It’s time for you to drink Mexican wine.
...and Matt Diaz has opened just the place to do it.
If you love Mexican food, you’re probably quite familiar with where to get the best margaritas (on top of my list: Leyenda, Rosie’s, Alta Calidad), and Mezcal (I’m partial to Claro). But it’s possible you’d be a bit lost if you were pressed to name your favorite spot for Mexican wine. Well, you can stop scratching your head right now and go straight to For All Things Good Vinoteca in Williamsburg.
Now, maybe you’ve already been to For All Things Good in Bed Stuy, the Mexico City-driven hand-milled masa cafe and restaurant opened in 2021 by Carlos Macías and Matt Diaz. It’s a gem: warm and inviting, small and snug, filled with the sweet aroma of heirloom Mexican corn being milled and sizzling queso-filled tetelas on the griddle.
In addition to those sizzling tetelas (triangular hot pockets of masa stuffed with hibiscus flowers and salsa chipotle), the all-day menu features classic Mexico City street foods like memelas (small masa pies with fluted edges topped with mole de cafe and queso fresco), tlayuditas (crisp tortillas piled with hen of the woods mushrooms, Oaxaca cheese, black beans, and salsa macha), tlacoyos (oval masa patties filled with spicy refried pinto beans and salsa macha), and gorditas (similar to tlacoyos, but split in half and stuffed with eggs and queso fresco). Oh, and yes there are also delicious handheld soft corn tacos filled with mushrooms and cheese, tinga and queso fresco, chorizo and potato, and more.
Before opening For all Things Good, Matt studied anthropology at Hunter College and lived in Buenos Aires where he learned winemaking. His dream was to actually open a Mexican Wine Bar, but For All Things Good focused more on mezcal. So back in May he opened a sister to the Bed Stuy cafe, this one devoted to Mexican wine called For All Things Good Vinoteca.
It’s been flying under the radar, and I feel like you need to get there if you haven’t. That’s not just because of the masa-focused menu; it’s because the all day cafe morphs into a neighborhood wine bar with an emphasis on natural wines from Mexico, which is quite unusual. I don’t know any restaurants featuring Mexican wines, let alone natural Mexican winemakers. (If you do, please comment below so I can go!)
And that’s a shame because Mexico is actually home to the first vineyards planted in North America; the Spanish started planting them the 16th century. The region is a melting pot of French, Spanish, and Italian grapes, from Nebbiolo to Chenin Blanc, making up about 7,700 acres of vineyards. The major wine-making sub-regions here are in Baja Mexico, including Valle de Guadalupe (which some call the Napa Valley of Mexico), Valle de Calafia, Valle de San Vincente, and Valle de Santo Tomás. These regions are characterized by granite-rich alluvial soils, attributes you might expect to find in the Northern Rhône Valley of France.
Matt’s wine list is global and includes some local wines too, but I am most interested in the Mexican wines which take up an entire page of the restaurant’s tidy two page list. (The Happy Hour is a great deal and a nice way to get to try a bunch of wines at a reasonable cost.)
Some Mexican wines to try as the weather turns cool: Bichi Santa Tecate (2020), a high acidity red with notes of red fruit and a bit of pepper; and the Vena Cava Grenache (2017) from Valle de Guadalupe, which is velvety and dark, with full-bodied earthy fruit. On the white side, there’s a fruity Trasiego from Valle de Guadalupe (2020), and a tropical Aborigen Arre Nino Blanco (2020). If you like bubbles, there’s a nice sparkling Tierra de Peña Pet Nat, a few orange wines like the floral and aromatic Octogano Naranja Guanajuato (2019), and some fun roses, like the Bichi No Name Still Tecate (2019), a bright wine that gives tart cherry vibes.
If you can’t decide what to drink, your best bet is to go in, ask for Matt (tell him Andrea sent you!), and order lots of snacks and glasses of wine to pass around and taste and share. I hope you love it as much as I do!
For all Things Good Vinoteca is located at 314 Grand Street in Williamsburg (right by Four Horsemen and Leo, some other great wine destinations, if you’re into doing a crawl of sorts.
Love it. At our Bowl of Zole fear we've had a Mexican wine importer each year. Exciting! RGNY on north fork is owned by a Mexican winery, too