Just yesterday, on CBS This Morning, a bottle of Arizona Stronghold wine graced the news desk as well-known and respected wine expert Jancis Robinson discussed her new book–co-authored with Linda Murphy–American Wine: The Ultimate Companion to the Wines and Wineries of the United States. This beautiful large format book features dozens of Arizona wine growers and their wines receiving rave reviews, and the photos do the Arizona wine growing regions proud.

Check out Arizona wines firsthand, as the spring tasting season is revving up with new releases, festivals, and new tasting rooms–all within a scenic 1- to 2-hour drive from Tucson. Arizona winemakers have pruned their vines and are keeping a close watch on the weather, hoping for precious few frosts, as they look forward to sharing their wines with you at these public events.

Spring Tempe Festival of the Arts

Head to Tempe, Arizona the weekend of April 5-7, 2013, to sip, sample, and savor local Arizona wines. Fourteen wineries will showcase their wines and offer tastings along with sales by the glass, bottle, or case at this event sponsored by the Arizona Wine Growers Association. The wine festival admission of $15 includes six tastings and a commemorative wine glass. The festival will be located on 7th Street, just west of Mill Avenue in Tempe. Tickets available for purchase in advance.

Celebrate in Sonoita

Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21, 2013, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., head to the Kief Joshua Vineyards on Elgin Road for the second Southeast AZ Wine Growers Festival. There will be more than a dozen winemakers and live music, fabulous food vendors, and many wineries will be releasing new wines. The lovely Jeordie (daughter of ’60s musical artist Melanie; remember her?) is the featured musician. Plan to stay for the day (or the weekend). This is a laid-back, simply enjoyable weekend to hang out in the KJV vineyards.

Second Annual Bacchanal Festival

Looking for nothing but fun? There’s always something hopp’ning at Arizona Hops & Vines. Megan and Shannon are prepping for their Second Annual Bachannal Festival, Saturday, May 11, 2013. This all-day, all-out festival includes wine and beer tastings, homemade root beer, great food from local restaurant and food truck delectables paired with wines from Arizona’s best vineyards, family crafts, a petting zoo, and plenty of fun and debauchery for all ages. Located on Hwy 82, about 5 miles east of Hwy 83, this gorgeous vineyard enjoys some of the best valley views.

Willcox hosts AZ Winemakers

Downtown Willcox in Historic Railroad Park is the scene of one of the most peaceful, easy-feeling wine festivals in the area. Well, that’s until a train flies by about every 9 minutes; but that just adds to the ambiance.

The Willcox Wine Country Spring Wine Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and May 19, 2013, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Your $15 tasting fee includes 8 tastings, commemorative glass, and some of the best live entertainment in all of Southeast AZ.

Following the festival on Saturday, at 6:00 p.m., will be a special showing of Free Willy III at the historic Willcox movie theater, immediately across the street. This movie is one of dozens directed by film director-turned-winemaker, Sam Pillsbury of Pillsbury Wines. The movie viewing is free for one and all, but donations are welcome to help support the theater.

Rumor has it there will be at least two new tasting rooms opening up in the Willcox area by then as well. Well worth the drive (about 1.5 hours from Tucson); lots of places to spend the night.

Alice Feiring Recap

The presentation of Naked Wine at the Tucson Festival of Books earlier this month featured well-known author and wine critic Alice Feiring. The wines tasted and discussed by the panel of experts and audience participants were:

• Tournelle Fleurs Savagnin 2007
• Pitancier Sauvignon Blanc 2011
• Matariki Sauvignon Blanc 2009
• Coturri Carignane 2009
• Olivier Cousin Pur Breton 2011 (my personal favorite)

Cheers!

Alice Feiring, leading advocate for natural wines, will present her book, NAKED WINE: Letting Grapes Do What Comes Naturally, at the Tucson Festival of Books culinary stage, 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 10. I will be moderating a cast of local wine experts gathering to discuss her challenge for winemakers to produce wines without over-processing.

Naked wine is defined as stripped down to the basics—wine that represents the terroir, as it was meant to be. Feiring calls naked wines wholesome, exciting, provocative, living, sensual, and pure. This is quite the opposite of many of today’s new world-style wines being produced—which she describes as “over-ripe, over-manipulated, and over-blown.”

