Sent: Thursday, September 15, 2004
Subject: Orangewood Wines News - 9
To
Our Wine Aficionados,
Introduction
August was a record month for us - just when we expected to
have a summer drought. September, on the other hand…
The newsletter, which I try to get out soon after the
beginning of the month, has dragged on waiting to see if this or that or the
other sale would close. Finally two of them did, so it’s quick get
it out before too much happens. Note
also that Scott Lloyd, representing both Frank Family Vineyards and Napa
Cellars Oakville will be in town during the first week in October - no surprise
that our events that week feature those products.
This newsletter got so long that I have skipped the usual
rambling. We’ll rack our brains to figure out how to keep this
shorter in future.
Box
Score
New restaurants: 3
New retail outlets: 4
New sales people: 0
New wineries: 0
Contents
Upcoming Events
September 17/18 Red Kangaroo,
September 28th Cheuvront Wine Bar,
September 29th Nello’s
October 1st Wine
Basket at
October 5th Marriott,
Desert Ridge -
October 7th Bacchus,
Kierland -
October 8th AJ’s, Arrowhead - Napa Cellars Wines
New Restaurants and Retail outlets
Bacchus - Kierland,
Jug ‘n’ Barrel -
La Grande Orange -
Mezcal - Kierland,
Ninetta’s -
Rum Runners -
The Farm -
Event Feedback
AJ’s, Arrowhead at Arrowhead Country
Club
Nello’s,
Red Kangaroo,
Radda,
Nello’s,
Upcoming
Events
September 17/18: 4:00-7:00 - Red Kangaroo,
Vino Noceto
and Young’s with Roger or Injy.
Dick is MC-ing Friday, Alison
Saturday.
September 28th: 6:00 - Cheuvront
Wine Bar - $12
To be determined, but we
think a Ventana emphasis will work. The entry
fee includes an artisanal cheese plate.
September 29th: 5:30 - Nello’s
The second of these
end-of-the-month tastings will be our Zinfandel horizontal
tasting. I always enjoy these. We start with the least expensive
wine in our portfolio and work up. All of them taste just fine, but the
next one is better yet.
October 1st: 5:30 - Wine Basket at
This is the second time Jim
and I will be in Sedona. Frank Family and Young’s Vineyards are the
featured wines to go with the multi-course meal provided.
October 5th: 7:00 -
Marriott, Desert Ridge - $79
With Scott Lloyd, from Napa
Cellars, in town, Marriott decided to have a winemaker dinner. Five
courses will be paired with the Napa Cellars wines. Call 480-419-2115 for
details and reservations.
October 7th: 5:00 or so -
Bacchus, Kierland -
Scott Lloyd will be talking
about Napa Cellars and Frank Family wines at this informal tasting.
October 8th: 5:00 - AJ’s,
Arrowhead -
In store wine pairing with AJ's food and wines from Napa Cellars Vineyard with Scott
Lloyd narrating. This event is limited to 24 people and you must prepay
for this event in the store. Also, from 7 to 8 PM will be an after dinner
tasting at the tasting area with Scott, no charge.
New
Restaurants and Retail Outlets
Bacchus -
This wine store is located in Kierland
Commons in
Mezcal -
Meanwhile next door, there is a fine restaurant who has
succumbed to the temptations of Young’s Syrah. There is a chalk board
there with Jake’s selections - look for it and the Young’s.
Jug ‘n’ Barrel -
This isn’t strictly a new store for us, but they are
now aware of us and placed a special order for some of our wine. If more
of you do that, perhaps we can make it on the shelves.
La Grande Orange -
This grocery store also sells delightful takeout pizza and a
good selection of wines. Based on a tip from Stephen Young, Dick and I
were really trying to get into Postino. It
turns out that they have a common owner and that their wine dude is an old
drinking companion of Dick’s. Our first score at
this place, with hope for Postino and the restaurant
formerly known Nona’s nearby.
Ninetta’s Bistro - 825 E Union Hills Drive,
Phoenix
Located on the NE corner of
Rum Runners - 3200 E Speedway,
Yet another fine wine store
in
Quiessence at The
Farm -
Quiessence is one of several eateries on The
Farm. It’s definitely worth a visit for its fine fair and wine
selection - now enhanced with Vino Noceto and Napa Cellars wines.
Event
Feedback
AJ’s, Arrowhead tasting at Arrowhead
Country Club
This was quite an
event, with 8 distributors and far more wine than anyone could absorb.
The food, catered by Arrowhead Country Club, meant that people could eat and
drink pretty well for the modest fee.
Nello’s Scottsdale, Last Wednesday of the
Month
This first tasting went well. In addition to experimenting with wines, Nello’s experimented with foods. A variety of
pizzas and other goodies added to the excitement.
Red Kangaroo,
I think the area must be starved for this kind of thing. All the tables
were taken, all the food was eaten, and guess what happened to the wine!
Every Friday something’s happening. Rick, the
owner, together with his wife, son and daughter make this a family affair.
Radda,
I hadn’t been to Radda before, but by the end
of the tasting I felt I’d known Lori and her brother for ever. They
were very welcoming and supplied excellent appetizers to go with the
wines. Alison didn’t let anyone else try the appetizer with olives
and stuff wrapped in prosciutto, so I’m not
sure how that one was. After the tasting we stayed for dinner and enjoyed
food and Frank Sinatra.
Cheers!
Richard
and Laurie