Hey guys!
This week we’re making a few stops around the world. We’ll start with a quick debrief from my time in Albania, visit a New York City restaurant that’s has a spot in the rotation now, and highlight a Spanish producer making some of the most exciting wines in the country. Enjoy 🍷
Notes from Albania 🇦🇱
A few days spent exploring the food, agriculture, and landscapes of one of the Balkans' most fascinating countries.
After Austria, I spent a week in Albania for no other reason than curiosity, and one of the best days we had there offered a little bit of everything.
Pictured: Albanian Landscape
We started the morning swimming in the Ionian Sea, drove inland through the mountains to visit an olive oil producer, and finished the day with one of the country's few natural winemakers. It felt like a perfect snapshot of a country that still has so much to discover.
Pictured: Albanian Beaches
Albania is an incredible place. Beyond knowing that the country was under communist rule until the early 1990s and that a few of our favorite wine-loving celebrities, like Dua Lipa and Action Bronson, have Albanian roots, I knew almost nothing about it before arriving.
Pictured: Albanian Beaches
The first thing, and really the main thing, that struck me was just how beautiful the country is. Within the span of a few hours, you can go from crystal clear beaches to rugged mountains to olive groves that seem to stretch endlessly across the landscape. The scenery alone is enough to make me want to go back.
Pictured: Albanian Landscape
The second thing was the quality of the agriculture. While Albania isn't particularly known for wine internationally, olive trees are everywhere. We spent part of the afternoon visiting Musai Olive Oil one of the top producers in the country. We learned about local olive oil production and tasted oils that were peppery, vibrant, and every bit as expressive as the wines we spend so much time talking about.
Pictured: Musai Olive Oil
The day ended with a visit to one of Albania's small but growing natural wine producers, Kantina Balaj. The estate is led by an Albanian-born, Italian-trained winemaker whose philosophy and approach felt completely aligned with the winemakers we drink all the time, and we’ll talk about our visit in much more depth later.
Pictured: Artan Balaj and me
Albania's wine scene is still young compared to many of its neighbors, but that's part of what makes it interesting. There was a sense that people are still figuring out what Albanian wine can be, which is often when the most exciting things happen.
Pictured: Balaj Bottlings
For a country that isn't on many wine lovers' radar, Albania left a strong impression. The beaches may get most of the attention, but it was the food, agriculture, and people that will stick with me the longest.
Dinner at Bufón 🤡
A new favorite of ours on the Lower East Side
This past Monday, I found myself at Bufon, a new-ish addition to the Lower East Side that, if I'm being honest, I should have been to much sooner.
Pictured: Bufon Bar
The amount of great restaurants and wine bars opening in New York right now is kind of staggering. Every week seems to bring another spot worth checking out, which means even places you've been meaning to visit can sit on the list longer than they should.
Bufon was one of those places for me.
Pictured: Bufon Steak
Part steakhouse, part raw bar, and part its own thing entirely, Bufon occupies a large Lower East Side space that somehow feels transported from another place. The front room has a beautiful bar and a handful of tables that feel more Paris than Manhattan. Beyond that sits a larger dining room in the back that somehow feels both elegant and relaxed, with white tablecloths and banquettes galore, almost like something pulled from a 1920s dinner party scene.
Pictured: Bufon Dining Room
The occasion on Monday was a dinner hosted by AP Wines, Nomadic, and Steven Graf Imports. The format was simple: the importers brought bottles, Bufon handled the food, and a collection of wine people from around New York filled the room.
Pictured: Pacalet Bottling
As the night went on, what stood out wasn't necessarily any single bottle or dish, but how everything came together. The room had a great energy, the food was delicious without feeling too precious, and the wine list felt thoughtfully assembled. Before the night was even over, I was already planning a return visit.
Pictured: Aftermath at Bufon
If you're looking for a spot on the Lower East Side with a beautiful room, a great wine program, and extremely well-executed food, Bufon is well worth a visit.
Producer Highlight ⭐
One of our favorite parts of wine is the discovery: we’re constantly being put on to new regions, producers, and cuvées from our friends. We’ll never be able to try EVERY wine, but we want to take a moment to mention some producers that excite us!
Cantalapiedra Viticultores 🍷
Location: Castilla y León, Spain📍
Pictured: Castilla y León, Image by Britannica
In La Seca, at the heart of Spain’s Rueda region, the Cantalapiedra family has been farming vines for generations. Their roots in the area stretch back centuries, though the estate’s modern story begins in 1949 when a fifteen year old Heliodoro Cantalapiedra planted his first small parcel.
Pictured: Manuel Cantalapiedra. Image by Stelle Wine Co
Together with his son Isaac, he gradually expanded the family’s holdings, establishing a reputation as growers with a deep understanding of the land. Decades later, Isaac and his own son Manuel would take the next step, bottling their first wines under the family name in 2014 and beginning a new chapter that united generations of vineyard experience with a distinct winemaking vision.
Pictured: Manuel and Issac Cantalapiedra. Image by Spanish Wine Lover
Today, the family farms more than 35 hectares of organically cultivated vineyards around La Seca, incorporating biodynamic practices and working primarily with old vines rooted in clay, sand, and limestone soils. While much of the fruit is still sold to friends and neighboring growers, Isaac and Manuel vinify a small selection themselves, focusing on wines that reflect the character of their vineyards with clarity and precision.
Pictured: Cantalapiedra Wine. Image by Leon & Son
Harvests are carried out by hand, intervention remains low, and the resulting wines balance freshness, texture, and energy. Whether working with Verdejo, Garnacha, or Tinta de Toro, the goal remains the same for them: to capture the vineyard as honestly as possible.
Pictured: Cantalapiedra’s Obertura
I first encountered these wines while my brother and I were in Madrid this past February. We stopped at an amazing restaurant, Ganz, and asked the team to blind us on something during lunch. The wine in the glass was flinty, fresh, and incredibly precise. Both of us were convinced it was Jura Chardonnay or Chablis. Instead, it turned out to be Cantalapiedra’s Obertura Verdejo. The bottle completely caught us off guard and served as a reminder of just how much exciting wine is coming out of Spain right now, especially by Cantalapiedra.
A little teaser: one of their wines will be making an appearance in this month’s club!
Wine Club Updates 🍷 📦
We’re currently putting the finishing touches on June’s wine club lineup and are in the process of selecting the wines now. We’re really excited about how it’s shaping up and can’t wait to share the final picks with you soon. As always, if you have any questions or run into any issues, feel free to reach out to [email protected] and they’ll be happy to help!
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That’s it for today! Hope everyone is enjoying the first signs of Summer, it’s been peak wine weather recently.
Thank so much for reading, and as always, drink responsibly! 🥂