Jorge Ordoñez Interview at Central Market

Spanish Wine Alternatives
Central Market, Dallas
May 2011

by Andrew Chalk from D Magazine / Side Dish

Few people have contributed as much to our knowledge of Spanish wine as winemaker and importer Jorge Ordóñez. He has imported wines from hitherto unheard of regions of Spain and systematically raised their profiles in the wine buyer’s consciousness. He was in town this weekend as part of Central Market’s Pasaporte España festival where he spoke about his wines made from the Garnache grape. I interviewed him about Spanish wine alternatives, both red and white.

Decanter Regional Trophy 2011

No. 3 Viñas Viejas 2006
Bodegas Jorge Ordóñez
DO Málaga

Decanter Regional Trophy for “Sweet Spain over £10”

The bodega buys in grapes from local growers but also has some of its own vineyards in Almáchar, about 15 km from the winery, on a slope too steep for any kind of mechanisation, which is farmed by hand and without irrigation in the traditional Málaga style. The grape is the Moscatel de Alejandria, from old, free-standing vines in slate and limestone soils. No. 3 Viñas Viejas is made with grapes from vines which are between 80 and 100 years old, picked in several stages for maximum ripeness, and then hand-sorted at the winery.

The resulting must is fermented in French oak and the fermentation is stopped by chilling rather than fortification, when Gerhard decides that it’s at its optimum – in this case 13.5% abv.

California Dreaming

[click to enlarge]

I’m back in Málaga today after a wonderful week in San Francisco and Los Angeles with Sara Floyd. Here are a few of my “memories”, or at least of the times I remembered to take a quick photo and post it on Twitter. I really must remember to take photos of the food dishes before I eat most of them, but at least I got a couple that weren’t just of leftovers.

Website Makeover!

Welcome to the newly renovated www.jorge-ordonez.es

We have a fresh new look and easy-to-navigate format which we hope our visitors will enjoy. I’d love to hear your feedback and, of course, if you come across any glitches that we may have overlooked, please let me know.

Botani 2010

I want to thank everyone who has been (impatiently) waiting for the release of Botani 2010. Today is the day! And the verdict is – very good!

Botani 2010 is very delicate wine with such a great body for a wine that is so aromatic and elegant. I love the finish, it’s long, round and balanced, and the fruit stays with you for a long time. In the nose it is very expressive, very varietal, citric and floral at the same time.

A distinguished wine that is great with fresh fish, grilled meats, sushi and spicy food.

Eugenio Chicano

Last week I attended the opening of the Visitación al Bodegón Clásico exhibit celebrating the 75th anniversary of Vélez-Málaga artist Eugenio Chicano.  Born in Málaga on Christmas Eve in 1935, Eugenio Chicano is a painter and engraver with a very direct and simple style, characterised by the use of large patches of flat colour and a simple and strong palette. This can especially be seen in his wonderful pop art pieces.

He usually works in acrylic on canvas, and in his portraits particularily, he creates very colourful effects by stripping the physical traits of the characters and leaving them in a basic form, without losing their identities. Technically this is a simple process but it requires the use of mechanical means, such as projectors. This technique has been used by many other artists since.

In his early years, he attended the “Escuela de Artes y Oficios” and from 1955 to 1958 he was scenographer of the group “Amigos des Teatro” which was directed by D. Andrés Oliva.

He later enrolled in an engraving course at the Fine Arts School of Rome, during which time he met Italian painter Guttuso, Spanish artist Berrocal, Spanish writer Ortega, surrealist Italian painter De Chirico and Spanish poet Rafael Alberti.

Upon returning to Spain, Eugenio Chicano held exhibits throughout Europe including Málaga, London, Barcelona, Paris, Warsaw and Venice. In 1969 he made his second journey to Rome, where he now resides, and published a book of six etchings titled “el Amor, el Testimonio, la Contestacion”.

The label for Jorge Ordoñez & Co. Victoria CONARTE 2007 is a reproduction of the painting called Victoria Moscatel, which Chicana created while thinking of this emblematic wine of the Axarquía. Since meeting Eugenio during this commission we have become friends. He is very charismatic and has always held a great appeal for women, which he still possesses.

Sala de Exposiciones
Plaza San Franscisco
Vélez-Málaga
20 January – 14 March 2011

 

You can see the PDF of the exhibition catalogue here:
Eugenio Chicano Visitación al Bodegón Clásico

[information on Eugenio Chicano found in Wikipedia and Marbella Guide]

Video: Decanter Fine Wine Encounter

As usual I had a great time in London and a wonderful time at the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter. Here’s a short video about the event and you can see some other highlights below:

Decanter Fine Wine Encounter 2010

Our New Bodega

It was a crazy summer this year. In April we started moving to new spacious premises in Vélez Málaga, incorporating our three separate facilities in Almáchar (warehouse and sweet wine cellar) and Vélez Málaga (Botani cellar). This ended up taking until June because the installations for a winery are very complex with all the special plumbing and refridgeration that is required. Luckily we were able to continue using the equipment we already had and so we were all set up in time for the vendimia.

The other day I was speaking to our distributor for the Canary Islands, Mario Reyes, who remembered visiting the old bodega in Almáchar and thinking that clearly it wasn’t the building that was important in the making of a great wine, as long as you have the best equipment and, of course, the know-how.

Having said that, I feel that with our new 1,000 square metre installation we will be able to work more efficiently with less extra costs, which will not only allow us to be more productive but also gives us more potential for future growth, and we are very happy with our shiny new home.

Spain has Conquered the World

George Miliotes, Master Sommelier for The Capital Grille (and one of fewer than 200 Master Sommeliers in the world), has chosen an excellent selection of wines from Australia, Europe and California for their latest Master Wine Tasting Event, which runs through September 5th, pairing wine and food while knowledgeable servers guide you through the tasting.

Here he speaks about Spanish wines and also about the role my brother, Jorge Ordoñez, has played in bringing Spanish wines to the international stage.

The contemporary story of Spanish wines cannot be told without one of its central characters, Jorge Ordoñez. Over the last 20 years, Señor Ordoñez has played a pivotal role in elevating the wines of his native Spain to the international stage. Utilizing his lifetime of experience in all aspects of the wine industry, he works with carefully selected, small, family wineries to help them modernize and create flavor profiles that will appeal to a global audience. He has helped bring a vast and varied collection of marvelous wines from artisan vintners into the limelight, and it is with unbridled excitement that we are able to present to you the next great wines of Spain.

Click on the image above or the link below to see the video.

And in case you missed it:
A Visit With George Miliotes

Sevilla Visit Video

This is a video we made last night at the end of my trip to Sevilla, in Puracepa with their wine expert Filippo. The written version with photos will come a bit later. I’m back in Málaga now. Lots to do before the vendimia starts, but I hope to get back to Sevilla soon.