Tempranillo Inc.

Tempranillo Inc. is a pioneer of Spanish wines featuring the selections from heralded importer Jorge Ordonez. Before Tempranillo came on the scene about ten years ago only a handful of familiar names were available to the market. I first dealt with them shortly after my first trip to Spain and considered them a treasure. The market for Spanish wines has gotten condiderably broader with several recent importers, thankfully, but TI has been and continues to be a prime source.

TI doesn't always have a regular spring/fall tasting event schedule so I make sure to be a part of this one situated at the stylish BLT (Bistro Laurent Tourondel) Prime, itself of prime dry-aged steaks. However, today the tables are moved to open space for wine bottles. While the typical tasting event has a table set up with an assortment of cheeses, bread and maybe even some cured meats, Tempranillo gets a gold medal for having a whole leg of aged jamon serrano being expertly hand cut - with the grain in small slivers - as it is done in Spain. A special treat for our palate.