By Lizbeth Conguisti, the Sassy Sommelier

On most days in the greater Phoenix/Scottsdale area one can find anywhere from 25 – 50 wine tasting events available for your enjoyment.  Often times the events will offer a tasting of many different red and white wine varieties from all over the world. 

What do you do with sooooo many wines to taste?

The type of mood you’re in will determine how to go about tasting the many wine selections offered. 

Out to enjoy the evening and taste some wine?  Grab your glass and get started in any direction that makes you happy.  You can spend the time tasting your old favorites, “the usual suspects” you enjoy — Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.  There are only four things you need to know about wine; red, white, what you like and what you don’t like.

If you’re tasting for a learning experience, taking a systematic approach is helpful. 

Starting with Champagne or sparkling wine is a great way to open your palette and prepare your taste buds for the many other wines to come. 

Continue by following the rules of serving wine.  Taste whites before reds and begin with light bodied before full bodied wines.  

Visit the regions or appellations of the world you are most interested in experiencing.  Take the time to taste the wines of the same variety from each different region/appellation before moving on to the next grape variety that interests you.  For example, if tasting Chenin Blanc, taste all the Chenin Blanc’s offered from different producers and regions/applications before moving on to Sauvignon Blanc.  

It is very difficult to go back and forth between tasting white and then red wines.  If you do this, you may only truly enjoy the first two wines you taste. 

When approaching the tasting table, ask the winemaker or representative to educate you on their wine.  You’ll find everyone loves to talk about the wines they make or represent. It’s a great way to get them talking.

Take notes on color, aroma, mouth feel, taste and finish.  Note the grape variety/blend, vintage, appellation, winery/producer, vineyard/estate and your first impression.  If you find a wine you particularly like, take a picture of the label.  It will make it easier for you to remember the wine after all the tasting you are doing.  Pick up a copy of Sip, Swirl, Savor; A Wine Tasting Guide and Journal available at Amazon.com and follow the “My Notes” page to keep track of the wines you taste. 

At first you may feel you are not taking advantage of all the wines offered.  You may only taste whites at one tasting and reds at the next tasting event.  We suggest you give this system a try; you’ll find you will enjoy more wines at each and every tasting you attend as you learn more about the wines and regions you have tasted. 

Whatever approach you take, drink responsibly, enjoy the wines and leave with a list you’ll want to drink at home.

By Lizbeth Conguisti, the Sassy Sommelier

Professional wine tasters and writers have created a lengthy list of descriptive words to help us understand the characteristics, fragrances, and aromas of the many different wine varieties on the market today. Unfortunately, many of us do not smell the same scents in the glass that the pros do.

My suggestion is to find your own descriptive words to describe what you smell in your glass when you taste. If the wine in your glass smells like your grandmother’s cedar chest, and that is something you like using to describe the wine, this will work well for you. The same is true for the taste in the glass. Look for a taste you are familiar with, things you can identify and put a name to. All the descriptive words are useless unless they can help you remember what is in your glass. Match the smell and taste of the wine to something you can identify and remember. To help you build your vocabulary of descriptive words, take time when in the grocery store to smell fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers, and spices. In no time you’ll have your own lengthy list of descriptive words.

A few key words on Italian wine labels you need to pay attention to: “classic” is the word used to reference the “heart of the region”. We often see this word used on the label of wines from the Chianti region.  The other term we wanted to bring to your attention is “superiore” — to use this word on an Italian wine label indicates higher alcohol. 

My Italian heritage makes Italy my favorite place to vacation and when I am not in the country I love tasting Italian wines. Over the past few weeks we’ve tasted a few wines we would like to share with you. Our hope is you’ll find them enjoyable.

Colli di Soligio Prosecco Brut, NV:

100% Prosecco. A sparkling wine made from grapes from the Treviso hills.  A wine with delicate flavor notes of dry fruit and mangoes, with a pleasant and creamy aftertaste on the palate.

Firrato Chiarmonte Nero d’Avola:

100% Nero D’Avola. The Nero D’Avola is a native grape to Sicily. This wine is full bodied, opaque deep purple color, with ripe plum and spice notes. Exotic flavors and a silky finish. 

Tenuta de Capezzana Barco Reale di Carmingnano, Toscana DOC 2006:

A blend of 70% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet and 10% Canaiolo Nero. It is ruby red in color, with attractive youthful perfumes of ripe, red fruit, strawberries and redcurrants with the French oak adding a spicy depth. On the palate, it has lovely balance between lively, red fruit characters and smooth, spicy tannins. The quality is sustained right to the finish (Wine makers notes). I couldn’t agree more.

