Stars

Spain’s Secret Wine Stars: The Regions Rising Beyond the Radar

Spain’s Secret Wine Stars: The Regions Rising Beyond the Radar

Spain’s wine scene is quietly rewriting its script. Behind the Rioja and Ribera del Duero headlines, a wave of under-the-radar regions and forgotten styles is gaining traction. During a recent Taste Spain panel, two industry insiders—Ferran Centelles, ex-sommelier at El Bulli, and Maria Naranjo, ICEX’s food and drink director—spilled the latest intel on Spain’s hidden gems. Their insights? A blend of ancient traditions, bold experimentation, and regions waiting to break through. For Naranjo, the northwestern spotlight fell on Galicia’s Ribeiro, where Godello, Albariño, and Loureira deliver crisp, mineral-driven whites. But her focus shifted to La Manchuela, a 2000s-born region in…
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Stars Unveil Wine Bar in East Village; Antica Bottega Expands to Cortina

Stars Unveil Wine Bar in East Village; Antica Bottega Expands to Cortina

Here’s what you need to know: In the heart of New York’s East Village, two of the city’s most revered restaurateurs are redefining the wine bar experience. Joshua Pinsky and Chase Sinzer, behind the award-winning Claud and Penny, have opened Stars—a 12-seat, walk-in-only wine bar with a list of over 1,000 bottles. The concept? A space where wine is the focus, not an afterthought. “We wanted people to know this is a place to pop in and have some wine,” Sinzer says. The bar’s design, a zinc horseshoe bar wrapped by 12 seats, nods to the neighborhood’s artistic roots, including…
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