suggest?’ That usually gets me to Spain. Up and
down the list, they’re the best values we have.”
Even bottles at the highest end can be a good
buy. At Spruce, Green has a collection of R. López
de Heredia’s Viña Tondonia and Viña Bosconia
dating to the 1940s. “The people who buy them
are accustomed to drinking aged Bordeaux,” he
says. “Occasionally, I’ll say ‘I know you like mature
wine. Would you like to have a different experience
tonight?’ I’ve never had anyone complain.”

3. Use food pairings. Sometimes a wine will work so
well with a dish, sommeliers can’t help but gush. Such
enthusiasm will often get unfamiliar wines to the table
– and in the best possible setting. “We have an octo-
pus dish that isn’t exactly Spanish, but it’s Spanish-
inspired,” says Chris Lara of Seattle’s Matt’s in the
Market. “It’s phenomenal with La Guita Manzanilla,
which we sell by the glass. It’s often the first time a
guest will try sherry.” Spanish wines work so well with
food, Lara says, that he finds himself suggesting one
after another for specific dishes: “I’ve even paired red
Rioja with salmon. If the wine has a little age on it, it
goes really nicely.”
The concept of food having a profound impact on
wine – and vice versa – isn’t lost on educated diners.
“Someone might love Napa Cabernets, but those
aren’t necessarily the wines that work with our food,”
says Alec Riveros, the former wine director at Boston’s
elegant Clio. “Our clientele tends to be a little more
open-minded, and servers stress food pairings. That
often leads them to some of the wines from around
Spain that tend to be less fruit-forward, less dense. It
matches with the meal, and they end up discovering
a great wine.”

4. tap into the excitement. Years ago, most wine
drinkers had steady favorites, and they’d buy them
by the case as their house white and red. But the
best wines of the world are available everywhere
now, and a growing segment of consumers is eager
to explore. “People have tried Burgundies,” Riveros
says. “They’ve had the different wines from Tuscany.
But Spain is still somewhat undiscovered. When you
say ‘Tempranillo,’ a lot of people aren’t sure what that
translates to. So you get to take them on a journey
and discover it.”
“I’ve turned a lot of people on to Spanish wine
through the years,” says Dexheimer. “They’ll start with
one, and then they’ll come back a week later and
say, ‘Let me try another.’ Or else, ‘I’ve heard about
Jumilla. How about that this time?’ But you need to
take it step by step.” It isn’t only the customer who
gets excited. “What keeps us coming to work every
day is the thrill of turning somebody on to something
new and exciting,” says Rioja’s Williams. “Getting
people to love Spanish wine is one of the best parts
of my job.”

5. tell a story. Spruce’s Green loves when custom-
ers allow him to bring several bottles to their table
unopened and expound on each – the producer, a
vineyard, a grape, even a technique. “You take them
on a little tour,” he says. That’s good practice for
selling any wine, but in Spain compelling narratives
abound. The geography is wide-ranging and large-
ly unknown, and varieties such as Mencía, Xarel.lo
and Prieto Picudo are downright mysterious. “It’s the
most unique wine country,” says O’Shea. “You’re
looking at varieties that aren’t found elsewhere,
and fascinating stories.”

Brian Duncan, the wine director and a partner of Chicago’s decade-old Bin 36, has relied on Spanish wine since his restaurant opened. He’s also an inveterate traveler. “The last time I went to Spain, everything was so amazing,” he says. “I show people pictures of the food, and I talk about the amazing breadth of the cuisine, and the wines to match. People love to hear those personal stories. It’s not even like making a sale, it’s like being a real good travel guide.” Occasionally, the stories flow in the other direction. “Some of the greatest guests are people who’ve just traveled somewhere,” says Dexheimer. “They’ll say, ‘I was just in Spain and I had such-and-such, do you have it?’ And I’ll say, ‘No, but I have this.’ And they’re thrilled.”

6. Run specials. Selling unfamiliar wines in flights, on theme nights or by the glass, are time-tested ways to get customers to try them. With Spanish wines, single-glass pours and specials aren’t merely an introduction to a producer or grape, but often an entire category. At Clio, Riveros offers a Verdejo by the glass. “You see the same people who tried it drinking one of our Albariños, or Garnacha Blanca.” Duncan can’t remember the last time he didn’t have a Spanish wine in one of his flights. Currently, he offers an international Pinot Noir sampler that begins with an Aria Brut Rosé Cava. “People order it and they’re shocked,” he says. “The versatility with the food, the fact that Pinot Noir can exist in that form. And we sell a lot more of that Cava than we would if it just sat there on the list.” If different grapes and regions and wine styles represent tools in a sommelier’s kit, Spain is a Swiss Army Knife. Many Spanish wines didn’t even exist in the U.S. market a decade ago. Now they give sommeliers the means to fill specific needs in a way they never could with the usual suspects. “It gave me a way to have older notes come through, like in an aged Rioja, but without the guest spending a fortune,” says Lara. “And an elegance from the Old World even in the biggest wines, like Priorats.”

Some sommeliers, like O’Shea, don’t appreciate how much they rely on Spanish wine until they lose access to it. Others do. “If I couldn’t sell Spanish wine, it would be like missing a member of my family,” says Green. “Like losing Uncle Joe. Oh, you’d still have Thanksgiving, you’d still have Christmas. But without Uncle Joe around, it wouldn’t be much fun.”

Andrew Green

Brian Duncan

Fred Dexheimer

Bin 36
339 North Dearborn St.
Chicago, IL
Tel: 312-755-9463
www.bin36.com

cioppino
Ritz Carlton Hotel
455 Grand Bay Drive
Key Biscayne, FL
Tel: 305-365-4500
www.ritzcarlton.com

clio
370 Commonwealth Ave.
Boston, MA
Tel: 617-536-7200
www.cliorestaurant.com

Press
587 St. Helena Highway
St. Helena, CA
Tel: 707-967-0550
www.presssthelena.com

Rioja
1431 Larimer St.
Denver, CO
Tel: 303-820-2282
www.riojadenver.com

spruce 3640 Sacramento St. San Francisco, CA Tel: 415-931-5100 www.sprucesf.com