In this book, described as her “personal journey into the new (but centuries old) world of natural wine,” Feiring takes the dare to try her hand (and feet) at natural winemaking—making wine with nothing more than crushed grapes. She learns that it isn’t all that easy, but she remains steadfast in her belief that additives and chemicals used in the process should be used only when necessary. This includes the addition of yeasts, enzymes, and processes that use machines to alter alcohol level, flavor, or texture, or that promote premature aging.

Meet Alice Feiring, Author of “Naked Wine” at Tucson Festival of Books, Sunday, March 10, 2:30 p.m.

In her first book, THE BATTLE FOR WINE AND LOVE or How I Saved the World from Parkerization, Feiring fearlessly takes on Robert Parker, whose rating system she believes set the stage to tempt winemakers into produce fruit-bomb, over-processed wines to score his approval. Both of Feiring’s books are fascinating fodder for anyone interested in wines.

Alice Feiring is a James Beard Foundation Award-winning journalist whose blog, alicefeiring.com, was named one of the seven best by Food & Wine. Formerly the wine/travel columnist for Time, she has written for the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Town & Country, Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times Magazine. She lives in New York City.

She will be on-hand to sign her books immediately following the presentation.

Cheers to Tucson Festival of Books!

Maggio's book and a 2008 Petite Sirah from the Maggio Family Vineyards

Discovering a palate-pleasing wine was not on my agenda at the two-day Tucson Festival of Books last weekend. And bear in mind, I don’t solicit wines to review, but my love of the grapes is legendary, especially among the authors I work with in my chosen career as a literary consultant (note: one cannot survive by writing about grapes alone).

One author I’m working with, Carl Paul Maggio from Sedona, AZ, brought more than his manuscript to our first meeting at the Festival; he presented me with a bottle of 2008 Maggio Petite Sirah from his family’s vineyards in the Lodi valley of California. I continue to be impressed with wines coming out of that region.

Maggio and I have spent hours on the phone discussing baseball and his project.  His legacy includes playing on the 1951 American Legion National Championship baseball team, a team that fielded many renowned baseball greats, including the late George “Sparky” Anderson (who had penned the Foreward for this book before his death last year). I believe Maggio’s resulting book, Baseball’s Glorious Age of Innocence, will offer readers a nostalgic escape into a bygone era that will both entertain and enlighten. The manuscript lends itself to a potential on-screen movie; I’m thinking Disney-like innocence and magic. Carl is in the process of completing the screenplay.

So enough about the book and baseball reminiscence; just wish us luck in finding a bonafide publisher for this gem.

Now about that Maggio family wine. I opened the bottle later that evening, enjoying it with my homemade pasta sauce, chicken breast, and tortellini (a bit on the spicy side). The pairing was ideal. The 2008 Maggio Petite Sirah opened with a fruit-forward nose—blueberries and dark cherries—with just enough peppery notes that lingered on into a soft, mellow finish. This would be a perfect sipping wine to share while sitting around talking baseball. Priced at around $10 per bottle, this is truly a value wine.

The nearly famous Maggio name was the first thing that drew me to this project (and now the wine). I’m a lifelong baseball fan; one of my first sports biographies, read in third grade, was the story of the great Joe DiMaggio. Carl shares a similar name with Joe, one of the most famous New York Yankees to ever hit a baseball (and date Marilyn Monroe). Carl explained that he’s recently discovered that his father’s name was changed from DiMaggio to Maggio when he migrated to the United States from Italy many years ago. Carl, who also played professional baseball, came that close to sharing Joe’s fame. He’s even been told that his baseball fielding style mimicked Joe’s quick pace.

I believe Carl Maggio’s celebrity is yet to flourish, as this tender and nostalgic account of a group of young boys who remained bonded as they grew into skilled and responsible men and then confront their own mortality, will transport everyone back to the age before baseball was tainted. Once that happens, perhaps Carl should share in his relatives’ Maggio Family Vineyard fame as a winemaker as well. He is already a brilliant promoter of their efforts.

Cheers…to books and wine…and to a new friend who share the love of baseball.