Specialty food and wines make excellent gifts for Father’s Day. (And also for birthdays, graduations and more.) If Dad is a bon vivant, pick up a well-aged Rioja, Bordeaux or 1er Cru Champagne for Father’s Day (which is this Sunday June 18). We have one bottle left of Wine Spectator’s Top wine of 2020 which was Castillo Ygay Rioja Gran Reserva 2010, a superb bottle from a great vintage. A well-aged port is another great gift, and since the weather is predicted to be cool on Sunday, a tipple of port will be perfect. Paris-Madrid Grocery is open Sunday June 18, Father’s Day from 11-5.
More cheese and meat are in stock! We’ve brought in a new tranche of French, Spanish and Portuguese cheeses and loaded up on Spanish-style cured meats for charcuterie boards, grilling or paella. Popular products that are back on the shelf include:
From Portugal’s Azores Islands, we now have these cow milk cheeses: Ilha Azul (creamy extured), Sao Jorge DOP aged 7 months, Sao Miguel DOP aged 9 months (both hard cheeses, great for slicing or grating) and Beira (bright and sharp).
From France, in the stinky-cheese category, Munster AOC is now in our case – a washed rind cow cheese with an intense flavor.
From Spain, we have Cabrales cave-aged blue cheese, Monte Enebro ash-coated soft goat cheese, Torta del Casar raw sheep milk cheese, Tetilla soft cow milk cheese, Payoyo (goat and sheep milk blend from Andalucia) and Oveja con Azafran (sheep milk with saffron).
Meats back in stock: Chistorra, Cantimpalitos, Butifarra, Toulouse Sausage, Bistro Sausage, Boudin Blanc.
Anchovies from L’Escala are in stock. Callol I Serrats has been preserving anchovies in L’Escala since 1847. The fish are cleaned by hand and preserved in the finest salt for 3-6 months, after which time they are de-salted and fileted before being packed in pure olive oil.
Join us Saturday June 24, from 1:30-3:30 to taste Albariño white wines at Paris-Madrid Grocery. Chris Austin, regional manager of Ole & Obrigado wines will showcase the range and deliciousness of Albariño wines which are a perfect pairing with shellfish. Ole & Obrigado sponsors “El Camino del Albariño” every June to raise funds for wineonwheels.org, helping disabled people live life to the fullest. Click here to learn more about “El Camino del Albariño”. Free.
WINE CORNER: In summer weather, we recommend wines with fresh acidity, such as Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadet, or Albariño. And sunny weather cries out for a crisp rosé! For those who prefer red wines, a lighter wine such as a Cru Beaujolais or a Loire Valley Gamay pairs wonderfully with grilled vegetables from the garden, hearty salads, chicken or charcuterie assortments. But when barbecuing beef, lamb or marinated pork, a fuller-bodied red is called for.
Bresson Rosé Nat sparkling wine, Julienas ($21.99): A very dry sparkling Pét-Nat, made with a single fermentation in the bottle using native yeasts and no dosage (added sugar). Very easy to drink and festive, with aromatic notes of bright red fruit. On the palate it is dry and crisp with notes of red berries and mineral notes. 100% Gamay from Julienas Cru Beaujolais AOC, it is a perfect day drinking wine with just 10.5% alcohol. Quaff this around the pool!
Terres Blondes Gamay, Touraine 2020 ($15.99) This is a fresh and juicy wine made from the Gamay grape, grown in the Loire Valley. Every sip provides lip-smacking refreshment on the palate. Low in tannins, it has pleasant depth and texture. Organically farmed, it undergoes semi carbonic maceration, then it’s aged in stainless steel and concrete vats. Excellent value!
Abel Mendoza Jarrarte Rioja 2020 ($21.99) Partners Abel Mendoza, viticulturist and his wife Maite Fernandez, winemaker take a Burgundian approach to terroir, eschewing the traditional Rioja classifications. Their Jarrarte cuvée is 100% Tempranillo, grown sustainably, fermented with indigenous yeasts and undergoes carbonic maceration. Clean and fruity with good intensity, it delivers a floral nose with violet aromas, cherries and currants. With a delicate and great mouthfeel, balanced acidity, freshness and a persistent finish of spicy red fruits this is a delicious and fruit-forward Rioja.
Viticulture: Whole clusters of Tempranillo grapes are placed into concrete tanks with an open top. The temperature is allowed to rise and fermentation begins naturally inside the grapes before the skins are broken. The fruit is then foot stomped, and the stems serve as canals for the free run juice, known as “vino corazón” or “heart wine” to flow down. This free run juice is then placed in a closed concrete tank where it continues fermentation. Once alcoholic fermentation has finished, malolactic fermentation kicks in (spontaneous – as they keep the temperature at around 18°C – 20°C). Only the free run juice is bottled, allowing for an incredibly fresh and fruity wine that is easy to drink.