved in the wine and was kept with the lees for five to 10 months, depending on the lot. In a healthy year like 2019, they didn't need to add any yeast for the fermentation. It has textbook herbal, citrus and green apple aromas. If I had to show someone what a textbook traditional Txakoli is like, I'd uncork this bottle. It has the austere, sharp and lightly fizzy style with citrus and green apple notes and a dry, tickling palate with an almost salty sensation in the finish.” WA

Nortico Vinho Verde Rose 2019 – Sale $12.99 - Nortico’s delicious rose has been a best seller for us for years now. With that perfect balance between fruits and minerals it’s no wonder this rose has so many fans. A blend of native grapes harvested from 35-40 old vine plots on the banks of the Minho, 20% Vinhao, 40% Alvarelhao, 40% Pedral! The Alvarelhao and Pedral contribute freshness and complexity and Vinhao brings volume and weight.The vines are 35-45 years old. That’s cool. Means there’s plenty of depth and intensity to the grapes.

But pressed quickly, the resulting wine is extraordinarily fresh and light pink in color. There is no added carbon dioxide, but due to the freshness and youth of the wine, there is a slight tingle on the palate. A bouquet of bright red berries, watermelon, and salty minerals climb from the glass. Fresh, light and delicate on the tongue with strawberries galore, just enough depth, and wonderfully refreshing acidity that keeps you coming back for more. The importer notes “dangerously easy to drink on its own” but as with so many roses this will pair with almost anything you can imagine. I’d pair this up with some lightly battered and fried seafood – I’m thinking oysters and calamari! Hmm… or just chill it down and bring me a straw! At only 11% alc, this is, indeed, dangerously easy to drink!

Cortijo Rioja 2018 – Sale $11.99 – “There are volumes written on the use of oak and the winemaking practices of the famous DOCa Rioja, but to the team making Cortijo it all boils down to a simple proverb: to make better wine, you need to harvest better grapes. Rather than build a chateau or a beautiful tasting room, the fourth-generation winegrowers at Cortijo invest in cultivating the most meaningful ingredient (perfect, healthy grapes) and preserving its freshness and natural character after harvest by avoiding the use of oak. Cortijo Tinto is made from 100% Tempranillo grown in the best part of the valley, Rioja Alta, and offers a perfect introduction and opportunity to taste a “no makeup” version of the grape that forms the backbone of some of Spain’s most famous wines in its most famous region.” Importer note


Or reply. The wines will be available for pickup next Wednesday.