Taste from Jorge's Portfolio!

Massive Jorge Ordonez Tasting (See Line-up Below!)
Friday March 6th - Sunday March 8th
All Weekend Long

Let's be honest: Jorge Ordonez' brilliant wine importing career is partially based upon timing, as the US market is just now emerging as the busiest place for wine commerce in the world. His choice of Spain has augured well, as Spain has only recently decided to create world-class wines throughout its landscape, and as the third most prolific maker of wines in the world, Spain can bring a lot of great wine to the table, when it finally decides to do so. But his many wines reflect his focus upon rich and structured reds, juicy and distinctive whites, even a brilliant dessert wine.

And Jorge's stratospheric growth in sales in the US (indeed the crazy quilt growth in his portfolio) is a reflection of his commitment and fervent belief in the great, recognized and still unacknowledged wines of Spain, and to his obvious love of the vibrant and new cultural wonderland that is his native Spain.

Jorge arrived to the US in 1987, not so long ago, but oh, so long ago in the marketplace of Spanish wines. Having worked as a distributor in Spain, he was more than prepared to skillfully negotiate the shark-invested waters of the US distribution system. And he's still got most of his limbs. There are too many wines and regions to name but for a lot of us, the grapes Hondarribi (that's the stuff of Txakoli), Verdejo, Godello, and Albarino wouldn't be what they are today without him. Even more importantly, the regions of Jumilla, Campo de Borja and Calatayud wouldn't be justly celebrated for value and incipient greatness.

We can argue that greater or more complex wines are available from other Spanish wine importers (say, Eric Solomon or Steven Metzler) but most folks accept that Jorge Ordonez has one of the most enviable track records for value wines in the world, not just in Spain.

Sure, some such as El Nido, Cenit and Atteca's Armas bottling are damned expensive. But Atalaya, Atteca, Vina Borgia, Protocolo, Borsao, Volver, Juan Gil, Termes and Altos de Luzon vary from merely very good values to simply ridiculous values. We plan to taste all of these this weekend; see if you don't agree. Oh, yes, one other value for you to try: Jorge's Argentine label Urban Uco and their tasty Mendoza Malbec. So - just to recap - here's some of what we'll have available to taste this weekend:

2006 El Nido
2006 Atteca Armas
2005 Cenit
2006 Atalaya
2006 Protocolo Tinto
2007 Atteca
2007 Vina Borgia
2006 Volver
2006 Juan Gil
2006 Termes
2006 Altos de Luzon
2007 Urban Uco Malbec
2007 Borsao

So, come on in with friends and try some great new wines!

Cheers,

Doug Frost, MS MW
Master Sommelier & Master of Wine