24 Nov 24th–Nov 30th, 2022 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | music | cafe | film | culTuRe | NighT+Day | feaTuRe | NeWs | OPiNiON | feeDBacK | cONTeNTs | 2812 E. Thomas Rd. • Phoenix • 602-224-5464 longwongs28thst.com All Wishes Need a Little Help savory-sweet-tangy trifecta, making them popular starter bites. The profile of VinoStache’s orange wine, which is made with malvasia bianca, offers a honey finish that makes it the perfect pairing for this appetizer, along with any dish boasting the crave-worthy sweet and spicy combination. “Fermented like a red wine, this seem- ingly delicate but dry beauty can stand up to meaty, sweet, savory, and tangy fare,” Tracy says. Food: Martini buttons Wine: Callaghan Vineyards’ Chiricahua Ranch The simplistic combination of puff pastry wrapped around a pimento-stuffed green olive belie the complex deliciousness of this treat after it’s baked to savory golden deliciousness. The white Chiricahua Ranch petit manseng and marsanne blend is refreshing yet flaunts a layered complexity with notes of orchard and citrus fruits and spice, Chuck explains. “The lovely medium body stands up to the quick salty crunch of the button,” Chuck says. The Main Course Katie and Scott Stephens, husband and wife sommeliers who are part of the ownership group of comfort food estab- lishments Beckett’s Table and Southern Rail, offer their Arizona wine suggestions for the dishes that will most likely be at the center of the table this Thanksgiving. Food: Turkey and Mashed Potatoes Wine: Chateau Tumbleweed’s Miss Sandy Jones One of the Stephenses’ favorite Arizona white blends is primarily composed of chardonnay, which is responsible for the backbone of light buttercream and apple flavors, Scott says. The addition of sauvignon blanc and ugni blanc also gives the wine a racy edge of citrus that rounds out with melon components. “Roasted turkey and mashed potatoes were meant for this wine,” Scott says. Food: Baked Ham Wine: Lightning Ridge Cellars’ Montepulciano When sourced from its roots in Italy, this style of wine is bigger and broader than its Arizona counterparts. But Lightning Ridge’s vineyards in Elgin yield an ideally restrained interpretation of the Montepulciano variety, Scott explains. It’s finessed and layered with stewed cran- berries, dark plum, and haunting amounts of baking spices. “This is a matchmaker’s dream with an oven-baked, spiral-cut ham,” Scott says. Food: Prime Rib or Roast Beef Wine: Four Tails Vineyard’s Double Trouble Cabernet Sauvignon Katie calls this an extraordinary food wine that pairs well with anything beef — whether grilled, roasted, or seared — thanks to a full mouthfeel that shows precise acidity. “This is such a great representation of what Arizona can do with cabernet. Balanced and medium-plus bodied, it truly shows the layers of cocoa, desert sage, currants, and hints of tobacco box,” Katie says. Dessert A cookie or two-layer cake may attempt to break into the club, but Thanksgiving dessert is always about the pie, pumpkin or not. GenuWine Arizona owners Emily Rieve and Lindsey Schoenemann recently hosted a wine and pie pairing event at their downtown Phoenix wine shop, so this is a subject the former junior high school teachers know well. Here, they share recommendations for what will make a sweet coupling for the final course. Food: Apple Pie Wine: Page Springs Cellars’ Vino del Barrio Blanca This white blend is composed of a melange of varieties and features a crisp finish that is a perfect match for Chateau Tumbleweed is known for its exceptional wines and unique labels. >> p 26 Kris Pothier Pairings from p 23
