Oak Creek Vineyards & Winery: 2020 Estate Tempranillo Rosé
The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine Blog
by codyvburkett
2y ago
Well. We’re back. Sorry for the lack of updates, readers. This pandemic has been a wild ride. That, plus a battle against severe depression and other life stuff has taken a toll on me, and I’ve not been able to update here; instead, I have been focusing on my other wine blog and podcast. Hopefully, I will have more time to add new entries as time goes on, but enough of that. I thought that since today, November 9th, is International Tempranillo Day, that it would be a good time to begin reviewing wines again, beginning with a nice surprise from Oak Creek Vineyard & Winery: their extremely ..read more
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Stetson Winery: 2018 Hop In The Cab Darlin’
The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine Blog
by codyvburkett
3y ago
I’ve been to almost every single winery in the state of Arizona at least once over the years, but there is still one wine region, far isolated from the others, which I’ve not visited at all. The area around Kingman, Arizona, in the northwestern part of the state, currently has four wineries. Two of my friends recently passed through this unknown territory and brought back a bottle for me to review and to experience a new terroir first hand. Behold, the 2018 Hop In The Cab Darlin’, from Stetson Winery. The winery also serves as an event venue. The 2018 Hop in the Cab Darlin’ from Stetson Winer ..read more
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Rancho Rossa Vineyards: 2014 Comfortably Numb
The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine Blog
by codyvburkett
3y ago
With 2020 ebbing into an equally uncomfortable 2021, it has never been a better time to drink. It also has never been a better time to grow Comfortably Numb by cracking open older bottles from your personal cellar. With that in mind, knowing that many of our dreams are gone, I thought that I should open a new year on the Arizona Wine Monk Blog with an exploration of something that’s pretty uncommon: a Bordeaux-style blend from the Sonoita AVA. Let’s look at just the basic facts about the 2014 Comfortably Numb from Rancho Rossa Vineyards in Sonoita. Hopefully, that’s enough references to the so ..read more
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Podcast: “AZ Uncorked: The Arizona Wine Guide”
The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine Blog
by codyvburkett
3y ago
I’m sorry for the long silence here, but life is… well, it’s been 2020 for a while now, and 2021 is shaping up to be just as… ehhh. I’ve also been spending most of my energy on keeping up with my newer project, the Make America Grape Again Podcast. To that end, here is the latest episode of that podcast, which focuses on the immense work and herculean effort which Jenelle Bonifield put into her new book, AZ Uncorked: The Arizona Wine Guide. Go take a listen, and then grab a copy for yourself! The post Podcast: “AZ Uncorked: The Arizona Wine Guide” appeared first on The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine ..read more
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Deep Sky Vineyard: 2016 Quasar
The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine Blog
by codyvburkett
3y ago
Counoise in Arizona tends to produce a wine that is shockingly bright, fruity, and acidic. It is no wonder, then, that Astronomically-themed Deep Sky Vineyards decided to name their inaugural Counoise vintage after one of the brightest celestial phenomena, the Quasar. For those who aren’t aware, astronomers define a Quasar as a massive and extremely remote celestial object, which emits exceptionally large amounts of energy, and that typically has a starlike image in a telescope; it is theorized to be one of the stages of life in a galaxy. While this wine isn’t quite a stage of life in our gala ..read more
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Southwest Wine Center: 2018 Refosco
The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine Blog
by codyvburkett
4y ago
I really enjoy the wines put out by the Southwest Wine Center. Michael Pierce runs the students of the program through their paces quite thoroughly, and they consistently produce wine of high quality. Sure, there might be individual wines or vintages I don’t care for, but that’s personal preference alone: I can objectively say that I don’t taste any egregious flaws or the like in those wines. And when there’s a vintage I do like, which is often, I tend to become gobsmacked by it. So it was with the 2018 Refosco, which is, to my knowledge, the first single varietal vintage made from this grape ..read more
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Laramita Cellars: 2017 and 2018 Arizmo
The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine Blog
by codyvburkett
4y ago
Bordeaux-style blends are among the most commonly imitated wines across the world. I suspect it is simply because Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot go so well together, like peas in a pod. In Bordeaux itself, the difference in blend styles between these two grapes can generally be categorized as Left Bank versus Right Bank.  Left Bank vineyards in Bordeaux are dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, while the Right Bank ones focus more on Merlot. These differences produce wines which will taste noticibly different.  Here in Arizona, the two vintages (so far) of the Arizmo, from Laramita Cellars ..read more
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Birds and Barrels: 2018 Estate Riesling
The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine Blog
by codyvburkett
4y ago
Riesling is a hard grape to grow in Arizona, which is why there are only a few plantings (four?) that I’m aware of across the whole of the state. The most recent winery to make itself known for this varietal is the relatively new winery, Birds and Barrels. Located on the Willcox Bench along Robbs Road, It has been pretty hard for me to acquire their wines, due to time conflicts and distance, but back in January, I finally met Chad Preston, and managed to acquire this 2018 Riesling. It struck me as a fascinating vintage, and now it’s finally time to share my thoughts on it with you. (Also, for ..read more
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Sand-Reckoner: 2015 Estate Sagrantino
The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine Blog
by codyvburkett
4y ago
This is a wine I’ve been waiting on for a while. I first tasted this wine as a recently bottled sample in 2018 at the Arizona Vigneron’s Alliance Symposium, and I fell in love instantly with gripping, leathery tannins intermingled with dark fruit and spice. Tasting the 2015 Estate Sagrantino that day… it was kind of like being in love with an intimidating Goth woman who loved me back, and the fact is, I’ve been waiting for this wine to release ever since. The rest of the table where I was sitting found it too tannic, and so I ended up drunk off of this wine at 10:30 in the morning because they ..read more
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Arizona Stronghold: 2017 Pinot Gris Orange Wine
The Wine Monk: Arizona Wine Blog
by codyvburkett
4y ago
Last year, over Valentine’s Day weekend, Arizona Stronghold sponsored a speed dating event. As Arizona’s (arguably) most famous wine industry bachelor, I was invited to attend. I said I’d agree to go, but my price for attendance was going to be a bottle of their rumored new Orange wine, as yet unreleased, made of Pinot Gris. As it turned out, I was the only one who even showed up… but the 2017 Pinot Gris made it well worth my time to show up. (Well, that, and $5 glasses of both Malvasia and Lozen, but who’s counting?) It took me a long enough time to sit down and drink it, and even longer to w ..read more
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