A Taste of Spain
The Clandestino Offers Wine, Tapas and Connection…
My philosophy of business is very easy. I don’t want to just sell wine. I want to sell an experience,” explains Nicolas Tena of The Clandestino, a new wine and tapas “speakeasy” bar in Mount Shasta that serves up an intimate environment, seasonal menus and expertly paired wines. “When you come inside, you taste wine, but I will explain each winery, each type of grape and who the owner of the winery is. I’ll explain the family, the history and the culture. I want you to feel that you are
in Spain.”
Tena’s life is rooted in wine, but not just any wine. Garnacha, also known as “Grenache” in French, is a particular passion, given his homeland. “I have a winery in Spain in Zaragoza. Zaragoza is the world capital of Grenache, a grape that was born 2,000 years ago in my city,” explains Tena. This red grape is a versatile and complex variety that thrives in hot and dry climates, and produces a full-bodied wine. And while it’s been a historic staple on both sides of the Pyrenees, it’s been recently rediscovered by the wine-drinking community and is experiencing a surge in popularity. “Grenache is one of the oldest grapes in the world. But, 50 or 60 years ago it wasn’t a popular grape because it takes a lot of kilos [of grapes] for each vine. But in the last 60 years, it’s gotten to be very popular. At this moment, it might be one of the most fashionable grapes in the world, and is found in the south of France, in Sardinia, South Africa, Australia and California.”
But Tena offers far more than Garnacha at The Clandestino. He also offers tapas-style food, or small bites, and he has a wide array of wine selections to choose from. “California people are very cultured about wine, and that’s very interesting to me. Obviously, I have a love and a lot of wines from Spain, and I think I am the biggest Spanish winetasting place in Northern California with 126 wines. But then, I also prepare sangria with my own wine every night. I prepare it with a mixture of Garnacha with apple, orange and peach, and also with a little sugar and soda. I do it much more in the summer because that’s the hot season, but people also ask for it in winter, too.”
A traveler by nature, it was love that first brought Tena to Mount Shasta. “How did I get here? It’s very easy. A woman. I have a travel agency and a winery in Spain. And seven years ago, [my now-wife] Isabella asked me to do a trip with her group to Thailand, Malaysia and Bali. And then, in 2019, I saw that she was doing a new trip to Egypt so I called her and said, ‘Remember Isabella, I am the best.’ She bought me a ticket to Egypt. After that trip it was 2020, and after that, we became a couple and got married in San Francisco City Hall. Then one weekend, she said she wanted to take me to an amazing place nearby. And I said, ‘Where is that?’ because I know California is much bigger than Spain in distance. She told me not to worry. We left her office around 5 o’clock, and after two hours of driving, I asked her, ‘OK, where is this place?’ and she told me not to worry again, that we’d just hit traffic. Around 11 p.m. we arrived in Mount Shasta, and I said, ‘I don’t see anything.’ But the next morning, I opened the window, I saw the mountain, and I said, ‘Oh my God, what’s that?’ It’s just like my home in Spain. When we went back to the Bay Area on Sunday, I said to Isabella, ‘I think I’m a match for this place.’ Two weeks later, we moved. That was June 2023.”
A strong sense of community drives Tena. “One of the things here in America that’s different than in Spain is that here, people between different tables don’t speak to each other. But when you come to The Clandestino, if you sit at one table, maybe after five minutes, you start to talk with another table. That’s just like Spanish tapas. So that’s what I’m trying to do every day. I want you to leave your mobile and talk to each other, because life is too short.” Tena also hopes that the individualized experience will continue to fuel his success. “One problem I’ve seen in every place at this moment all over the world, is that if you are a big company like Starbucks, it’s the same experience. You can be in Buenos Aires, you can go to Egypt, and all of the Starbucks are exactly the same. But I think that local businesses are the best ones because they take care of the local people. First of all, you know all the neighbors. You know your customer, and that’s the difference. At Clandestino, I want to be the extension of your house so that you feel at home.•
The Clandestino • www.theclandestinousa.com
211 N. Mt. Shasta Blvd., Mount Shasta • Open daily, 2 to 8 pm
