Broadway Liquor Distributors Pty Ltd

Visit our website:
http://www. broadwayliquor.com. au /catalogue /

Thanks to 'the godfather' from Galicia, Australians can enjoy fine imported wines, oils and other treats.

The Spanish word for godfather is padrino and Jose Fernandez is a likely candidate as el padrino of the Spanish food scene in Sydney. He migrated to Australia in 1964 from Galicia. Four years later he left the construction business to go into partnership in three restaurants: Don Quixote and Capitan Torres (which are still going strong) and Sancho (which used to be on Bondi Road).

Fernandez quit as a restaurateur in 1978. But four years earlier he had started importing wines to supply his eating spots.

Now he estimates he imports half the Spanish wine that comes into this country. He is the biggest distributor in Sydney. On his shelves are wines from 23 Spanish companies. His sherries range from $12 to $1000 for a bottle of Gonzalez Byass.

The Gonzales Byass company also makes a lovely vinegar and so, five years ago, Fernandez started to sell its classic vinagre de Jerez. His wholesale customers, mainly restaurants and cafes, snapped it up. Soon samples from other food companies started arriving, including premium olive oils such as Castelanotti, made from arbequina olives, and arroz bomba, the classic paella rice from El Pantar.

Fernandez keeps his small array of specialities in a slightly disarrayed side section of his wine shop. There are bulk tins of olives and light tuna, boxes of Sidra Natural Riera (cider) and handsome bottles of Cabreiroa mineral water. There are little tins of tapas-style octopus, sardines, mussels and tuna and seven types of stuffed olive from La Explanada. He has Syren and Triselecta saffron, capers and pale white tuna fillets from Palacio de Oriente and paprika powder and pimento from Santo Domingo.