Open Doors Arizona Magazine - November 2017 by Jonathan Himlin

CONTENTS | NOV | 2017

ON THE COVER

(Photo by Kyle Donovan) Sedona, Arizona is a beautiful, magical place, and most often what you imagine when you think of a Northern Arizona getaway. But the Verde Valley has more to offer than Sedona. Next time you head north for the weekend, get off the beaten path and spend some time in the old mining towns of Jerome and Cottonwood.

Photo by Kyle Donovan

SPOTLIGHT

LANDSCAPE

CULINARY ART

HOME SERVICES

HAPPY HOUR

Northern Arizona Getaway Off the Beaten Path Transform Your Entire Yard with One Thing Roasted & Stuffed Acorn Squash Unwelcome Holiday Houseguests Grignolino: A Rare but Exciting Choice for the Holidays

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SPOTLIGHT

Northern Arizona Getaway Off the Beaten Path By Nicole Rupersburg Nicole Rupersburg is a freelance writer covering food, travel, arts and culture, business development and entrepreneurship, social justice, technology, entertainment, and more.

When you hear “Northern Arizona getaway” you probably think immediately of Sedona, the area’s central tourism hub that touts supernatural energy vortices and has built a thriving economy out of crystal tchotchkes and pink jeep tours. Ringed by Red Rock State Park and dotted with abundant hiking trails for all skill levels, Sedona has a breathtakingly beautiful backdrop. But it also has a two-story Burger King on its main drag, and features bumper-to-bumper traffic most of the day, so your mileage may vary as far as “get-away-from-it-all” vacation appeal. JEROME But within a 45-minute shorter drive you will find Jerome, an old mining town built a mile high on the side of Cleopatra Hill in Verde Valley, Northern Arizona’s excellent wine region that is still flying so far under the radar that it isn’t even yet an established American Viticultural Area (AVA). Jerome was once a thriving mining town until the mines closed in the 1950s. With only 45 residents then remaining, Jerome became known as a ghost town…and also an actual ghost town, with frequent reported paranormal sightings fed by legends of tragic deaths and mysterious hauntings. If you’re going to spend some time in Jerome, it’s worthwhile to book a tour and get a little taste of the local flavor through its historical lore. Tours of Jerome (www.toursofjerome.com) offers a variety of historic, haunted, and wine tours to give you the full range of the Jerome experience – because, honestly, nothing goes better with history and hauntings than a little bit of vino to help it all go down.

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Of all the talk of “under-the-radar” wine regions across American, Northern Arizona wine country still barely registers as a blip. The wine-loving public’s loss is your gain, as this means that this area, despite its proximity to tourism-heavy Sedona, still feels a bit less “discovered.” And it’s also producing resoundingly excellent wines that are easily competitive with the country’s top wine regions, thanks largely in part to one person: Maynard James Keenan, a bit better known as the lead singer of the modern rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer. Once upon a time the rock icon to millions of devoted fans decided he wanted to get into winemaking, and he got really into winemaking. Enough so that he and former business partner Eric Glomski, owner of Page Springs Cellars (www.pagespringscellars.com) in nearby Cornville, AZ, launched Arizona Stronghold Vineyards (www.azstronghold.com) in 2007. Arizona Stronghold has since become the best-selling and highest-volume winery in the state of Arizona, using all its own estate-grown grapes. Keenan split off in 2014 to focus on his own labels, Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars. >>>>

Photo by Kyle Donovan At Left: Jerome, Arizona is an old mining town built a mile high on the side of Cleopatra Hill in Verde Valley. Above: OJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Copper Country Fudge is located at 337 Main Street in Jerome, Arizona. Below: Jeromeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s historic Gold King Mine & Ghost Town is one mile north of town. Photo by Kyle Donovan

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SPOTLIGHT

Caduceus Cellars is located at 158 Main Street in Jerome, Arizona | 928.639.WINE(9463). Photos by Kyle Donovan.

