Sent: Sunday, June 01, 2003 1:54 PM
Subject: Wine at Orangewood Consulting - 36
To Our Wine Aficionados,
Introduction
May is gone, the
snowbirds have left, 90-degree highs are behind us and the wine business slows
down as restaurateurs (we did check the spelling) attempt to reduce inventory
to keep cash flow positive. So now we try to sell our summer wines, such
as Noceto Frivolo, Marinda Park Sauvignon Blanc and Chateau Benoit
Muller-Thurgau.
Summary (Box Score)
Event Notifications
Friday,
June 6th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM, Red Kangaroo - Chandler
Saturday,
June 7th, 4:00 - 6:00 PM, Red Kangaroo - Chandler
Friday,
June 20th, 5:00 - 6:30 PM, AZ Wine Company – Scottsdale Postponed
Sales associates - another
addition
Content
Outline for the remainder of this
newsletter
Event Notifications
Red Kangaroo tastings
AZ Wine Company - RustRidge 1999
Cabernet Sauvignon release
New Outlet
Vinoteca - Tempe
AZ Wine Company in Carefree
Event Feedback
Jazzy showing at Halter
Westberg
Cellars introduction
Nello’s
Wine Dinner
Staff Expansion - Sales
Rambling Winery Visitor
Event - Friday/Saturday June 6th/7th, 4:00
- 6:00 PM, Red Kangaroo - Chandler
Address: 3305 W. Chandler Boulevard
This is a reprise of the April events. The event is an informal
way to stop by, try the wines at no cost and buy a couple of cases for your
wine collection. Each of the two evenings Dick or I will be there to
introduce and pour the Marinda Park wines - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and
Sauvignon Blanc.
Event - Friday June 20th AZ Wine Company – Scottsdale
Postponed
Address: 2515 N. Scottsdale Road
Jim Fresquez, RustRidge owner, vineyard master, thoroughbred horse
breeder and raconteur extraordinaire will be at AZ Wine Company to introduce
the 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon and the new labels. Jim is also the husband
of the other owner, Susan Meyer. I tried the Cabernet during a recent visit to
the Napa area - it is gooood! Kent Rosenblum of Rosenblum Cellars has
been more active in the winemaking of this vintage. The new labels
replace the predominantly maroon labels with a picture of the head of famous
thoroughbred Man O’ War. It is against a light background with the
RustRidge double R logo and has the recently approved Chiles Valley
viticultural area as its origin. This will be a normal AZ Wine Friday
night tasting. We’ll have the 1999 Zinfandel there, too, so that you can
remind yourself how a big Zin should taste. This Zinfandel is nearly sold
out, so perhaps you should be grabbing some before it disappears.
New Outlet - Vinoteca, 717 South Mill Avenue, Tempe
As you may recall, I hung out one
afternoon at Caffe Boa on Mill Avenue in Tempe. Next door was a tattoo
parlor, and I wondered how such a place stayed in business, given the absence
of clientele - at least on that afternoon. Wonder no more. The
tattoo parlor closed temporarily and then permanently. It has been taken over
by Christine and Jay, the owners of Caffe Boa, and turned into a wine
shop. So far they stock the Noceto Normale and the RustRidge Zinfandel.
New Outlet - AZ Wine Company, 100 Easy Street, Carefree
Amongst all those odd named
streets, Ho and Hum and so forth, that are on the east side of where Scottsdale
Road (a.k.a.Tom Darlington) meets Cave Creek, there is actually an Easy
Street. Of course no one lives there, but AZ Wine Company has opened a
second store on it. Dan Erickson is the buyer and was also the only salesperson
there when Dyane visited for her first sales call. Dan is very
knowledgeable and helpful, so if you are in the area, check it out. So
far they stock the Noceto wines (Normale, Riserva and Frivolo) the RustRidge
Zinfandel and the Marinda Park Chardonnay.
Event Feedback - Showtime for Jazzy – Friday, May 2nd
After “halter” training our
yearling filly, Jazzy, for two months, the trainer took her along to the
Arabian regional competition at West World in Scottsdale. Greg Hazlewood,
the trainer, made no promises about winning but felt that Jazzy would be
competitive. I’m not sure who was more nervous, Jazzy or Laurie, but with
the support of about 20 people from among you all and the Cave Creek horse
community they made it through. Jazzy place 3rd out of 7 and was awarded
a “Top 5” prize. Everyone was delighted.
