Virtual Wine Tasting featuring The Spanish Wines of Special Guest Jorge Ordonez

“When men drink, then they are rich and successful and win lawsuits and are happy and help their friends.”
“Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.”
Aristophanes c. 450 - 385 B.
Knights [424 B.C.], l. 92

It’s Wednesday at that means time for our virtual wine tasting!

We are hosting virtual tastings every Wednesday on Zoom and Instagram live which will be posted to Instagram TV.  So, if you can’t make it at 6pm to chat with Ronnie Sanders, CEO of Vine Street Imports today, Wednesday April 7th you can tune in any time after that by checking out the video posted to Wine Watch’s Instagram page.  The virtual tasting packs are up on our web page under the gift box selections and you can purchase them before the event and taste along with us or purchase them any time after the event until the wines are no longer available and taste the wines and watch the interview at your leisure.

In two weeks, we have good friend Jorge Ordonez one of the most iconic importers of wines from Spain.  Jorge is a legend in Spain and we have included all the wines that are available in Florida on this e-mail offering, so if you want to buy all the wines for this tasting or a great selection of the best that Spain has to offer, we have a little something for all the Spanish wines lovers out there.  Join us as we welcome Jorge on Wednesday, April 21st at 6pm EST.  We will be showing the four wines below and you can buy them individually or in this 4pk.
For those that would like to attend in person and be part of the studio audience on the day of the event the price is $55 + tax and there are only 10 seats available to our studio audience the day of the tasting.  There will be a few small bites served but this is not a dinner.  For reservations to be part of the studio audience please call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

Virtual Wine Tasting featuring The Spanish Wines of Jorge Ordonez
With Special Guest Jorge Ordonez
Wednesday, April 21st
6:00pm

Virtual Tasting 4 Pack for Jorge Ordonez - Wine Watch
Price: $155.00

2017 Bodegas Avancia Godello Old Vines
List Price: $32.25               Sale $28.38

Sourced from one of the oldest, most traditional vineyards planted in Valdeorras, Avancia Godello expresses the authenticity the history of Valdeorras and the oldest Godello clones in the world. A completely unique white wine that ages beautifully and has been recognized by Robert Parker as Spain's best Godello. Godello was almost extinct at the end of the 1980's, so it is extremely rare to find a Godello produced from a single vineyard planted in 1904.

2017 Senoir San Vicente Rioja
List Price: $62.00               Sale $54.56

San Vicente is perhaps the Eguren family’s most well known wine, as it was the wine that first put them on the map. At a time when people were obsessed with producing classic style Rioja wines, Marcos and Miguel Angel Eguren strove to produce a Bordeaux styled single vineyard wine. They selected one of their magic vineyards, Finca La Canoca, to produce San Vicente. Located in a tiny valley at the foothills of the Sierra Cantabria, Finca La Canoca is a vineyard of the unique Tempranillo Peludo variety. They built the wine from the vineyard. In 1991, when they began working on the project, there were no single vineyard Rioja wines. After the success of San Vicente, all of the great Rioja wineries followed suit, declassifying their top, flagship wines from the typical Rioja ageing system, and focusing on specific vineyards. San Vicente is a unique wine which marries the modern intensity of fruit and concentration with classic Old-World style Rioja aromatics of mountain herbs and licorice.

2017 Bodegas Ordóñez Vatan Tinta De Toro
List Price: $44.00               Sale $38.72

Vatan is the pure representation of the oldest clone of Tempranillo in Spain, from some of the oldest ungrafted vines in the country, located in the only Spanish D.O. that completely resisted the phylloxera plague. During the Middle Ages, Toro was Spain’s most famous winemaking region. Mentioned in literature by Alfonso IX (King of León, 12th c.), Juan Ruiz the Archpriest of Hita, Quevedo, Luis de Góngora, and Miguel de Cervantes. In 14th Century Sevilla, the sale of any foreign wine was prohibited, save the wines of Toro. These wines accompanied Spanish explorers to the New World. D.O. Toro was rediscovered in the 1990's by the Numanthia project, masterminded by Jorge Ordóñez and the Eguren family.

2016 Breca Brega Calatayud
List Price: $37.50               Sale $33.00

The Garnacha from these two spectacular plots is hand harvested and rigorously sorted at the winery. The wine spent the first 18 months of ageing in 40% new, 60% used puncheons and demi-muids. The next 10 months were spent in completely neutral 600L demi-muids. The profile of the wine is extremely elegant and focused on the linear, pure expression of the Garnacha from Calatayud.

