Opened a bottle of this old favorite the other night, and fell in love. 
Poured it again tonight with much delight.
Jorge Ordonez imports this very fine Verdejo from Spain. Naia. Read his interesting story and...
We first discovered Naia at WD-50, the trend setting restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, several years ago.
It was a special wine of the night, new to the US at the time, it has been favorite ever since.
A bottle of Naia has waited in my wine cellar for two years, for just the right moment. Reservations Gaucho Steak, the new Argentinean restaurant in Montclair inspired its opening. It went perfectly with their cerviche and fish dishes.
Tonight I poured another bottle with dinner at home from one of Montclair's lesser known treasures, Cafe Sultan. Falafel over Baba Ganoush The biting garlic and pungent vinegar lemon and vinegar were perfectly accented by the complex flavors this wine delivers.
Available at most wine stores for around 10 bucks.
"Pale straw shot with green. Complex, floral aromas of pear, anise, honeysuckle and dusty minerals. Vibrant and nervy but also concentrated and deep, with apple and pear flavors lifted by an exotic note of orange peel that emerges with aeration. Finishes stony and dry, with good breadth and length. Score: 89." Stephen Tanzer, September 30, 2006.
The Wine Advocate, "A 100% Verdejo cuvee, the 2005 Naia is more weighty than Las Brisas, but still fresh, lively, and aromatic with superb precision and plenty of crisp, lemony, honeysuckle-like fruit. Fermented and aged in steel, it is the type of light yet soulful white that frequently emerges from Spain. It would be a wonderful match with grilled seafood or shellfish over the next year. Score: 88." —Robert Parker, August 28, 2006.
Celebrated importer Jorge Ordonez says Spain’s wine varietals reflect a "tremendous genetic pool" of grapes from ancient vines. Ordonez notes that, unlike many European wine lovers, "the American consumer is ready to try new things."
"Fewer than 25 years ago Jorge Ordonez drove a truck and delivered food and wine shipments to the back door of restaurants along Spain’s east coast. His family owned the business and Jorge learned it the hard way. But the experience instilled an enduring appreciation for quality, especially when it came to wine. When he relocated to the United States – to his wife’s hometown of Boston – in the late 1980s, Ordonez knew zero English and little about the American wine industry. The same determination that let him persevere as a delivery man sustained Ordonez in his new quest to become a major distributor of Spanish wine in the U.S. Today, at 47, Ordonez is the major distributor, having ridden the tide of growing appreciation for the excellence of wine making in Spain, In 2005, he was again the leading distributor across the U.S., including in California, with 130 wines from 40 wineries on his American roster. And, once a year, Ordonez invites his contacts from the U.S. wine trade on a tour of Spain, where they are reminded why absolutely nothing ever has managed to bring him down." Hinsdale Cellars
Things to do, places to see, with food and booze
I was just introduced to the Naja only last week by a Napa winemaker who is so fond of it, he prophecies that it will become the next chardonnay "pour by the glass" in restaurants in the US... verdejo that is.
Not being a chardonnay fan myself, if white called for, I"m always looking for anything else. Viognier can be gorgeous and I am very fond of Rousanne Marsanne blends (Linne Calado makes a beauty called Discipline).
Yesterday, I was in Santa Maria helping a pinot winery called Tantara process the '07 fruit. In between sorting, destemming and crushing 6 tons of grapes, we had a brown bag blind tasting lunch. I brought a bottle of Naja. It was the very first bottle opened and it stumped everyone. Everyone from the winemakers, distributors and aficianados at the table to growers marveled at it, but could not guess.
On my way back to Los Angeles this a.m., I stopped in Los Olivos to buy more... at $12 bucks a bottle I may become a white drinker afterall.
:)
Alyson
Posted by: Malibualy | 09/30/2007 at 21:33