CataVinos Wine Shoppe & Tasting Room owner Yvonne K Foucher readies for Grand Tasting to celebrate the 5th anniversary in Tucson, Sat, Sept 22, 2-6pm

CataVinos Wine Shoppe & Tasting Room in Tucson is turning 5 years old  and will celebrate with a Grand Wine Tasting outdoors in a tented pavilion this coming Saturday, September 22, 2012, from 2:00pm to 6:00pm. You can bet there will be some serious high fives, clinking of glasses, and pats on the back with its owner.

Architect and owner Yvonne K. Foucher’s business concept of opening a classy little wine shop in Tucson where all wines were priced at $15/bottle or less was well-thought-out and should have been a slam-dunk, based on the best projections at the time. Instead, her journey could be compared to the Poseidon Adventure, a 1969 movie loaded with an unlikely cast of characters trying to escape a potentially catastrophic voyage. The movie’s plot centers on a luxury liner’s voyage when the ship is overturned by a tsunami caused by an underwater earthquake. CataVinos’ passage through five tumultuous years has been likewise filled with tsunami-like detours, drama, taking on too much water, and a whole lot of overcoming adversity at every port.

At approximately the same moment Foucher opened the doors to several hundred fabulous, potential customers on that inaugural day in September 2007, the economy tanked globally. Although the curious tasting crowd and wine-buying base grew in number, people were rapidly losing jobs and savings, and obviously buying less; sales suffered from the start. Then, within months, two big-box wine retailers took up residence in Tucson, backed by national marketing campaigns. Bev Mo opened two locations nearby, and Total Wines threw open its doors—all complete with full-color multi-page advertisements.

How was a small Tucson business to cope in this sort of market? Stubborn Foucher kept her doors open and dug deeper to stand her ground. It wasn’t so much about who could sell the cheapest wines; it became more about who knows the most about what they sell and what were the best wines available for the money; plus the growing cast of CataVinos characters that could be enjoyed while discovering one’s palate. A ‘board of taste-testers’ emerged from the customer base; they dedicated week nights and/or Sundays to evaluating shop-worthy wines with which to stock the shelves. CataVinos quickly became a community project and all who participated became part of the ‘success.’

Then along came Summer. Most Tucson retailers will cringe when they talk of the summer months; this town has seen too many fine eateries, specialty shops, and well-seasoned businesses throw in the towel during the dry-heat-without-customers months. But CataVinos’ loyal customer base held tight; the place became the community center for a fun-loving diverse assembly of wine lovers, most of who faithfully attempted to do their duty to help this special little place survive.

One year. Two years. Three years. Four. Can you believe this is year FIVE and Foucher still hasn’t closed the doors?

In the ill-fated Poseidon Adventure, we fretted as actress Shelley Winters tip-toed precariously through the ship’s rickety rafters and dove through the waters to safety, even though she couldn’t even swim—all with Gene Hackman’s urging, of course. Well, as far as I know, Gene hasn’t shown up at CataVinos yet. It’s been the loyal friends and patrons who have witnessed Foucher hold her breath, dive right in, hang on with white knuckles, and tread lightly to keep the shop alive with boundless value wines and rousing wine tastings. We’ve never even asked her if she was afraid of water.

At the same time, Foucher has reciprocated by helping patrons become ever-curious about all wines, select the right ones for dinners and gifts, and meet new friends who bring more to our lives. Actually, CataVinos has evolved into one of the coolest places in Tucson to just hang out, even if it’s for an hour or two each week to taste wines, or just to stop by, pick up a few bottles, and rub Cuvee’s belly (shop dog) to help us through the day.

Pour Me Some Grapes offers a rousing cheer to the little shop that could, wishing smooth sailing to Yvonne, Cuvee, and the entire crew at CataVinos Wine Shoppe & Tasting Room for another fabulous five years. Thank you, from the bottom of my wine-loving heart.

Nearly 40 specially selected wines will be poured by Arizona wine distributors at the Grand Wine Tasting celebrating CataVinos’ milestone. Light appetizers and palate cleansers will be served and yes, there will be music! Each patron will receive a free commemorative etched lead-free crystal glass and choice of tastings for $18 admission. All wines in the shoppe will be 10% off that day only. Voted Best of Tucson by Tucson Weekly, CataVinos Wine Shoppe & Tasting Room is located at 3063 N. Alvernon Way at Presidio. Hope to see you there!

Heading east on I-10 a windy Sunday, our target was to explore Willcox, Arizona wine region wines.

Mark Jorve showcases Zarpara Vineyards 2007 Origen in their new tasting room in Willcox, AZ

First stop, the newly opened Zarpara Vineyard’s tasting room, located on the Willcox Bench off Kansas Settlement Road, nestled in Arizona’s largest grape growing region. The directions claimed it was a few minutes south of historic downtown, but I found myself thinking they possibly could paint the road yellow to make it a bit easier to find. Once arrived, I discovered that Zarpara’s tasting room was well worth the search.

Friendly Mark Jorve (owner) explained the selection we were about to taste: “We feature carefully selected, hand-crafted, and hard-to-find wines from our Willcox Wine Country neighbors.” Pourings included wines from Sand-Reckoner (a sweet, herb-y Malvasia and 2, a red blend), Sierra Bonita (Syrah), Golden Rule (Sangiovese), and Lawrence Dunham Vineyards. All were delightful ‘finds’ among Arizona wine offerings.

