Category: Lawrence Dunham Vineyards

Sips & Bites: News from the Phoenix restaurant community

Events & news about what’s going on around the Phoenix restaurant community, breweries and wineries.

Mardi Gras Party at Pedal Haus in downtown Phoenix

From 2 p.m. until midnight tomorrow Saturday, February 18 celebrate carnival New Orleans style at the Roosevelt Row restaurant. Spicy Jambalaya, Po’ Boys and NOLA Hurricanes are featured along with live music for this free event starting at 4 p.m. Beads and beer will also be served.

Glendale hosts the Chocolate Affaire this weekend

It will be a sweet Saturday and Sunday in downtown Glendale as the popular event returns. Cooking demonstrations, chocolate tastings, wine pairings and more will be at this free event that starts at 10 a.m. Nothing Bundt Cakes, Dippin’ Dots Ice Cream, more vendors, food trucks and unique attractions will benefit Magical Builders.

Strong Beer Festival pours beer tomorrow

The Arizona Brewers Guild hosts their Strong Beer Festival Saturday, February 18th at a new location at Salt River Fields. Tickets are still available and all the details and link to tickets are at my featured post.

National Margarita Day is February 22nd

Next Wednesday sip on the refreshing cocktail for less at restaurants around the Phoenix area. In the bar at The Roaring Fork all night long guests can get their signature Huckleberry, RF margaritas and others for only $7. Z’Tejas will be celebrating with $7 margs all day and from 5-6 p.m. and 9-10 p.m. their Sixth Street margarita is only $1. Scottsdale’s Diego Pops offers margarita and tequila samplings all day with $6 margaritas for happy hour from 3-6 p.m. Salt & Lime has $7 house margaritas and more on special all day long.

LDV Winery releases new wines

4 new bold red, white and rose wines are now available from LDV Winery at their Scottsdale tasting room. The 2017 Syrah, 2019 Rhyolite White, 2019 Sky Island Viognier and 2020 Rosé of Grenache are sourced from their vineyards in the shadows of the Chiricahua Mountains and are in limited supply.

“We are thrilled to debut these new wines, which will be available soon and in the next package for our wine club members,” says Peggy Fiandaca, who co-owns LDV winery with winemaker Curt Dunham. “We look forward to sharing these new varietals with wine enthusiasts and we hope you all love them.”

Check out my podcast Pulling Corks & Forks: The Podcast with Sandy Wasserman to hear from those in our community. Please subscribe, like & comment.

 

Facebook Live cooking classes & pairing tips from LDV Winery

LDV Winery owners Peggy Fiandaca & Kurt Dunham are doing more than making wine and running a winery, they’re hosting Facebook Live cooking classes. Every Thursday at 4 p.m. MST thru May 7th the couple is hosting “From the LDV Winery Kitchen”. Join them on their Facebook page to learn how cook these special meals and learn about which wines pair best with each. There is no cost to participate in the classes.

Guests are encouraged to cook with them while you SIP (shelter in place) on a glass of wine or 2. Wines are for sale on their website with the LDV Winery Kitchen package of 10% off . Wines can be picked up at their wine gallery in downtown Scottsdale or shipped to you for a $5 fee. Recipes will be posted on their Facebook page every week.

The schedule for the Facebook Live cooking classes are as follows.

April 16 — Spicy Shrimp Pasta paired with 2014 Sky Island Syrah

            23 — Flatbreads Three Ways paired with 2013 Sky Island Petite Sirah

            30 — Grilled Ribeye Steak with fire cracker onions with roasted potatoes paired with 2014 The Signature Petite Sirah

May 7 — Pork Tenderloin with two fire roasted peppers sauces and Mexican corn paired 2015 DECADE Red Wine Blend

 

Wine, Baseball & Brats at LDV Wine Gallery in Scottsdale

Spring training is here and everybody is trying to capture the attention of out-of-towners as they get psyched up for their favorite baseball teams 2018 season.

LDV Wine Gallery in Scottsdale is hosting a wine and brat party before and after the Oakland A’s and  San Francisco Giants play on Saturday March 17th and when the Chicago Cubs come to play on Thursday March 22nd.

A short walk from Scottsdale Stadium, owners Peggy Fiandaca  and Curt Dunham welcome baseball fans and wine drinkers stop in for a glass of LDV Wineries’ Arizona produced wine and brat with all the fixin’s for only $15. If you’re driving to Scottsdale you can park at the Gallery and make your way to the game from there.

The 3 hour plus events start at noon on the 17th and 6p.m. on the 22nd. To purchase tickets in advance click here.

This is just 2 of the many events at LDV Wine Gallery and see more check out their website.

LDV Wine Gallery is at 6951 E. 1st St. Scottsdale 85251. 480-664-4822

 

Arizona Wine Growers Assoc. 3rd Annual Festival at The Farm


The Farm at South Mountain was the scene for the 3rd Annual Festival at The Farm with over 30 wineries in attendance. Most have been making wine for years and several are relatively newcomers. My goal was to catch up with some old friends while at the same time meet some new friends who I’ve heard good things about. This is the 1st of a series of posts to come.

My 1st stop was at the table of Lawrence Dunham Vineyards, which specializes in Rhone varieties from Willcox in south east Arizona. Owner/ winemaker Curt Dunham was pouring 5 of 2009 reds that happen to be his 1st release. Curt who is a self taught winemaker was showcasing some food friendly, Grenache’s, Petite Sirah’s and his R.E.D which is a blend of Grenche, Mourvedre and Petite Sirah. Wines that were well balanced, with good fruit, medium tannins and hints of spice, Curt was able to produce wine with only 2 years of grapes on the vines. Less than 130 cases of each of the 5 wines are produced and all should retail for less than $30 each. www.LawrenceDunhamVineyards.com

I made my way over to Rob and Sarah Hammelman of Sand-Reckoner Vineyards, where they were pouring their 2010 Malvasia and Rose. Rob caught the wine bug when working at Callaghan Vineyards(read about them soon) on a summer off from teaching. He then graduated from the University of Adelaide in Australia and learned to make wine at Hewitson while down under. His desire to make old world Rhone wines became a reality in 2008 when he learned from the famed winemaker Louis Barruol of Ch. St. Cosme in Gigondas. Rob and Sarah currently have only 3 acres planted to vines and both do about everything themselves. The Malvasia has a great nose, crisp acidity good fruit and should be a crowd pleaser. A small crowd though as only 85 cases have been produced. The Rose is a blend of 65% Nebbiolo, 31% Sangiovese and 4% Syrah, and is fermented in neutral oak. A good food wine, it’s dry style has depth and a good mouth feel. Only 60 cases of this vibrant wine have been produced. If you can find these wines they both retail for under $30. http://sand-reckoner.com
The 1 winery that really put Arizona wine on the map in 1990s was Callaghan Vineyards and owner/winemaker Kent Callaghan still sets the bar for others. Pouring 5 reds from the 2009 vintage and a white blend from 2010.  Kent’s red wines are big and bold and offer deep fruit along with great aging potential. His 2009 Padres blend of Tempranillo, Grenache and Syrah was a gold medal winner and judges favorite at the banquet the evening before the tasting. I’m excited to see what Kent could do with with the Graciano the he has planted along with other Italian whites he’s grafting for future plantings. He feels that Sonoita has great growing conditions for Italian white grapes.  http://callaghanvineyards.com

These are just 3 of the wineries I visited with at The Festival and in coming days I will post others and bring you up to speed on more of the latest and greatest that Arizona wineries have to offer. For more information on Arizona Wineries please go to http://www.arizonawine.org Cheers!