Great weekend in Sonoita (Part 1)

What a wonderful weekend in Sonoita. Wine country is fabulous!

Friday started early with a business visit in Tucson, another business meeting in Sonoita and then an interview with Kent Callaghan of Callaghan Vineyards to wrap things up. Kent will be our next featured winemaker and the interview went very well. I really enjoyed talking to Kent and getting his unique perspective on winemaking and on wine in Arizona . . . you'll have to pick up the next issue of the magazine to learn more about this subject! ;)

Josh and I decided to take advantage of a night off with a dinner at Canela Bistro, in the heart of Sonoita. We enjoyed dinner here on a previous night last November and wanted to give it another go. Well, we were so happy we did. Oh my gosh! It was good last time . . . this time it was heavenly. Josh was making happy noises throughout the entire dinner. That doesn't happen very often!

We decided to honor our interview with Kent by making it a Callaghan night and drinking only Callaghan Vineyard wines. This is not a difficult or painful thing to do. I enjoyed a glass of Callaghan's Lisa (a nice smooth white wine) while Josh enjoyed a glass of Junior (a cabernet syrah blend). I really wanted to try the asparagus, described as tempura fried asparagus garnished with Dale's fam fresh poached egg & pancetta-dijon vinaigrette. It was light and the asparagus was cooked perfectly, a light crunch but not undercooked. Josh ordered the cheese platter with Dutch aged Gouda, a mild Dutch sheep's milk Gouda and a Fourme d'Ambert (pasteurized cow's milk blue cheese from France). It was garnished with walnuts, honey and toast. When I nibbled on the cheese, I sipped from the Junior, it was a perfect compliment. We were off to a great start.

Then we were onto dinner. I ordered the special, a grilled organic Lazy Double J Ranch (from Willcox, AZ) Pork Chop which was served with light and creamy sour cream polenta, sauteed green apples, "Tokyo" white baby turnips and Italian style salsa verde. The salsa verde was the perfect compliment to the pork chop - wow! You may feel like you're in Kansas, but you're not in Kansas any more, Toto! These people are serious about their food! Portions were nice and food was cooked perfectly. Josh isn't a big fan of apples with his meat but after tasting this combination, he was pleasantly surprised.

Josh played it safe and ordered the grilled ribeye (or so he thought). What could have been very boring and neutral in another location turned into something very special here. The ribeye was cooked a perfect medium rare and was sliced, which initially turned Josh off. Then when he tasted it, though, he had the realization that it was perfect and couldn't have been better if served differently. He gushed that the flavor of the fat was like foie gras, not chewy and gristly like a lot of ribeyes can be. Then I thought he was going to explode with delight when he tasted the gratin of Bob's spring garlic & potato. I really don't think I've ever seen him this excited for a potato before, generally he only eats the entree and leaves the rest on the plate. He was nice enough to share a few bites with me but finished his entire plate pretty much on his own (although, I think I heard a button fly off . . .).

Oh, and the perfect match for this delictable meal was a bottle of Callaghan Vineyards Caitlin's. A blend of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc. It was truly amazing. It had some nice spice yet didn't overpower the food. I think this may have become my favorite Callaghan wine! We rolled out of there and into bed and I think we were both still full the next day.

I really recommend that you dine at Canela when you visit Sonoita. Any foodie would have a field day here, between the local, quality ingredients, the character of the dining room and the obvious skill of the chef, anyone would be surprised and delighted after their meal. Keep in mind that they are only open four nights a week from Thursday to Sunday and only open during the day for Sunday brunch. They are receiving a lot of deserved media attention so it's a smart idea to make reservations. Owners Joy and John really have created an amazing experience for their diners!

Piñon Bistro

What a hidden gem. In the back of a small strip mall, across from Home Depot and next to Sizzler and Arby's, Piñon Bistro is a great place to dine. Owned by Terri Clements and Donna Fulton, originally from back east, Pinon Bistro is a charming restaurant with a focus on great, quality food.


The dining room is small, accommodating seven tables, but intimate. The walls were covered in unique art which changes from time to time. They focus on fresh ingredients and offer a number of local Arizona wines. The menu changes seasonally to showcase the ingredients. They close in the summer from mid-June to mid-Sept and are only open Thursday through Sunday. We dined on a Sunday night and really enjoyed this place.

The food is definitely high quality. We enjoyed the Crispy Calamari with Lemon Aioli and the Dungeness Crab Cake with Creole Mustard Sauce. The sauce was not overpowering, just a dash of mustard flavor. The texture of the crab cake was perfect. The calamari was not chewy, instead nice and tender. I would recommend both and will be sure to dine on them again in future visits.


Our entrees consisted of a Hazelnut Chicken with Frangelico Orange Sauce which was served with potato gratin and sauteed pea pods. The chicken was prepared well, not dry at all, and the sauce, slightly sweet, paired beautifully with the nutty flavor of the breading - nice big chunks of hazelnuts! The pea pods were also cooked nicely, perfectly green and fresh, served al dente. We also enjoyed the Sea Scallops with Ginger Garlic Sauce. This was served with julienne potatoes and the sauteed pea pods. The scallops were medium, nicely caramelized on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. My husband is a scallop fanatic and really enjoyed these.

You can taste the influence of their Maine heritage in the seafood. The service is attentive yet not overbearing! We enjoyed a fruity Javelina Leap Zinfandel Reserve throughout our meal and it really rounded out the dessert - a molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream - really creamy and chocolatey! Yum!

The prices are consistent with the quality, with appetizers ranging from $5 to $9 and the entrees from $19 to $29.