Wine Watch invites you to participate live on ZOOM at 6pm EST on the 21th of April, simply click the link below at 6pm and you will be admitted to the party.

Andrew Lampasone is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Virtual Spanish Wine Tasting with Jorge Ordonez
Time: Apr 21, 2021 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 940 0419 6957
Passcode: 797976
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For those that would like to attend in person and be part of the studio audience on the day of the event the price is $55 + tax and there are only 10 seats available to our studio audience the day of the tasting.  There will be a few small bites served but this is not a dinner.  For reservations to be part of the studio audience please call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.

A bit about Jorge Ordonez

Since 1987, Jorge Ordóñez’s personal crusade has been to seek out and preserve Spain’s rich history of grape growing and winemaking. As Earth’s largest grape growing region, Spain has been tending vines and producing wine for several millennia. Jorge’s goal is to champion and preserve his homeland’s wealth of indigenous grape varieties. His philosophy is centered on the belief that Spain’s potential lies in its bounty of ancient vineyard sites planted with the oldest clones of indigenous cultivars. Unfortunately, the current trend in Spain is the replantation of the country’s oldest vineyard sites with higher yielding clones and international varieties, on trellises. Jorge Ordóñez Selections fights this trend by representing producers that embody our philosophy: what makes Spain unique is an extensive history of viticulture and enology, and a wealth of extremely old vineyards of indigenous varieties.

Every aspect of our business is focused on maintaining the integrity of these unique vines and varieties. By working exclusively with artisan producers who employ non-interventional, authentic methods of grape growing and winemaking, we produce and represent honest wines with a sense of history, culture, and place.

We were the first Spanish wine broker in the United States to control every point of the shipping environment in order to protect the integrity of our wines. We insist on 100% refrigerated shipping from our wineries to the consolidation point in Bilbao, and we require refrigerated reefer shipping containers to our warm climate customers year round. Cool climate customers are required to ship reefer between March and November. We require that all of our distributors have temperature controlled warehouses.

Quality is our first priority, even when it may put us at a financial disadvantage. We maintain strict controls not only at the blending stage but through all steps in the winemaking process. These controls are expected of all of our producers, even those with whom we have no ownership stake. We spend several hundred thousand dollars a year on analysis by ETS Laboratories. Also, Jorge and his team have proven to be some of the best wine blenders in the business. Many of their cuvées have become internationally recognized benchmarks for their region and varietal.

After decades of hard work, we are now realizing the fruits of our labor. The international market for Spanish wine and gastronomy has grown considerably, and continues to do so. Early successes with entry level brands have made Spain the go-to region for value oriented wine. The next phase in our growth is to demonstrate to the market that all of our wines represent significant quality, regardless of the price point, and that Spanish wines deserve a place amongst the world’s best.

Grupo Jorge Ordóñez
Founded in 2004, Grupo Jorge Ordóñez is select group of eight wineries that produce wines from grapes grown in thirteen different denominations of origin across Spain. All of the wineries are owned and operated by Jorge Ordóñez. Nacho Álvarez is the Technical Director and Head Winemaker for the Grupo. The philosophy of this project is the production of artisan wines from the oldest vineyards of Spain’s indigenous grapes. All of the vineyards are head-trained, dry farmed, and cared for with the most traditional means of viticulture. The wines are the ultimate representation of fine wine from the oldest clones of indigenous Spanish grape varieties.

Jorge’s Biography
When Jorge Ordóñez arrived in the United States in 1987, the international Spanish wine market was bleak. Jorge grew up in Málaga and managed his family’s wholesale wine business before arriving in the United States. As a result, he understood the potential market for Spanish wine in the U.S. For his vision to succeed, however, drastic changes had to occur both in Spain and abroad.

In the U.S., a lifetime of misconception about the caliber of Spanish wine had to be dispelled. In a market saturated by French, Californian, and Italian wine, Spanish wine was thought to be low quality, funky, and cheap. Jorge understood that much of this was the result of external factors, most importantly, poor storage and transportation conditions. He revered the wines of his homeland and was one of the few to recognize the vast potential of Spain’s old, dry farmed vineyards of indigenous grapes. He also recognized Franco’s detrimental impact on agriculture and wine industry. It geared towards bulk production and the cooperative system, rather than producing fine wine. Due to these conditions, much of the country’s winemaking needed to be revitalized: cleanliness needed to be a priority, yields needed to be lowered, and some traditional methods needed to be updated. Most importantly, Ordóñez sought to preserve the ancient vineyards of his homeland and fought brazenly against the trend of ripping up indigenous varieties to replant with more productive international grape varieties. He crusaded to uphold the heritage and character of Spanish wine by highlighting the oldest clones of Spain’s authentic indigenous varieties and by celebrating his homeland’s unique terroir. There was a great deal of risk involved. Ordóñez boldly challenged the international palate by being the first to introduce and champion exotic varietals such as Albariño, Godello, Garnacha, Monastrell, Tinta de Toro, and wines from Txacoli.

