Marisela Godinez
By Natalia Otero
The spirits and wine offered by El Mesón Tequilería in Austin, Texas are unique, not only because of their exquisite flavors, but also because many of them are produced by Mexican women.
Marisela Godínez is behind this project that, for 12 years, has focused on building community. Godínez came to Austin from Mexico in the arly 1990s and found a job washing dishes at the Jason's Deli chain. She expanded her knowledge of wine, spirits and the restaurant business while waiting tables at Fonda San Miguel in Austin in the late ‘90s.
In 2010 she struck out on her own and opened El Mesón Taquería together with her husband, Yves Macias. At first the restaurant was a taco shop, but soon they became a full-service restaurant and included liquors. This is how El Mesón Tequilería was born.
Godinez and her husband managed the restaurant together with another family member at first, but five years ago she took the lead of the business. Today, most of her workers are female students, single mothers.
During the pandemic, Godinez started thinking about her role in the community, her role as a leader for women, and her power to support products from her homeland. A friend of hers suggested that she consider serving wine and spirits from Mexico. She tasted them and enjoyed them, and decided to combine her passions and focus on those made by women.
For example, the menu at Mesón Tequilería includes the La Condesa, a gin produced at Flor de Luna, a pioneering, women-owned-and-operated micro-distillery located in the heart of Mexico City. Condesa’s ingredients and botanicals are informed by the indigenous regional curandera (healer) traditions of Mexico. The menu also includes Coyote Mezcal, produced at Luneta in Chichicapam, Oaxaca, which is operated by 62-year-old Berta Vazquez.
Mexican wines – not just from women winemakers – also play a large role on the menu.
“In Texas, people have the conception that in a Mexican restaurant you order a tequila or a mezcal. But I have bet on wine and it has been very well received,” she says. “To introduce the new wine list, I have made dinners with Mexican products and they have been a success. On these nights, I have come to sell up to five cartons of wine.”
Godínez ensures that the wines pair well with the dishes on her menu. Some of her favorite wines come from Vinicola Cuna de Tierra in Guanajuato, which makes a range of vintages including cabernet sauvignon, syrah, merlot, nebbiolo and cab franc. Another favorite is Vinicola Fortin in Coahuila, Mexico, known for its cabernets and syrahs.
She finds that the full-bodied wines from these wineries pair well with mole because of their complexity.
For the tacos on her menu, she recommends the tempranillo and cabernet sauvignon from Bodegas Pinamora in Chihuahua; the merlot and zinfandel from Vinos Pijoan Paula in Valle de Guadalupe; and the Bruma Chardonnay from Compania Enologa de Evolucion, also in Valle de Guadalupe.
Another pairing that Godínez recommends is the chiles en nogada with Ensemble from Paralelo in Valle de Guadalupe. The recipe brings back fond memories, as her mentor chef, Patricia Quintana, taught it to her. Also, the tempranillo/cabernet mix called Torre de Tierra from Cuna de Tierra goes very well with the cochinita pibil.
Getting Mexican wines in the United States can be challenging, but Godínez has found a decent selection by working with multiple distributors, including La Competencia Imports, Back Alley Imports and Trilito Marketing.
She is betting on this wine and spirits list because she knows that in them is the essence of her ancestral heritage and the future of new generations that, with effort and dedication, are producing products of the highest quality.
Natalia Otero is a freelance writer based in Bogota, Colombia.