This would be a great place to dine when visiting northern Arizona's wine country. Charming, creative and fresh.

Burgers & Barrels at Page Springs Cellars

Sunday started off with Page Springs Cellars Burgers & Barrels event. Eric Glomski, the winemaker at PSC & Arizona Stronghold Vineyard, started off by explaining the history of the event. They want to be sure to remove any pretention off of enjoying wine. They decided to have an event that would be about as simple as possible and originally paired the wine with fast food burgers. They tried Carl's Jr $6 burger, the Whopper, the Big Mac and the Jumbo Jack. What they found is that the Big Mac paired the best with wine - and they realized that it was because there was no ketchup on the Big Mac. Ketchup is a vinegar product and it doesn't play well with wine, which of course turns into vinegar if left to age for too long.

Well, they didn't make us eat Big Macs! They put together some HUGE 3/4 pound angus burger patties (and a veggie patty for the sole vegetarian in the room) and started by grilling them on a gas grill. Then they moved them to a coal barbecue that was burning cuttings from the vineyard and then they finished the burgers off with some wine! I really appreciated the effort that went into these burgers! We also enjoyed the fact that Maynard James Keenan grilled these hunks of beef!



Eric and crew always put together these fabulous events that coincide with their wine club shipments. It allows the members to meet each other, to try some great wines from the barrel (or bottle) and pick up their shipments, all at the same time! The last event we attended was the Gruel & Grog. The next event will be the "Blend-A-Barrel" event and I'm told that this one is the best of all! This event will fall at the end of May and beginning of June (see Arizona Vines and Wines Events for more details).

The featured grape at this event was Petite Sirah! Yummmmmyyyyyy! Eric first explained about the Petite Sirah grape and vine, the history, etc. Per Eric, Petite Sirah is the child of Syrah, kind of Joe (Syrah) and Joe Jr. (Petite Sirah) with Joe Jr. being a 300 pound kid (very dark, rich and tannic). All the wines we tasted were aged in neutral oak so that the only differences would be the vineyard that the grapes came from. All the wines were labeled Page Springs Cellars, but the grapes were sourced from different locations.

Our first taste was from Lakeview Vineyards in California, located in the warm valley of Lockwood, south of Monterey. Our second taste was from the Page Springs Cellars Estate Vineyard. Two completely different climates with different terroirs. The third came from Ranchita Canyon Vineyards outside San Miguel, near Paso Robles and the fourth was from Shell Creek Vineyards near Shandon, about 20 miles southeast of Paso. It was amazing to taste the difference that the location made. The grapes went from smooth to extremely tannic (a lot of people couldn't even drink the Shell Creek Vineyard, just too strong). We learned that the Ranchita Canyon grapes are also sourced to Tobin James and Justin Winery, both well known for their quality wines. Being the final of five groups of eaters and drinkers paid off - the late group on Sunday (us) were able to get a sneek peak into their Arizona Stronghold Vineyard Petite Sirah (again, labeled Page Springs Cellars, but the grapes came from the Arizona Stronghold Vineyard).

The last wine we tasted had quite a story attached. The Rio San Lucas Vineyards, located in the Salinas River Valley, southeast of Monterey, was planted during Eric's year of birth, a vineyard that he always placed very close to his heart. He loved this vineyard because it was a great study of topography and terroir, being built in a canyon with different grapes being planted at the different elevations. Well, Eric went to get some grapes this year only to find out that the vineyard was gone, literally gone! It was destroyed and replaced with lettuce (Earthbound Farms). They made an offer the owner couldn't refuse and the vineyard ceased to exist! Eric offered us a unique package of five of the Rio San Lucas wines - a five bottle commemorative set boxed up like a coffin with a big RIP for Rio San Lucas! We have to admit that we were touched and brought one home with us! Hopefully we'll have an opportunity to enjoy the wines with some friends and toast to the loss of a bit of California vineyard history!

Oops - forgot to discuss the burgers and their toppings. To keep the vinegar out - no mustard or ketchup was provided, however, the staff prepared some wonderful mayonnaise-based toppings for us, as well as lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado and cheese. The toppings included a remoulade, tarragon mayo, garlic blue cheese mayo, pesto mayo and a chipotle mayo. Josh and I decided to cut our burger into quarters and enjoy some different toppings - Eric called it "slider style". Josh and I agreed that the Garlic Blue Cheese Mayo was fabulous (a mixture of mayo, minced garlic and crumbled blue cheese, simple but yummy).

Well, I truly recommend attending an event at Page Springs Cellars if you have an opportunity. You learn so much from Eric, meet others who enjoy Arizona wines, especially Eric's wines and, of course, sample favulous vino and eat simple, hearty, tasty fare!

We're back!

Sorry to have disappeared but I will now make a commitment to keep you updated on the goings-on in wine country Arizona! I vow to make at least one entry a month, if not weekly entries. We are so excited that so many things have been going on surrounding the promotion of Arizona wines! The next issue of the magazine will be coming out next week so be on the lookout at your local Whole Foods or AJs market (wine sections) to get your next issue. We also sell print subscriptions if you'd like to have the magazine mailed to your door.

Did you hear about the AZ Vino Wine Club that Cave Creek Wines has put together. Enjoy three wines, three times a year - delivered to your door (or picked up at Cave Creek Wines). It's a great concept and an easy way to try some of the great wines being produced throughout the state! The cost is between $50 & $80 (before shipping and handling) for each delivery.

I'll be immediately following up this post with a couple of posts from our adventures from last week . . . Callaghan wine dinner at Kai (at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass) . . . Dos Cabezas (Ware)House Warming Party . . .

Ciao!