Integrating Beer & Cheese at Right Proper Brewing Company

This weekend I returned to Right Proper Brewing Company - in reality the legacy Shaw Brewpub & Kitchen as the brewery has also opened a  larger brewing facility and tasting room in  Brookland. Good for you Catholic University folks. The occasion of my visit was to introduce Finca Hispana owner Peter Deutsch to the DC beer scene and Right Proper's "Beer for the Soul" seemed a good choice. I'm attracted to the brewery because of their portfolio of low abv funky and tart Belgium and French Farmhouse ales. A perfect example is their Ornithology Grisette (3.9% abv) fermented using a house mixed-culture of wild yeasts in 45 hl French oak foudres. This Saison-like beer was originally designed to server to miners as opposed to the farmhand target of Saison. Right Proper's includes a wheat based wort and the final product is light with funky flavors. I'm a Berliner Weisse fan and their Kick Kick Snare Berliner Weisse (3.5% abv) is solid with sharp tartness

After our Southern Fried Chick-Filet, Peter was interested in the numerous cheese offerings which I never realized was that expansive. We choose a sampling of three, one Caromont Red Row (raw cow’s milk) from Virginia, Spring Brook Reading (raw cow's milk) from Vermont, and a cheese to be named later. I paired these with the NABI Farmhouse Ale (4.5% abv) and an unwittingly excellent choice. The funky and yeasty ale paired well with each of these cheeses.  And for now the NABI is my favorite Right Proper beer.

Next stop, the Brookland location.

Finca Hispana Representing Spain's Rich and Diverse Wine Culture

Spain's wine culture is as rich and diverse as any country and one brand attempting to capture this complete image is Finca Hispana. They produce wines from indigenous varieties grown in ten unique regions from Rioja to Priorat and from Cava to Sherry. And the varieties include Tempranillo, Garnacha, Cariñena, Monastrell (Mourvedre) and Garnacha Blanca. Each Finca Hispana wine showcases not only the region and grape variety, but also the winemakers - who are displayed proudly on each label.  In 2015 these wines started arriving in the United States and are priced very modestly at $15. I recently received a care package and here are the highlights.


FH Garnacha-Carignan-Syrah - The blend consists of 40% Garnacha, 40% Carignan, 20% Syrah all from vines aged between 30-60 years old in DO Monsant - the center of Catalonia and surrounding DOQ Priorat. This complex but approachable wine is produced by Eugènia Guasch López.

FH Garnacha Barrica, 2011 D.O. Carinena - José Maria Valero tends 100 year old vines in Cariñena, situated on the high plains of the ancient Kingdom of Aragon in northern Spain. The wine starts with a creamy mouthful of dark cherries which leads to mild acids and easy tannins. My favorite.


FH Castrijo Joven, 2012 DOC Rioja - José Ayala Salazar began working in his father’s vineyard at the age of six. Now he works 40-80 years old vines in the Labastida region, the highest and most northern area in Rioja. The wine stresses bright berry fruit followed by a creamy texture and subtle tannins.

FH Castrijo Joven 2014 Rioja Tempranillo - Also located in Labastida, this family vineyard is now tended by Aintxane Prieto Uriarte and her husband. This is a vibrant wine; mint and chocolate, easy tannins and very approachable.


FH Cuvee 2012 Jumilla Monastrell - José Floreal Jimeniz Joulie was born during the the Spanish civil war and tended vineyards because he couldn't attend school. 70 years later he still works every day in Jumilla's desert like conditions. His vines are nearly 100 years old and survive on less than 10 inches of rain per year in the southeast corner of Spain. This is a big spicy wine; it needs to breathe; to allow the textured tannins to settle down.

FH Monastrell Joven, 2012 D.O. Jumilla - Another wine from Jumilla this one produced by Daniel Guerrero Cruz. It is also a full bodied wine, but not as big as the Cuvee. Instead, there's more jaminess and ripe fruit.

