In May, I joined five other wine-tasting women friends at one of the Philadelphia area’s top restaurants, Andiario in West Chester. Although it was raining outside, inside was a bright, sparely-furnished dining room dressed in white, with tables far enough apart not to hear others’ conversations.  The open kitchen stretching across the back of the restaurant visually warmed the room.

Our server looked like Viggo Mortenson’s son. He quickly got to opening our bottle of sparkling wine, Pere Mata Cupada Rosé (a cava), while we perused the menu and decided what to eat and what bottles we brought would pair well. Although it does have a liquor license, the corkage fee is a mere $10 a bottle, allowing us to bring some gems to share.

We ordered several dishes from the “Beginnings” menu, including grilled monkfish, chicken liver pate, and spinach gnudi, all delicious. I brought a Cune white rioja, which we opened to pair with the monkfish.

Cune (CVNE, on the label) was one of wineries I visited in Haro, Rioja last August. In 2014, they released its Monopole Clásico Blanco Seco, a remake of a traditional style of white rioja they made from 1915 until the 1980s that would have been found in every home and restaurant, until they discontinued it as tastes changed from savory wines to fruit-forward wines. They began making it again after a search of the cellars in 2012 revealed one last bottle from 1979. They opened the bottle and decided on the spot to begin making it again. They tracked down Ezequiel Garcia, CVNE’s winemaker from the 1940s to the 1970s, now in his 80, to recreate the old-style wine.

This “heirloom” wine, if you will, is a blend of Viura (the usual white rioja grape) and Palomino (the usual sherry grape). The juice is placed into concrete tanks to settle, and then into stainless steel tanks for fermentation. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is transferred on its lees (with the dead yeast) to barrels that have been used two or three times before, a little Mazanilla sherry is added, and then the wine/sherry blend is aged for 8 months. The result is a bone-dry, fresh white wine, with green fruit, chamomile tea, and oxidative sherry notes (dried fruit, almonds and salinity).

I first had this wine in 2017, and since then, I always keep a bottle on hand. The dash of sherry adds structure and flavor which pairs well not only with seafood, but “nibbles” of all kinds: olives, anchoa, sardines, shrimp, manchego cheese, marcona almonds. And I love the “hey, what is this?” look I get when someone tries it for the first time.

I’ve found it at Traino’s in Marlton (you may need to order it online for in-store pickup) for only $12. Just make sure it has clásico on the label; otherwise, you’ll be getting CVNE’s modern style white rioja. ¡