Source: Despana Brand Foods

Walk into Despana Brand Foods on a Saturday afternoon, and, before you’ve had a chance to take in the surroundings, owner Marcos Intriago will immediately thrust a cup into your hand and fill it with wine. Mr. Intriago and his wife, Angelica, offer free tastings of Spanish wine, meats, and cheeses in their Jackson Heights store every Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. When I visited, the place was busy with people enjoying their generous spirit, as well as the samplings of spicy chorizo and cheeses filling a counter lined with terra cotta cazuela dishes.

The small space on Northern Boulevard is a retail showroom for their company, which produces chorizo and other sausages and imports foods from Spain for wholesale distribution.

The shop is stocked with a wide range of Spanish foods that rise up to the ceiling, from a wall lined with Basque specialties, including Rosara jarred beans, Navarra white asparagus, and baby artichokes (below left), to a case full of Serrano ham, salchichon, chorizo, other cured meats, and cheeses (below center) and artisanal chocolate (below right) for combining with hot milk to make thick Chocolate a la Taza.

Despana Brand Foods is located at 86-17 Northern Boulevard, Jackson Heights, New York 11372 (718.779.4971).