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| WINE MORSEL |
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Uncovering Portugal
Portugal is enjoying its moment in the sun as a current standout region for delicious and affordable wines. Portugal produces much more than just fortified wine, they also feature delicious, dry white and red at often incredibly low prices.
Because of their crisp acidity and refreshing flavors that are rarely overwhelming and make great food wines. If you flip to the Portugal section of any fine wine list you will often uncover the perfect food wine for a mere fraction of what you might pay for a California wine of similar quality.
That said, it is no mystery that Portuguese wines are not flying off the shelves (or out of our cellars). While there may be a few reasons, one is definitely that Portuguese wine can be tremendously confusing. With so many obscure native grape varieties it is understandable that they simplify by just labeling their wines Vinho Verde (green wine) and Vinho Tinto (red wine). With America's great reverence for the grape, these Portuguese wines can often seem like inexpensive table blends.
Beginning with the whites, the term "Green Wine" does not refer to the color, but rather to the fact that their whites are meant to be enjoyed very young while they retain that amazing floral and citrus fruit bouquet. These whites are bottled and sold so quickly that they often have light bubbles remaining from the fermentation, making them extremely refreshing. There are so many grapes of that region, with the most important definitely being Alvarinho, which may or may not appear on the label. They pair very well with lighter seafood dishes and greens.
The confusion does not end with the whites, unfortunately. Vinho Tintos are typically a blend of many obscure grapes. In fact, up until the 1970's many winegrowers in Portugal had no idea which grapes they were actually growing. After identification, it was found that the most important is Touriga Nacional, which is heavily used in Port wine. Tempranillo also plays a large part, usually called Aragonez or Tinta Roriz. The reds are fairly light bodied with a distinct dusty characteristic. Red licorice, dried herbs, and lighter red berry fruit are common descriptors. They pair wonderfully with game, sausage and barbecue.
Definitely worth a second glance, Portuguese wines drink much better than their low prices might suggest.
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| WINE DINNER SERIES |
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 Second Tuesday Wine Dinner Series
Arizona's only AAA Five-Diamond/Forbes Five-Star restaurant, Kai at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort & Spa will host a wine dinner series in partnership with several acclaimed vineyards the second Tuesday of every month, April through July, 2012.
Kai's Wine Dinner Series invites you on a virtual driving tour of the legendary Pacific Coast Highway. Join us for food and drink that celebrates the epic vistas, rich terrior and great diversity that together create our nation's Pacific Coastline. Like the PCH, as it bends, rises and boasts, so too will our events inspire you along the journey.
Beginning in April of 2012, and hosting one each month through July, Kai will pair its award-winning cuisine with wines from vineyards along the West-Coast. Kai will present (4) six-course dinner events that will pair the month's winery with cuisine influenced by its flavors. These events will be offered to a limited number of guests and will be priced at $140 per person. Each guest is invited to a private reception with hors d'oeuvres beginning at 6:30 p.m. The six-course dinner with wine pairings will then follow with seating at 7:00 p.m.
- Beginning in Washington and working south, the first event on Tuesday, April 10, will be held in partnership with DeLille Cellars of Woodinville, Washington.
- Founded in 1992, DeLille Cellars is a family and independently-owned winery located in Woodinville, Washington. Earning a reputation for its Bordeaux-style blended red and white wines, and Rhône and Provence-style blended red and white wines, DeLille Cellars aims to make the very best handcrafted, old-world style red and white wines made in Eastern Washington State. With an uncompromising philosophy about the quality of wine in each bottle, DeLille Cellars has received many accolades from Wine Spectator, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Steven Tanzer's International Wine Review, The Robb Report, Decanter Magazine, The Wine Enthusiast, Connoisseur's Guide, Food and Wine and has been selected as the Winery of the Year 2000 by New York Times on the web.
- The second wine dinner on Tuesday, May 8, will be held in partnership with the iconic Elk Cove of Willamette Valley, Oregon.
- Founded in 1974, Elk Cove Vineyards is a family owned and operated winery that covers over 220 acres on four separate sites in Northern Willamette Valley, Oregon. With a focus to produce hand-crafted, estate-grown wines that rival the best in the world, Elk Cove Vineyards uses sustainable agricultural practices on all its vineyards. The steep south facing slopes of Willakenzie and Laurelwood soil types with excellent drainage, provide the perfect environment to grow the world class wine grapes that are the basis for creating Elk Cove wines.
- The third wine dinner on Tuesday, June 12, will be held in partnership with Halter Ranch in Paso Robles, California.
- Located on the west side of Paso Robles, this property dates to the 1880s, when it was part of a 3,000-acre ranch owned by Paso Robles pioneer Edwin Smith. The vineyard is planted to many different grape varieties- both Bordeaux and Rhone-style, plus Zinfandel, Tannat and Tempranillo. The vines are planted on steep, south-facing slopes reaching 1800 feet in elevation and boasting soils rich in limestone, a feature of many of the world's finest vineyards. High-density plantings, multiple clones and rootstocks, and low yields enable us to produce fruit of superb quality.
- And the final wine dinner of this series will be held on Tuesday, July 10. Fittingly, it will be held in partnership with one of our very own, the celebrated Pillsbury Winery of Cottonwood, Arizona.
- Pillsbury Wine Company is the dream-come-true project by New Zealand Film Director and Winemaker, Sam Pillsbury. Sam flew into Arizona to shoot a pilot for Universal Pictures and fell in love with an Arizona girl and the Arizona landscape simultaneously. Growing up in New Zealand, Sam witnessed the phenomenon of growing classical wine grapes in unusual places. Then on a camping trip in Arizona thought he could try the same thing here. The location he picked was a high-altitude desert valley in Cochise County, 200 miles SE of Phoenix. This all came from a desire to create a distinctive regional Boutique wine that was 100% Arizona and 100% original. He gambled that the high-altitude, endless sunshine, sandy loam and dry desert would make for a perfect Terroir, and in 2000 he planted 20 acres of Rhone varieties. It worked. The Vineyard lies at 4,300 feet above sea level. The soil is an almost perfectly PH- balanced well-drained sandy loam. This altitude yields day temperatures identical to the Rhone Valley, with high-desert cool nights, perfect for grape-ripening.
Please save the date(s). Reservations for these special evenings will be limited and required. To secure your reservations please contact, Rosina Dee at 602-385-5726 or Rosina.Dee@sheraton.com.
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| CHEF'S CORNER |
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 Executive Chef Michael O'Dowd's Flavor of the Month:
BLOOD ORANGE-CHIPOTLE VINAIGRETTE
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| CONNECTING WITH KAI |
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 Allow us to introduce you to one of Kai's newest team members, Nathan Wellington. A zealous team-member, Nathan has been contributing to Kai for a few months.
Nathan is currently a back server and aspires to continue growing his culinary knowledge. Nathan is actively involved in his father's farm operation, Wellington Farms, which is a frequent source of seasonal produce for Kai. There he assists with planting, harvesting and maintaining the livestock.
In his free time, Nathan loves to go horseback riding, work on his truck and spend time with his family. He aspires to one day, ride a bull, own a Rolls Royce and become a surgeon.
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