Page 33 - the NOISE January 2014

M aking the commitment to write a wine Kris turned toward me and smiled, “I know
column every month was a no brainer for me. Which one of us desert winos wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to imbibe in great local wine with a circle of aficionados and wine lovers alike?
I knew it would be a unique experience and a chance to highlight the area’s talented winemakers. Picking a tasty wine to feature would be the easy part. The real challenge would be in gathering a hodgepodge group of people to taste the wine. After all, Arizona wine is the inspiration for this writing adven- ture but it’s the people tasting it who will bring it to life for the readers.
I envisioned the first group of tasters to have a range of wine knowledge and syner- gistically possess a love for adult juice and a touch of Arizona craziness. It dawned on me that in few hours I would be hanging with a handful of the coolest wine chics this side of the Verde for our proclaimed “girls night.”
It was settled, the tasting lineup includ- ed the ever-so-lovely Caduceus Cellars wine slingers, Danielle Vorves and Abby Rothwell; along with the vivacious Kim Koistinen and Kris Pothier of local wine la- bel, Chateau Tumbleweed. The tasty wine chosen for this adventure would be Chateau Tumbleweed’s Admiral Star Sailor.
It was the five of us ladies, two dogs, two cats, and several bottles of wine. I opened the Admiral Star Sailor, keeping the label hidden from sight and poured each of us a taste. Our host, Abby, limited in wine glasses, handed three of us plastic margarita glasses to drink from. It didn’t take long for us to real- ize we couldn’t pick up the wine’s nose in the commemorative plastic Vegas style glasses. Kris joked about how she used to resort to drinking wine from chipped coffee mugs with her husband, Joe Bechard, the sea- soned winemaker of Chateau Tumbleweed (and Jeff Hendricks). We all started laugh- ing as Abby dug deep into the cupboard to find us more suitable tasting glasses.
“All I have are shot glasses,” belting out in a giggle as she handed us each a shot glass. Still not the ideal tasting glass, but we were able to pick up the nuances, so our blind tasting began. We each took some time to sit with the wine and after a couple of min- utes Kris got the conversation moving, “This wine’s a deep garnet color with a solid body. There is definitely richness to it.”
Danielle and Abby chimed in as they were both picking up earth and barnyard notes. A few minutes went by and we began to notice sweet nuances emerging as Kim mentioned cherry and cocoa scents. We all agreed the wine had a variety of subtle aromas and pos- sessed an expressive nose.
this wine! It’s definitely one of our wines, but I can’t quite put my finger on which one.” I mollified the suspense and revealed to the table they were indeed enjoying a Chateau Tumbleweed wine and it was the Admiral Star Sailor. Everyone smiled and expressed amusement realizing the wine was a familiar favorite among all of us Tumbleweed fans.
After several minutes we decided to pour more wine and revisit the Admiral. Danielle noticed the earth notes had mellowed and we all started picking up the fruitier aspects.
“Raspberry,”“black currant,”and“plum”were a few of the mentioned terms describing the fruitiness of the wine. Even though Kris as- sisted in making the wine, she still enjoyed breaking it down like any other tasting.
“There has always been a flavor in this wine I have never been able to describe. It’s almost like a new or clean smell mixed with a fruit.”
Abby nodded her head and smiled, “Yea, it reminds me of a sweet smelling new toy. I’m imagining my childhood and playing with my collection of My Little Pony’s.” We all laughed and appreciated the analogy as it reminded of us of one of the reasons why we enjoy wine so much. It can be a remark- able experience when one resonates with a particular wine and in the process of tasting it somehow brings you not only closer to the wine, but to a part of yourself as well.
Those of us who love it know, tasting wine is quite personal, sometimes bringing to the surface unique impressions and even odd memories. It reminds me of a quote:
“When the wine goes in, strange things come out.” — Johann Christoph friedrich Von Schiller.
It was a fun filled evening as the wine flowed and antics ensued. I couldn’t have asked for a better choice of people to partici- pate in my first Arizona wino adventure. It was as though the Wine God himself, Diony- sus, had orchestrated the evening’s perfect gathering.
A dry, rich, soft, and generously bodied red wine, the Admiral Star Sailor is a blend of 42% Syrah, 29% Carignon, and 22% Mourvedre from New Mexico, as well as 7% Grenache from Cimarron Vineyards in Cochise County with an alcohol content of 13.4% by volume.
You can find Chateau Tumbleweed along with other local wine labels (Four Eight, In- iquus Cellars, Kindred, Merkin Vineyards, and Saeculum Cellars) at the wine cooperative Four Eight Wineworks in Clarkdale.
Four8Wineworks.com
| CJ orion is a local favorite slinger of wine.
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• january 2014 • 33