By Susie Timm, Chief Operating Foodie

I’ve been coming to Scottsdale on vacation since 1980 (and I’ve lived here since 1992) and I’ve seen Sphinx Ranch and their alluring “Famous Date Shakes” sign so many times that I became desensitized.

However, after Ron Vance, their director of marketing was kind enough to invite me in for a date (ha!) my ice cream endeavors will never be the same again.

The ranch's cuteness makes it easy to find!

Christa Oyer and I dropped in on Vance a couple of weeks ago to get the inside scoop (what’s with my puns today?) on date shakes.

Ancient folklore (ok Wikipedia) said date shakes came from California in the late ‘20s.

The folks at Sphinx Ranch have been cranking them out for decades as well.

Sphinx ranch opened in 1951 and their location on Scottsdale Rd just south of Oak has been there since the early 1990’s.

They have a Medjool date grove outside of Yuma and another one near Gila Bend. They also source the rare “black sphinx” dates from a grove in the Arcadia district.

Vance came on a little over a year ago to help the owner revamp Sphinx’s image as just another place for dates and to help promote the massive amounts of delicious dried fruits, nuts and other treats they sell.

Gift platters of dates, chocolates, and other dried fruits

Sphinx has a very impressive collection of local Arizona Wines as well as honey, salsa and lots of other specialty treats. They can put together fabulous wine and gourmet food gift baskets.

A vast array of local deliciousness

They have a modest walk-in business and a mail order following.

Sphinx has been actively marketing their date shakes in Old Town Scottsdale during the height of tourist season. I like to think they’re “pushing” shakes sort of like cocaine. Well, that might be a bit overdramatic, but these shakes are highly addictive!

During the high season, Sphinx has been known to churn 40+ shakes/ day. Vance said he has customers who come in multiple times/week to get their fix.

At this point Christa and I were thinking, “Ok man, bring on these shakes! Less talk more action!”

Vance scooped out some low fat vanilla and paired it with fresh dates and milk. He whipped it into a frenzy in their blender and voila! The date shake.

Where it all happens...

Vance said, “Dates work really well in shakes; they are perfect for the summer heat!”

Upon trying the date shake, Christa was very exuberant in her amazement at how yummy it was!

She’s normally a “chocolate only” person, but Sphinx has made a believer out of her.

Her reaction to a date sans shake was “meh,” but in the milkshake it was AWESOME.

Cheers!

I was also a big fan. The texture reminded me of an Oreo shake and it was sweet, but not overpowering.

Good thing Sphinx Ranch is located about 5 minutes south of my office.

A few other date factoids you may not be aware of:

• Dates are a great source of dietary fiber.
• They have the highest concentration of polyphenols (antioxidants) among dried fruits.
• Dates are a perfect energy boosting snack.
• Dates are one of the best natural sources of potassium.

So the moral of this yummy tale is that date shakes are nutritious and that Christa and I are capable of rationalizing any behavior as healthy.

After trying their date shake, you'll want to hug the camel, too!

Get over to Sphinx, get yourself a shake. You’ll thank us later.

http://www.sphinxdateranch.com/

By Lizbeth Conguisti, the Sassy Sommelier

The month of April seemed to fly by with lots of wine tasting and a segment on Arizona Midday 12 News on Wednesday April 7^th.  For this segment I focused on Arizona wines and what a nice surprise they turned out to be. 

I reached out to the Arizona Wine Growers who were very anxious to have us taste their wines.  At the Tempe Wine Festival in late March I had the opportunity to meet the wine makers and taste a lot of incredible wine from Arizona.  Our friend and associate Tim Hilcove of www.WeeklyWineJournal.com  filmed a few segments for his blog.  

On Saturday I visited the Sphinx Date Ranch on Scottsdale road just south of Earll Drive to taste Dos Cabezas Wines.  The date ranch is a great resource for tasting and purchasing Arizona grown and made wines.  They feature ONLY Arizona wines in their location.

Don’t shy away from Arizona Wines. The wine growers and makers are really starting to understand the soil and with that, the needs of the vines in this very unique growing area.  I believe I will continue to taste more good wines coming from our Arizona wineries.

Keep it local with Arizona wines!

Following the 5 S’s (see, swirl, sniff, sip and savor), I enjoyed the following wines and believe you will too. 

Page Spring Cellars Vino de la Familia Blanca 2008: 100% Arizona Malvasia Bianca

I agree totally with the wine maker on this wine; loved the fruit and will definitely drink it again.  

White wine for the Family! This is a wine to be shared with ones close to you. Its fragrant, tropical aromas jump from your wine glass, stimulating both the senses and conversation. With historical viticulture origins in southeastern Turkey, this liquid landscape is ancient and new — simple but complex. Enjoy the waves of pineapple, mandarin, muskmelon, lemon and honeysuckle with an open mind and thoughts of the high elevation Arizona desert. Enjoy this wine young.  (Wine Maker Notes)

Dos Cabezas Wine Works “El Norte” 2008: Grenach 55%, Mourvedre 25%, Syrah20%

This is a small production winery; they produce limited quantities of all of their wines. So when you find a wine from them you like you’ll need to stock up!  