I discovered that the 2009 Lawrence Dunham Vineyards Petite Sirah, 100% Cochise County grown grapes, particularly pleasing to my palate. A beautiful nose, the mouth-feel and finish was peppery and spicy with big tannins—just as expected from a classic Petite Sirah. This wine would be perfect with pizza or spaghetti and meatballs, or to share with a romantic steak dinner.

While Zarpara hopes for its first harvest this year, Mark proudly pours us a sampling of their first offering, 2007 Zarpara Origen, a blend of Cochise County Grenache and Syrah grapes. This wine is complex and mature—having aged for 3 years in neutral oak and a year in the bottle. Fabulous just for sipping, I enjoyed it with a salmon salad this week. The tasting notes suggest pairing it with lamb, thin sliced flat-iron steak, or pork tenderloin. Look for great things to come from this new vineyard.

On to Coronado Vineyards, I once again enjoyed the winery’s 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon and Two Heads Red (two of my all-time everyday favorite affordable Arizona wines). I finally took the challenge to try the Coronado Vineyards Conquistador Red, a dessert wine (well out of my comfort zone). Amazingly, it was not too sweet—instead, it was full of berries and cherries with sort of a green tea finish. Big, sweet, smooth, and easy-drinking. I bought a bottle to take home, knowing I will enjoy this some evening soon with a great chocolate-inspired dessert.

We headed about 25 miles east of Willcox to the Fort Bowie Vineyards. The modest tasting room is located behind this little town’s post office (don’t blink!) but it offers about a dozen of some of the most surprising Arizona wines you’ll find—at amazingly affordable prices—from Sweet Water (white) to Syrah and everything in between. The Fort Bowie Pecan Delight is a distinctive sparkling wine with the essence of pecan for only $9/bottle.

Fort Bowie Vineyards is a family-owned and operated farm in Bowie, Arizona. In addition to the vineyards, they grow pecans, walnuts, peaches, and cherries.

Southeast AZ Wine Growers Festival Features 17 Wineries at Kief-Joshua

Looking forward to tasting even more Arizona wines on April 14 and 15, at the Southeast Arizona Wine Growers Festival at the Kief-Joshua Vineyards, 370 Elgin Road. Tickets ($15/person) are on sale now or can be purchased the day of the event. Ticket covers wine tasting and a souvenir glass.

Here is your chance to learn more about the wines grown throughout Arizona by 17 Arizona wineries, including:

Sedona/Verde Valley/Cottonwood Region: Arizona Stronghold, Page Spring Cellars, Jerome Winery, Dribble Creek

Urban Wine Region: Kokopelli, Su Vino Wineries

Willcox Region: Keeling Schaefer Vineyards, Golden Rule Vineyards, Coronado Vineyards, Carlson Creek Vineyards, Zarpara Vineyards, Gallifant Vineyards

Sonoita/Elgin Region: Charron Vineyards, Wilhelm Family Vineyards, Kief-Joshua Vineyards

In addition to wine tasting (11am to 5pm), the expanded festival will include sensory wine-tasting and wine-pairing seminars. Buzz and the Soulsenders will be singing the blues from noon to 5 pm. Locally Arizona and Sonoita’s very popular Steak-Out Restaurant will be on site selling chicken wings, pulled pork sandwiches, sirloin steaks, and much more for your enjoyment.

Only about an hour from downtown Tucson, this will be a most gratifying way to spend a day outside the hub-bub of Tucson.

Cheers!

Pairing great wines with fine chocolate desserts? According to M.J. Essenmacher of Tucson Creative Catering, “They say it can never be done.”

But she set out to prove them wrong, combining her efforts with Slow Foods Tucson and Yvonne K Foucher, owner of CataVinos Wine Shoppe & Tasting Room, to pair wines and sweet treats as a prelude to Valentine’s Day. Nearly 20 curious guests enjoyed the delicacies, served on the patio at CataVinos last Sunday, February 13.

Essenmacher and Foucher explained that there are two manners of proper pairing. The first is to combine similar tastes in food with similar characteristics of the wine. An example of this was pairing Cara Mia Pinot Noir 2009, an elegant wine with strawberry, raspberry, and peppery spice flavors and a lush texture, with Creative Catering’s melt-in-your mouth dark chocolate raspberry truffle. To die for!

The other pairing option is to match directly opposite characteristics of the wine with the food. Essenmacher chose her delectable mini chocolate chili cupcake topped with a chocolate chili ganache with Foucher’s choice of Santa Digna Torres Vina Esmeralda 2009. This off-dry wine has a strong floral aroma with delicate flavors of white peaches, melon, apricots and ginger spice. The combination with the chili kick of the cupcake caused explosions of joy in my mouth.

Other pairings included the Gruet Sparkling Brut-Rosé with a chocolate covered strawberry; Darby & Joan Cabernet 2008 with chocolate-covered espresso bean hearts; McManis Zinfandel 2008 with a chocolate mousse shot;  and Viho Madeira with a chocolate hazelnut torte square.

I’d say that Essenmacher has proven whoever ‘they’ are wrong. I think back to the afternoon and it brings a sweet smile to my face. Well done, Slow Foods, on yet another fantastic event showcasing what Tucson’s finest have to offer.