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The Michelin Guide. North America’s 50 Best Restaurants. Bon Appétit. Esquire. The New York Times. The national and international recognition that Alma Fonda Fina has amassed in less than two years (it opened in December 2023) is arguably unmatched by any other Colorado restaurant in recent history.
The achievement is all the more impressive when you consider that, in the words of Fonda Fina Hospitality sommelier Justin Mueller, “There’s no hood [in the kitchen]—everything’s done on induction burners.” Also, Alma has never had much of a wine list, especially compared to “other restaurants of the same caliber,” Mueller says, with only about 10 choices. To be fair, you wouldn’t necessarily expect a focused wine program at a Mexican establishment, however celebrated it may be; beer and agave spirits are more customary pairings for the cuisine.
But Mueller would have you rethink that assumption, for a couple of reasons. One, in his view: “Wine just goes with food, period. It doesn’t matter if it’s Chinese food, Mexican food, Thai food, Laotian food—that’s what wine is there to do, and it’s been that way for 8,000 years.” And two: “The first Vitis vinifera vines [the grape species from which most of the world’s wines are made] planted in North America were in Mexico in the 16th century,” he says—which is to say that the country has a longer tradition of viticulture than the U.S. does, even if commercial wine production hasn’t been as widespread.
Accordingly, chef-owner Johnny Curiel and his wife and business partner, Kasie, recently tasked Mueller with expanding Alma’s wine program threefold to about 30 selections. “Special attention [is] being paid to Mexico,” he says, supplemented by “really cool [bottles from around] the world that may or may not be getting attention, that we think should be showcased, and that work well with the food.”
One of Mueller’s favorite Mexican products on the menu is Viña Cordelia Àmfora, an orange wine from San Luis Potosí, which is vinified in clay vessels and pairs nicely with Curiel’s big-eye tuna ceviche. “It’s got coconut broth and salsa macha, which are like oil and water: One’s sweet, and milky, and creamy, and the other one is somewhat spicy and unctuous,” he says. “The Viña Cordelia mimics the spice but mellows the spice, and [it] brings out more of the sweetness in the coconut and the fish. It’s really a mind-bending pairing.”
For Alma diners in search of an unusual pour, Mueller singles out a vineyard-designated Gamay from the Sonoma, California–based Darling Wines, which he recommends alongside enmoladas de pollo with rojo pipián mole. “I didn’t know if a red would go with that,” he admits, “but it’s a low-tannin red that’s just so cool texturally, and it really brings out the savoriness and the nuttiness and the herbaceousness of that mole. When everyone thinks of Gamay, they think Beaujolais [Nouveau], but pouring Sonoma County Gamay is so cool to me. It’s taking what’s known and turning it on its head—and opening people up to breaking out of their routine when they enjoy wine.”
That’s Mueller’s goal for the list as a whole, whether he’s suggesting a Champagne-method sparkler from Mexico’s Valle de Bernal made with the same grapes that go into Spanish Cava or a Sangiovese from the central Italian region of Umbria whose “sanguine character,” he says, “works really nicely with the smoky vibe” of the New York strip in salsa arriera.
But even beyond the four walls of Alma, he advises, “Don’t be afraid to drink wine with Mexican food. Instead of just thinking about how spicy it is, think about in what way that it’s spicy—that’s going to inform your pairing choices a lot.” For instance, wine with a bit of residual sugar—be it a Brut Champagne or even an off-dry Madeira—“quells the heat a little.” Bubbles and burritos? ¿Por qué no?
Read More: Alma Fonda Fina Is Modern Mexican Cuisine at Its Finest
