iberian wine, cheese & charcuterie

Catarina Vieria’s love for nature was instilled in her from a young age - her grandfather on her mother’s side was a wine producer and merchant, and her grandfather on her father’s side was in agriculture and also owned several vineyards in Alentejo. Her father ‘s company Movicortes group, purchased the estate in 2000, and after the Viera family took over the winery, they made a conscious decision to not only invest in the land and produce higher quality wine, but to also invest and make sustainable contributions to the development of the region. Inspired by her love and respect for her grandparents, her father and her family, her connection with nature, and a true and unwavering passion for wine, Catarina strives to create wines that are elegant, complex and strong. This blend is 40% Touriga Nacional accented with Aragonez (aka Tempranillo), Alicante Bouschet and Trincadeira. It’s named Mariana because from the from the Rocim winery, you can see the tower of Beja castle which is where Mariana Alcoforado, a cloistered nun, wrote her famous ‘Letters of a Portuguese nun’, a book of love letters to her French lover who came to Portugal to fight in the Portuguese Restoration War in the 1600s. We love a good nun wine story!!!  This is a blend of Antao Vaz, Alvarinho, and Arino – it’s medium bodied with apricot, honey, almond and spice notes with good acidity to balance it out.

Cultivated since Roman times, Ribeira Sacra’s steep terraced vineyards are some of the most picturesque and treacherous to work in the world of wine. Pedro Rodríguez founded Guímaro in 1991 and he descends from a long line of wine growers; in fact, his parents, Manolo and Carmen, still work with him in the vines.  The family also maintains a small finca of mixed agriculture, very common in Galicia, raising chickens, rabbits, pigs, and cultivating a sizable vegetable patch near the adega (winery). Guímaro, means ‘rebel’, an historical reference to an ancient revolt when armed brotherhoods, called Irmandades, challenged the local feudal nobility in the 15th century, and it’s also the nickname of Pedro’s grandfather. The estate’s Mencia grows on very old vines that keep yields naturally low, which leads to concentrated and juicy clusters, and the resulting wine is savory and silky with luscious flavors of red fruit, earth, spice and salinity. Yum yum.

Wine exporter Christopher Cannan purchased Clos Figueres in 1997 on the advice of world-renowned winemaker, René Barbier of Clos Mogador, and his daughter Anne Cannan is now part of the winemaking team! The location is just to the north of Gratallops on terraced slopes of pure schist, the soil responsible for the finest wines of Priorat. From these high terraces, the views are wonderful...in one direction the famous Ermita vineyard and the craggy Montsant mountain range behind it; in the other a long-distance vista featuring the Ebro Valley and more mountains beyond.

Aromatic, soft oil with a perfect balance between fruit and acidity. On the palate the oil has complex and harmonious flavors with wild herbs, artichoke, green apple and freshly cut almonds. on the finish a touch of bitterness gives a lively refreshing “kick”, a sure sign of quality.

This mild chorizo sausage is made by Palacios from an old family recipe. This all-natural dry cured pork sausage is seasoned with sweet smoked paprika from Extremadura – pimentón de la Vera dulce. It contains no nitrates or nitrites or any other preservative. Palacios chorizos are fully dry-cured and ready to eat, simply serve with crusty bread and a glass of wine from La Rioja.

Herdade da Maia makes some of the best cheeses of Alentejo, Portugal in one of the oldest traditional cheese factories. The 3 Lattes is a 3 milk cheese using cow, sheep, and goat milks.