Alvaro de la Vina Wine Tasting @ Le Caveau - Thursday May 25th, 2017

Alvaro de la Vina Wine Tasting @ Le Caveau - Thursday May 25th, 2017

Alvaro de la Viña, owner of the amazing Selections de la Viña import company, selected some of the most exciting Natural Wines coming out of Spain.  Here are the wines we tasted from his portfolio:

NV Via De La Plata Brut Nature Rosé Extremadura
2015 Cerro la Barca 'Vegas Altas' Blanco Extremadura
2015 Finca Parera 'Clar' Blanco Penedès
2014 Partida Creus 'SM' Sumoll Catalunya
2015 Albamar 'Fusco' Mencia Ribeira Sacra
2015 Còsmic Vinyaters 'Llibertat' Tinto Empordà

Extra wines we tasted, not on the original list:
2016 Bodega Cauzon Cabronicus
2015 Finca Parera FOSC Sant Llorenc d'Hortons

With a name like Álvaro de la Viña (Álvaro from the vines), one would assume Álvaro’s family history has always involved wine. Instead, Álvaro grew up the son of a citrus fruit importer. Originally from Seville, Álvaro’s family moved to Madrid, then Equatorial Guinea before moving to Philadelphia in 1989, where his uncle was living. At this time, it was the golden age of Spanish clementines, and Philadelphia was, and still is, the main port of entry for fresh produce. Álvaro’s father found a job importing citrus fruit from Valencia. After about three years, the family moved to Rye, NY but stayed in the citrus importing industry. Álvaro and his family moved back to Spain when Álvaro was a junior in high school.

The passion for wine came during Álvaro’s college years in Madrid. After college, Álvaro moved back to the states to follow his father’s footsteps and import citrus fruit from Spain. Agriculture was his career, but wine was his obsession. A cult follower of Jose Pastor Selections, Álvaro could taste the authenticity of the wines and appreciate the natural practice behind them: nothing added, nothing taken away. Alvaro saw the connection between citrus fruit picked right off of the tree and wines made from nothing but fermented grape juice. He began to think of wine as a product of agriculture “made by real farmers.” Everything started to make sense: Álvaro would stop importing clementines and start importing natural wines. Álvaro has chosen to focus on Spain, so he can keep blending his Spanish heritage with American culture.