This blend of three red grapes is full bodied with great deep dark color hints of dried fruit, with a touch of acidity on the finish.  I suggest enjoying this wine with grilled Italian sausages on a warm summer day.

Pillsbury Wine Company “Roan Red” 2008: Grenache 68%, Mourvedre 14%, Syrah 16%, Petite Syrah 2%

Another of Arizona’s small producers has changed the spelling of the grape from “Rhone” to “Roan”. In either case this is a wine you will want to sample when you get the opportunity.  I tasted this wine twice over the past few weeks and found it best after decanting. 

This medium-bodied dry wine is made from hand-picked single vineyard grapes they planted in a high desert valley, and matured in neutral American Oak for 12 months.  Delicate and fragrant, it has a nose of white flower and spice, a fresh, clean palate with red cherry, sandalwood, nutmeg and cinnamon, finishing with soft tannins and a hint of toasty oak. (wine maker notes)

Keeling-Schaffer Vineyards “Three Sisters Syrah” 2008

This husband and wife team is dedicated wine makers and offer this enjoyable dark red for your sipping pleasure.

Very ripe, dense and lush in the mouth, their “Three Sisters”, planted at their home ranch high in the foothills of Arizona’s Chiricahua Mountains, reflects a fruit-forward style and a floral nose. (wine maker notes)

Arizona wines now offer another great opportunity to shop local, even for the most discriminating wine connoisseur.

By Lizbeth Conguisti, the Sassy Sommelier

Nobody can tell you what wine is best. The only true way to determine your wine of choice is through tasting.

On February 27^th I put on my Sommelier hat for a birthday celebration with the WPB’s — a group of professional ladies who get together once a month to share an exceptional dinner and wine tasting experience.  The evening started with a lovely tray of large blackberries, strawberries and blueberries.  Next was a tray of fresh cheeses along with thin slices of French bread.  The first course was “Tri Colored Tortellini” served with Pesto, Alfredo and Marina Sauce, prepared by Gosia. Our taste buds jumped at the opportunity to fill our mouths with each spoonful.  On this evening to celebrate Kristin’s Birthday, the pasta was a perfect way to honor the fact that Kristin grew up in Italy.

At these events, typically, each of the ladies prepares a portion of the meal and the hostess provides the theme and wine tasting.  While this group has been meeting for several years they have never done a formal tasting, so I walked them through the tasting steps referred to as the 5 S’s.

Sip, Swirl and Savor your way thru the 5 S's of Wine Tasting

The Five S’s

When tasting a wine, run a list of descriptive words through your mind.  Think fruit (lemons, limes, berries, peach, apricot, melon, pineapple) or earthiness (mushrooms, mud, leaves, forest, wood).  Use familiar words to describe your experience, and descriptions you will remember.  For it is your ability to recognize the aromas and taste of wine again and again that makes a good wine taster.

See: Look at the color: is it pale straw, Aztec yellow, blond, golden, green gold, brick red, ruby red, deep purple, cranberry red, burgundy?

Swirl: Swirl the wine in the glass to release the aroma, bouquet, and fragrance.

Sniff: Sniff the wine in the glass. What scents do you detect: apple, apricot, peach, lemons, limes, pineapple, pear, baked apple, butter, butterscotch, yeast, asparagus, plum, raspberry, baked cherry, jam, prunes, mint, licorice, spiced tea, mushrooms, orange, chocolate, coffee, cigar box, pipe tobacco, cola, beans, almonds, bread, biscuits, cinnamon, cloves, honey, ginger, yeast, gardenia, geranium, rose, honeysuckle, chalk, flint, grass, hay, minerals, stone, straw, gasoline, rubber, earth, or leaves?

Sip: Swirl the wine in your mouth. How does it feel: full-bodied, medium-bodied, light-bodied?

Savor: Hold the wine in your mouth. Keep your mouth closed, then breathe in through your nose and swallow the wine. Take a moment to remember how the wine felt in your mouth: full, light, crisp, acidity, bitter, tannic, uneventful, or full and round, comfortable, savory, wonderful, satisfying like velvet?

Try the following wines to get started on your wine tasting education and don’t hesitate to order a copy of “Sip, Swirl, Savor:  A Wine Tasting Guide and Journal” to help you keep track of the wines you taste.  E-mail us at sassysommelier@sassysommelier.com with your book order.   $ 12.00 including shipping to Foodies Like Us Fans.