Grüner Veltliner, from Austria, has recently become a darling of top American sommeliers after decades of obscurity in the U.S.

It likely owes its success to its fantastic pairing abilities. A refreshing, medium-bodied, peppery white wine with stone fruit flavors, Grüner Veltliner goes with everything from green salads to cold poached salmon to roasted chicken. The best Grüners can be quite expensive and have enormous aging potential.

AND - they are Very Affordable.

This Friday please try this amazing wine - in a gorgeous 1 liter bottle - it is a real summer treat. 

Armontes Godello

NYTimes: "Spain's emerging hope as an equivalent to the great white Burgundies."

 

Deep, savory and distinctive, with a succulent lip-smacking texture and tropical fruit flavors.

Godello, a white grape that at one time was popular in parts of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. By the 1970s, much of it had been torn out in favor of palomino, a more prolific grape that is wonderful in Andalusia when made into sherry but is largely mediocre elsewhere as a still wine.

Perhaps inspired by the commercial success of albarińo in the western Galician region Rías Baixas, researchers in the late 1970s began working with godello in Valdeorras, in eastern Galicia.  

This comes from one of the earliest and best of the modern godello producers. It has a little weight to it - just enough body to stand up to that grilled piece of swordfish. Try it this Friday. 

Premium Mezcal

Del Maguy

Let's get some politics out of the way. There are a number of ways to define the term artisanal, but I'm going to choose a simple way. Artisanal mezcals are those produced by the same traditional methods that have defined mezcal production for centuries.  

Succinctly, artisanal/traditional producers follow these methods:

1. They harvest the agave by hand, ...
2. roast it in pits dug into the ground, ...
3. grind the agave with stone grinding wheels, ...
4. ferment the agave with natural yeasts, ...
5. and distill it in copper alembic stills.