An Intimate Tasting of Spanish Wine at #WBC15 with Finca Hispana & El Muro del Vino

The beauty of each year's Wine Bloggers Conference is you never know what type of wine you will discover, whether from the year's host region, New York's Finger Lakes in 2015, or from another region. This year I tasted wine made in Lebanon, Brazil, Vermont, Maryland, Virginia, British Columbia, along with more traditional wine making regions in Germany, Austria, Italy, Chile, and Argentina. But it was tasting wines from Spain where I had the most memorial experience.

Late to the Friday afternoon lunch, I settled down at the first open table and was soon accompanied by Carl Giavanti of Carl Giavanti Consulting. We were seated across from who we would later learn to be Peter Deutsch and José A Hidalgo (El Muro del Vino). After listening to their conversation we remarked about Peter's English accent but impeccable Spanish. He then explained his negociant background and the launch of his new brand Finca Hispana which focuses on small producers throughout Spain. At the end of our conversation he invited us to his conference after party to taste these wines. I was intrigued.

Campos Reales Tempranillo

After the Rockwell Museum visit I hurried over to the designated room just as José was propping up a large vertical display sign to prop open the door. There weren't that many visitors the first night, so this evening started with just me and José tasting two of his wines, the easy drinking Campos Reales Tempranillo ($10) and the more complex Darcio Rioja Reserva ($20).  The grapes for the first wine were grown in D.O. La Mancha and José opened Google Maps on his phone and we spent an entire glass zooming to the specific vineyards. Can't get more intimate than that.  Plus the wine was fantastic - very easy drinking and heavy on the blackberry. As for the Rioja,  I'll let Aurelio Montes, of Kaiken Wines, describe: "It is a wine with great fruit expression, where the wood is well integrated with the wine. The palate is elegant, soft tannins, good volume".

By this time, Carl and Todd Trzaskos, author of the newly released Wines of Vermont, joined me and we turned our attention to Peter and the Finca Hispana brand. The first item to note is that almost all these wines retail for less than $15. Second, they come with attractive packaging. The label consists of a photo of the winemaker(s) providing a personal connection between consumer and producer. And being a small group Peter was had time to discuss each winemaker, each region, and each grape. Finally, the wines are simply delicious with ridiculous values. 

Garnacha/Cariñena 

Roble

Garnacha/Carignan/Syrah

One of the early favorites was the Finca Hispana Garnacha/Cariñena Roble, 2011 ($15, 13.5% ABV) produced by the Cristobal family. The wine itself is a 50-50 blend of Garnacha and Cariñena, made grapes harvested from 80+ year old vines in DO Cariñena, located in northern Spain. It is a full bodied wine, with a juicy and chewy texture, finishing with plenty of spicy tannins.

Another wine I returned to was the Finca Hispana Garnacha/Carignan/Syrah DO Monsant ($10, 13.5% ABV). The blend consists of 40% Garnacha, 40% Carignan, 20% Syrah all from vines aged between 30-60 years old in DO Monsant - the center of Catalonia and surrounding DOQ Priorat. This is a juicy fruit forward wine produced by the label model Eugènia Guasch López.

Pedro Ximenez, NV

Eventually the tasting turned to three sherries and the true love affair began. Two of these had graduated from the traditional Solera system, 36 years in all, and are of course comprised of 100% Pedro Ximenez. The clear attraction was the Finca Hispana Pedro Ximenez, NV ($15, 15% ABV) produced by Marta Leiva Vilchez in the D.O. Montilla Moriles appellation. The wine is luscious, with a jammy fig and tobacco profile, and a lingering dry finish. We would have continued yet the hotel security threatened Police action, so off to bed. But they promised to re-open the next evening.

And obviously news about the wine had spread. The next evening I arrived a little late after tasting some cider and could barely fit through the door. I had promised to share some local cider and beer and found myself pouring Maryland's Millstone Cellars Farmgate cider to both José and Aurelio Montes. What a treat discussing the cider and having them compare the cider's qualities to wine faults.  Over time we switched over to Virginia's Old Ox Brewery Kristin’s Passion, a Mexican Hot Chocolate Porter, and a couple from O'Connor Brewing Co.. Once again the evening ended with sherry and the hotel security. Finca Hispana hits is available in most other East coast markets and Chicago and hits the Virginia market later this year. Can't wait. Cheers.