Arizona Wine

I want to stake a claim—just like a gold rush—in this year 2011— of the emerging wineries of Arizona before they attain world fame. SugarToad recently had the honor of hosting winemaker Eric Glomski of Arizona Stronghold Vineyards to celebrate the wines of Arizona. The dinner was full of storytelling of local history including Indian tales of Geronimo. Mr. Glomski has great respect for the local culture and considers himself a steward of the land—a true pioneer.

The wines of Arizona?—It is like Tuscany had a kid with Rhone grape varietals and got caught up in a gold rush to the Wild West. This is my attempt to describe the terrior and feel of Arizona wines. They are paradoxically rustic and elegant. Fruity, yet not sweet with refreshing acidity, and are great food wines. They are growing grenache, syrah, sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, mourvedre, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and my personal favorite malvasia. The vineyards are up in the mountains, sometimes at 5000 feet above sea level, and they don’t have heat problems, but frost problems!

I first came across Arizona wines from a couple years ago with the wines of Dos Cabezas and vigneron Todd Bostock. Skeptical at first, I tasted a Syrah called “La Montana” from the 2003 vintage and I was sold. Not only do these reds drink well young, but the concentration of fruit and acidity make them great aging candidates.

Mr. Glomski’s business party is Maynard James Keenan, front man for the bands Tool & A Perfect Circle. Together they recently filmed a documentary Blood Into Wine. It portrays the trials and tribulations of starting a winery in Arizona. With Mr. Keenan’s fame, they have obtained a lot of wine press, but, the movie definitively shows he is a vigneron. So if you have a Netflix subscription, check out Blood Into Wine. It’s entertaining, educational, and displays the pioneering spirit of vignerons.

How Sommeliers Mix Sangria

For some reason I have been asked many times in the past gloom-filled Spring weeks how I make Sangria. It must be the flirtatious summer like temperatures upon us. I immediately start thinking of the BBQs I will be attending soon and who will be at them. My ethos, pathos, and logos affect my thought process, and, warranting which type of BBQ I will be attending, warrants the depth of complexity in which I will make said Sangria.

If I am attending an impromptu gathering, my sourcing of ingredients may be limited to the local liquor and grocery store. If I know of a gathering a week or two in advance, the research begins. I offer a couple of solutions on how to make Sangria this upcoming summer season. The beauty of Sangria is there are no right or wrong recipes—Just wrong ingredients!

By wrong ingredients, I mean, please only use freshly squeezed juices, and freshly chopped produce. Most local groceries, like Casey’s Foods in Naperville and Whole Foods, offer pre-cut fresh fruits and vegetables. I prefer to chop and dice my own and it is less expensive. If one wants to cheat and use wrong ingredients which are pre-bottled mixes, wine in a box, and pre-bottled sangrias, please just go to your favorite local restaurant that serves sangria and enjoy it on their patio. Using ingredients that have added sulfites and shelf-stablizers are what give us bad headaches. Fresh and natural ingredients are bodies are able to process more easily.


Traditional Sangria

1-750 ml Argentinean Malbec or Favorite Fruity Red Wine (Traditional Spanish Sangria is usually made with Tempranillo)
½ Cup Contreau or Triple Sec
½ Cup Simple Syrup
1 Orange Diced
1 Lemon Diced
1 Lime Diced
2 Apples Diced

Notes***
Marinate in pitcher for at least one hour and refrigerate.
Serve over ice and garnish with orange slice.
All of these ingredients are readily available year round at any local grocer.
Feel free to add different fresh berries and other fruits to the mix.
There are no boundaries to making sangria.
My preferred Malbec is Crios by Susana Balbo—one can usually find this in the $10-13 range.
Please don’t spend more than $20 on a bottle of wine for Sangria, or use Grand Cru Burgundy.
If you prefer Sangria with white wine, make sure you select a wine with no oak and good acidity. Albarino from Spain works well and is reasonably priced for white wine sangria.
Please remember that this is like a cocktail and the alcohol content is quite high!


2-Quill-Ya Sangria
This is a recipe we have been working on for a short while now and found the inspiration from the kind folks at Hum Liqueur…

2 Cup Mezcal or Tequila (we like Mezcal because the agave is usually smoked!)
2 Cups Hum Botanical Liqueur
2 Cups Agave Nectar
2 Cups Malbec Red Wine
4 Limes Diced
1 Whole Pineapple Diced
2 Red Bell Peppers Diced
3-4 Jalapenos Diced (depending how much heat you like)
Several Sprigs Cilantro or Seasonal Herbs to Garnish

Notes***
Crush and muddle all fruit in bottom of pitcher.
Make sure all seeds are removed from fruit.
Pour in Alcohol and stir, let marinate for at least an hour
Serve over ice and garnish with herbs.
Agave Syrup is just like honey and can be found at almost any grocer.
Mezcal is just like Tequila, but does not come from the Jalisco Province in Mexico.
Hum Liqueur may be procured at Binny’s Beverage Depot if you are in Chicagoland.