Event Feedback - Westberg Cellars Introduction at Nello’s in
Tempe
How did this event go? With
free munchies supplied by Nello’s, free Westberg wine samples and outstanding
guitar and vocals from Steve Krum, what’s not to like? Afterwards,
Geno put together one of his impromptu pizza specials…sauté a little sea bass,
add a little of this and a little of that, put it on top of a pizza crust and cook
until perfect. If you hang out enough at Nello’s, perhaps you can get a
custom pizza, too.
Event Feedback - Wine Dinner at Nello’s in Tempe
Joe is an escapee from the
corporate hotel world, specifically Arizona Biltmore. It doesn’t seem like a
normal career path, but Joe enjoys the freedom and atmosphere in the back at
Nello’s. He talked Geno into allowing him to prepare a 5-course meal with
wine pairings from Orangewood Consulting. From soup to nuts the food was
excellent - although I don’t actually remember any soup or any nuts. The
event, limited to 40 people, was sold out.
Staff Expansion - Sales
Last month I mentioned that I was
looking for someone to take care of sales in Scottsdale. This month I am
pleased to let you know that Dyane Golding will be selling our wines in the
Cave Creek, Carefree and North Scottsdale areas. She has a long history
of wine consumption. While she does not have the usual profile of retired
person, she does have a job that gives her the flexibility to make sales
calls. Dyane is a massage therapist for both people and horses - Peak
Performance Therapies is her company. I think that she thinks that wine
could help relax her clients. In a former life Dyane was an actress, and
we’re pretty sure she must have played the part of the Energizer bunny.
Rambling Winery Visitor
Last week I was flying over Mono Lake and was able to see
the reflection of the Sierra Mountains in it. Shortly thereafter we flew
over the American River Canyon before descending towards Sacramento. On
the way down I saw a crop duster doing duty as a rice planter. It hugged
the fields as it dispersed seed, followed at a polite distance by three massive
formations of birds who appreciated the pilot’s efforts. After I was
picked up by my daughter, Debby, and her husband, Mike, we retraced some of the
journey heading west to Plymouth in Amador County. If you have been
paying attention, you will know that this is the home of Vino Noceto.
They are not well sign posted, but we found the vineyard. Ignoring the wine
tasting room, we headed towards Villa Noce (the Nut House) to see Jim and Suzy
Gullett. After some confusion, during which it became apparent that they
had forgotten that we were coming, we sat down and addressed the topics I had
on my list. Things like, how come we didn’t hear about the Barbera they
made. As a way of apologizing, Jim and Suzy took us over to the winery
and allowed us to taste samples of upcoming vintages, including the
Barbera. From there we headed further west to a wine area called Fair
Play. There are several wineries there, mostly open on the weekends
only. We did find 3 of them open and enjoyed the relaxed and enthusiastic
style. The following day we were invited to lunch at RustRidge. We
took along my grandsons Toby and Calvin. Susan Meyer and her husband, Jim
Fresquez, met us and showed us around their bed and breakfast before leading us
past the thoroughbreds to the winery and to the picnic lunch that Susan had
prepared. As my son-in-law, Mike, commented, it’s only at a winemaker’s
lunch that 5 bottles of wine would be open all at the same time. The kids
enjoyed the Yellow Labradors. Calvin checked their temperaments by
pouring stones and dust on their heads! The labs responded by doing
nothing - placid beyond the call of duty. On subsequent days, Mike and I
felt it important to check out a few of the Napa wineries. One of the
things we noticed, beyond the tasting fees, was that the wine prices are much
higher than RustRidge, Vino Noceto or the Fair Play wineries. This was
true even for one Napa winery whose wines were somewhat innocuous. I
wonder whether this is cost-based pricing or demand-based. I suspect that
for the newcomers, the prices they paid for land and fancy buildings mean that
the owners cannot afford to sell their wines for any less. It may be
survival of only the fittest over the next couple of years.
Cin-cin, alla salute!
Richard and Laurie
Richard (newsletter writer) and Laurie Corles
(editor)
Orangewood Consulting LLC
602.906.9566 or 602.410.3774