Nola Palomars (Veleta winery) seafood

We went to a friends house to meet Nola and Juan Palomar to taste their Veleta wines. The big suprise for me was that they also import seafood. I knew about their Olive Oil but not the other products. They are importing a sherry vinegar (solera aged), mussels, anchovy, sardines, and tuna.
Juan and Nola put together some traditional tapas and they were fabulous!

The sardines were the best I have ever had. The tuna had a buttery texture, the anchovy was mild and just briny enough, and the mussels were very good as well. They all transcend anything I have ever had from a canned product. I really cannot wait to purchase them for the pantry. Yes, a shameless plug, but the product rocks!

They also served those long, thin, green peppers. The pickled ones you see at every tapas bar. Wow, again, best I have had. I do not know if they import these as well, but I hope so.

Thanks Juan and Nola!

Where will they be available?

Yes, the sardines are the best available, to be sure. I purchased a dozen tins, or so, and I try to put one tin out for each Berserker event here. Awesome stuff - so rich.

I believe board member Jeff Pfohl
Has some products.

http://gourmet-delights.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nola told me to get in touch with her. She is on he board, PM her.

Ya must of missed it last year… we have been raving about those sardines for quite awhile…they truly are amazing, best in class that I have had from a can. The tuna is very good too. I have not had the mussels. I like the olive oil as well, but it doesn’t stand out to me as much as the sardines do. I have not had the anchovies, but I would definitely give them a whirl.

Last I spoke to her, they were waiting on a container from Spain so it will be a bit before she has more stocks…

Wow thanks for the comments and nice words about the Veleta products.

I am currently out of stock on the Sardines, Laird got to savor some because I had a case that was damaged when UPS broke a case of our EVOO and the labels got a little oil soaked, so we have been “suffering” and eating them!! We will be shipping a reefer container of wine and products over in August or September and will be including them in the shipment.

The EVOO, we make here on the farm and is a variety called Lechin; soft buttery not harsh or raspy, great with baked potatoes, corn on the cob, fried eggs, etc. the shelf life is easily 2-3 years ( for rancidity) for freshness probably 1-2 years. I still have our EVOO from some 1 liter size we brought in for a large grocery store back in 2000 and it is fine to cook with without any off flavors or aromas

My Sherry Vinegar is produced by Vinagres de Yema and is a 7 year solera sherry vinegar. It is the same vinegar as Cepa Vieja but the private label it for us under the Veleta name.

The Tuna and Sardines are from the estuaries of Galicia and are exquisite. The Mussels are not what most Americans think of, they are not smoked but cooked in a red wine vinaigrette. If you like mussels, these are phenomenal, the down side is that they are or were a difficult sell because the rubbery smoked ones are what people in the states tend to associate with canned mussels. I have not reordered the mussels for that reason. If I had a demand for them, I could and would bring them back.

The Olives we import are the small Manzanilla olives and are really good, but when I reorder them I am going to go with a different producer who has I think a better selection and the same or superior quality.

There is a new item I am considering to bring in which are baby artichoke hearts (jar). They are about 1/4th the size of canned artichokes currently imported. I am waiting to see if I can find a market for them before we commit.

I also have a local honey producer that has been after us for years to export his honey to the States.

As far as the boquarones en vinagre and the long skinny peppers, I don´t import either one, but I can probably connect you with the importer. I don´t import anything with a short shelf life since I am here in Spain so much.

As far as getting the products… Jeff Pfohl does have the EVOO, Sardines and our Saffron. http://www.gourmetdelights.com otherwise contact me via pm or email and I will see what I can do. It is a little difficult as I just returned to Spain last night. My website http://www.eveleta.comis experiencing trouble right now.

If there is room in your container, don’t forget to add a dozen cases of the sparkling Lanjaron mineral water, Nola

Correction! It’s http://www.gourmet-delights.com.

I ordered 8 cans of sardines (to get free shipping ) got them yesterday and took a can today to my local Italian. The owner was there with a couple of friends, and I shared my plate with them. The owner asked me to place an order for him–he loved them. And I did too. First rate.

I had the sardines at Todd’s at the last berserkerfest and I can attest to their excellence. Mrs. Cabot can also attest I tried to it all of them. Will be grabbing a bunch for my housewarming =)

Nola, do you have a wholesale distributor in the US? We are just getting ready to start stocking our new expansion and put out leads looking for non perishable food vendors today.

I eat sardines for lunch regularly, and gotta get some of these.

Just Juan and me. I sell to Jeff Pfohl for his online store and I have someone in Ohio trying to talk to some stores, but all the other distribution I have is just us. If you have some ideas or want wholesale pricing, please send me a message.

I want everything listed in that post! I would definitely buy some of the mussels!!!

How much do I have to eat to be considered a wholesaler!!!

+1

Mmmm let’s see, cases are 50 cans each!

I eat them straight out of the can with lemon squeezed on top and some bread. Yumm!

Just curious how others eat the sardines and what wine works for you.

We are gonna use them on crostini in our soon to open tasting room…