Ordóñez established himself as a relentless advocate for the proper handling of wine. He demanded major improvements in the transportation of wine until it reached the U.S. Fine Estates From Spain was the first wine broker in the U.S. to have a refrigerated warehouse in Spain and the first to demand refrigerated shipping and storage at every point of travel to the final market. The decade long battle was won in the late 90’s, when Spanish wines were finally recognized for their quality.

As Americans were just learning of Ribera del Duero and Albariño, Ordóñez was beginning his first forays into production, searching out D.O.’s where potential was vast – regions covered with old vineyards of Spain’s indigenous varieties, but where winemaking remained primitive and dominated by cooperatives. In unheralded regions such as Toro, Málaga, Calatayud, Jumilla, Alicante, Montsant, and Valdeorras, Ordóñez partnered with the most talented winemakers to produce fine wines where none existed. These were wines that championed Spain’s oldest, forgotten vineyards. Jorge now owns Grupo Jorge Ordóñez, a group of eight boutique wineries that produce wines from these unheralded regions. Jorge is also co-owner of Bodegas Volver, alongside Rafael Cañizares, and has ownership stake in Bodegas Alto Moncayo.

Jorge boasts an impressive list of accolades; twice named one of the Top 20 Wine Personalities of the Year by Robert Parker, who also named him one of the most influential wine personalities of the past 20 years. In 1997, he was awarded the Golden Grape Award by Food & Wine Magazine and the Spanish Premio Nacional de Gastronomía. In 2008, Jorge was named Luminary of the Year at the Nantucket Wine Festival, the first time the award had been bestowed. Amongst these many awards, his proudest achievement has been creating a market for Spanish wine by celebrating its history and indigenous varietals, while making Spanish grape growers and winemakers believe that their wines deserve a place alongside the greatest wines of the world.

Jorge Ordonez Wines Available at Wine Watch:

2017       Vins El Cep Kila Cava      
Price: $ 14.25     Sale        12.54

2016       Marques de Gelida Cava Brut Gran Reserva        
Price: $ 19.25     Sale        16.94

2015       Marques de Gelida 'MIM' Cava Natura Reserva Brut       
Price: $ 19.5        Sale        17.16

2017       Sierra Cantabria Rioja Crianza    
Price: $ 18           Sale        15.84

2016       Sierra Cantabria Rioja Reserva Unica      
Price: $ 29.25     Sale        25.74

2017       Sierra Cantabria Rioja Seleccion
Price: $ 12.75     Sale        11.22

2016       Sierra Cantabria Rioja Crianza    
Price: $ 18           Sale        15.84

2018       Txomin Etxaniz Rose      
Price: $ 21           Sale        18.48

2018       Teso La Monja Romanico             
Price: $ 17.25     Sale        15.18

2017       Teso La Monja Victorino              
Price: $ 67.25     Sale        59.18

2017       Teso La Monja Almirez 
Price: $ 30.75     Sale        27.06

2017       Senorio San Vicente Rioja           
Price: $ 62           Sale        54.56

2014       Senorio San Vicente Rioja 1.5L Magnum
Price: $ 100.5     Sale        88.44

2014       Senorio San Vicente Rioja           
Price: $ 63           Sale        55.44

2019       Quadrum Red Blend Bag in Box
Price: $ 24           Sale        21.12

2017       Llopart Brut Reserva      
Price: $ 23.25     Sale        20.46

2015       Llopart Brut Reserva Rose           
Price: $ 27           Sale        23.76

2012       Llopart Leopardi Brut Nature Gran Reserva         
Price: $ 39           Sale        34.32

2019       Bodegas Ordóñez Botani Moscatel Old Vines     
Price: $ 17.25     Sale        15.18

2017       Bodegas Ordóñez Botani Moscatel Old Vines     
Price: $ 17.25     Sale        15.18

2017       Bodegas Ordóñez No 1 Seleccion Especial (Half Bottle)  
Price: $ 19.5        Sale        17.16

2020       Dominio de Eguren Protocolo Blanco     
Price: $ 7.5          Sale        6.6

2017       Dominio de Eguren Codice Tinto
Price: $ 10.25     Sale        9.02

2018       Dominio de Eguren Protocolo Tinto        
Price: $ 7.25        Sale        6.38

2019       Rio Madre Graciano Rioja            
Price: $ 12.25     Sale        10.78

2018       Rio Madre Graciano Rioja            
Price: $ 12.25     Sale        10.78

2018       Sierra Salinas Monastrell DO Alicante     
Price: $ 9.75        Sale        8.58

2016       Mira Salinas       
Price: $ 15.75     Sale        13.86

2018       Sierra Cantabria Rioja Rosado    
Price: $ 13.25     Sale        11.66

2013       Sierra Cantabria Rioja Reserva   
Price: $ 25.5        Sale        22.44

2015       Ramirez de la Piscina Rioja Crianza           
Price: $ 14.75     Sale        12.98

2013       Ramirez de la Piscina Rioja Gran Reserva              
Price: $ 36           Sale        31.68

2015       Ramirez de la Piscina Rioja Reserva         
Price: $ 21           Sale        18.48

2017       Bodegas Ordóñez Vatan Tinta de Toro  
Price: $ 44           Sale        38.72

2018       Bodegas Ordóñez Nisia Verdejo Rueda 
Price: $ 15.75     Sale        13.86

2017       Bodegas Ordóñez Nisia Verdejo Rueda 
Price: $ 15.75     Sale        13.86

2016       Bodegas Ordóñez Nisia Verdejo Las Suertes       
Price: $ 29.25     Sale        25.74

2015       Bodegas Ordonez Zerran Tinto Montsant            
Price: $ 18           Sale        15.84

2018       Vega Sindoa Chardonnay            
Price: $ 9.5          Sale        8.36

2016       Patina Chardonnay         
Price: $ 8.25        Sale        7.26

2019       Vega Sindoa Tempranillo             
Price: $ 9.5          Sale        8.36

2015       Vega Sindoa Cabernet Sauvignon            
Price: $ 14.25     Sale        12.54

2017       Muga Rioja Reserva       
Price: $ 32.25     Sale        28.38

2016       Muga Rioja Seleccion Especial   
Price: $ 45.75     Sale        40.26

2018       Muga Rioja Rosado        
Price: $ 15.75     Sale        13.86

2014       Muga Rioja Prado Enea Gran Reserva    
Price: $ 82.5        Sale        72.6

2018       Muga Rioja Blanco          
Price: $ 17.75     Sale        15.62

2020       La Cana Albarino              
Price: $ 20           Sale        17.6

2015       La Cana Albarino Navia 
Price: $ 29.25     Sale        25.74

2019       La Cana Albarino              
Price: $ 20           Sale        17.6

2019       Breca Garnacha de Fuego           
Price: $ 13.5        Sale        11.88

2016       Breca Old Vine Garnacha             
Price: $ 16.5        Sale        14.52

2018       Breca Garnacha de Fuego           
Price: $ 13.5        Sale        11.88

2019       Breca Rose         
Price: $ 12           Sale        10.56

2018       Breca Rose         
Price: $ 10.5        Sale        9.24

2016       Breca 'Brega' Calatayud
Price: $ 37.5        Sale        33

2016       Breca 'Brega' Calatayud
Price: $ 37.5        Sale        33

2017       Avancia Godello              
Price: $ 32.25     Sale        28.38

2018       Avancia Cuvee de O Rose            
Price: $ 17.75     Sale        15.62

2017       Avancia Cuvee de O Mencia       
Price: $ 17.25     Sale        15.18

2018       Avancia Cuvée de O Godello      
Price: $ 17.75     Sale        15.62

2018       Alvear Tres Miradas Vino de Pueblo       
Price: $ 18           Sale        15.84

2015       Alvear PX de Anada 375ml          
Price: $ 27           Sale        23.76

NV          Alvear Cream    
Price: $ 17.25     Sale        15.18

NV          Alvear Oloroso Asuncion 375ml
Price: $ 24.75     Sale        21.78

NV          Alvear Pale Cream           Price: $ 17.25     Sale        15.18
NV          Alvear Amontillado Carlos VII 375ml       
Price: $ 24.75     Sale        21.78

NV          Alvear Medium Dry        
Price: $ 17.25     Sale        15.18

NV          Alvear Solera Cream 375ml         
Price: $ 24.75     Sale        21.78

NV          Alvear PX Solera 1927 375ml       
Price: $ 30           Sale        26.4

NV          Alvear Fino        
Price: $ 17.25     Sale        15.18

NV          Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera 1830          
Price: $ 225         Sale        198