Manzanilla

Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Andalusia, Spain

A style of fino sherry that can only be made in one place—the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where the Atlantic meets the mouth of the Guadalquivir river. The name means “chamomile” in Spanish, a nod to the floral notes the wine develops under a living blanket of flor yeast that thrives year-round in the salt air. Bone dry and pale straw in the glass, with notes of almonds, fresh bread, and a clean salinity that tastes unmistakably like the sea.

Cava

Peníes, Catalonia, Spain

When phylloxera devastated Catalonia’s vineyards in the 1860s, winemaker Josep Raventós rebuilt with white grapes and the traditional Champagne method—producing Spain’s first sparkling wine in 1872. The name comes from the underground stone cellars where it ages; the grapes—Macabeo, Xarel·lo, and Parellada—are entirely Catalan. Crisp and dry, with notes of citrus, green apple, and toasted brioche, and fine persistent bubbles from start to finish.

Saison

Wallonia, Belgium

Born in the farmhouses of Wallonia, Belgium’s French-speaking south, where farmers brewed it through the cold winter months to be ready for the heat of harvest. The name simply means “season”—it was a provision beer, kept low enough in alcohol that saisonniers could drink it all day in the fields. Brewed from whatever grains were on hand and fermented with wild, expressive yeast: dry, highly carbonated, and alive with fruity, spicy, and earthy character unlike anything else in beer.

Café Mocha

Yemen & Turin, Italy

The name traces back to Al Mokha, a Yemeni port city that dominated the global coffee trade for centuries—and whose beans were prized across Europe for their naturally chocolatey flavor. When chocolate arrived in Italy in the 17th century, Turin’s cafés layered it with espresso and cream in a drink called bicerin, served deconstructed so the drinker could combine it themselves. That spirit lives on today: bold, bittersweet espresso folded into steamed milk and rich chocolate, warm and indulgent in every cup.

Red Tea

Wuyi Mountains, Fujian, China

What the West calls black tea, China calls hong cha—red tea—named for the deep crimson color it produces in the cup, not the leaf. Born in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian in the 17th century, it was the first fully oxidized tea ever made and the one that launched the global tea trade. Smooth and naturally sweet, with a character that shifts from the honey-and-caramel depth of teas like Yunnan’s Dian Hong to the orchid-flecked elegance of teas like Keemun.