The Caduceus Cellars (www.caduceus.org) tasting room is in downtown Jerome, where you can sample the wines made from the winery’s five distinctly different blocks of Northern Arizona terroir, heavy on Italian clones like Sangiovese and Montepulciano but with a smattering of French and Alsatian varietals as well. The wines produced by Caduceus, Merkin, and Arizona Stronghold also lean heavily on lesser-known varietals like Mourvedre and Malvasia Bianca, popular varietals in this region though relatively uncommon in American winemaking. On the palate, the wines are consistently more Old World – nothing resembling mass-produced California cabs here. Conveniently located next to Caduceus Cellars, the Connor Hotel (www.connorhotel.com) was built in 1898 and is one of many places in the city said to be haunted. Guests can take their chances in order to stay right directly downtown in the midst of all of the quirky boutiques, artisan shops, and small art galleries. If you can’t get enough of that haunted local lore, grab a burger at Haunted Burger (www.thehauntedhamburger.com) on the top of Cleopatra Hill and end your evening at the Spirit Room Bar (www.spiritroom.com) on the ground floor of the Connor Hotel. Keenan fans won’t want to leave town without popping into Puscifer the Store (www.facebook.com/pusciferthestore/), a store full of music paraphernalia and vinyl albums from Keenan’s bands complete with a hipster barber shop, because pretty much anything goes in Jerome. >>>>

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Once upon a time the rock icon to millions of devoted fans decided he wanted to get into winemaking, and he got really into winemaking.

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SPOTLIGHT Photo courtesy of Merkin Vineyards Tasting Room & Osteria

At left: Merkin Vineyards Tasting Room & Osteria is located at 1001 N Main Street in Cottonwood, Arizona | (928) 639-1001. Above: Hand-crafted sandwiches are served until 4 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Merkin Vineyards Tasting Room & Osteria

COTTONWOOD Just 20 minutes down the mountain from Jerome is Cottonwood, another achingly adorable old mining town-turned-wine country destination and quirky downtown filled with independent retailers, artists’ galleries, and lots and LOTS of restaurants, cafes, wine tasting rooms, and bars. Cottonwood is basically an off-the-beaten-path eating and drinking destination that stands up to anything you’ll find in Sedona, but with a price tag that’s a little easier on your pocketbook. Arizona Stronghold has a tasting room located in Historic Old Town Cottonwood, and just steps away from the Arizona Stronghold tasting room is the Merkin Vineyards Tasting Room & Osteria (www.merkinvineyardsosteria.com), Merkin’s tasting room plus a phenomenal Italian restaurant that is entirely unfussy and unpretentious, and not in the precious way that has become popular with places marketing their lack of pretentiousness (servers wear jeans and we play rap music, guys!) in a very strategically executed way. Literally everything is made from scratch in-house, right down to the grains used in the house-baked breads and the produce grown in their own orchards and gardens, because Keenan is hugely passionate about every single product being as hyper local and supportive of the Arizona food community as possible, with the restaurant “dedicated to coming as close as possible to a 100% Arizona presentation.”

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For a place that is, and this cannot be emphasized enough, VERY SMALL, there are a surprising number of bars and restaurants. After a wine tasting tour, where you can hit several tasting rooms while only walking a couple of blocks, enjoy a night out on the town at places like R.I.O.T. in Old Town (www.facebook.com/ RendezvousInOldTown/), with a great selection of craft beers and gastropub fare with a Mexican twist, plus karaoke and bar games; and Pizzera Bocce (www.boccecottonwood.com), the name of which probably covers everything you need to know about the place. And if you want to drink like a local with the locals, you have to hit Kactus Kate’s, a rock and roll dive bar with live music where everyone in town heads after their shifts at the tasting rooms and shops end. Breakfast is apparently big business in Cottonwood, because there are a LOT of places that serve breakfast and brunch, and they are all excellent. Head to Crema Craft Kitchen + Bar (www. cremacottonwood.com) for house-baked pastries, brunch entrees available all day every day, and a wonderful outdoor patio. Pro tip: breakfast is included when you stay at the Tavern Hotel (www.thetavernhotel.com/#/hotel). Cottonwood is also about a half an hour away from Sedona (so you can still buy overpriced crystals from some New Age huckster if you want to) as well as the Coconino National Forest, which is full of spectacular hiking trails, the busiest of which are full of the kind of people who buy overpriced crystals from New Age hucksters. However there are many much more remote (and more strenuous) trails where you can find some outer and inner solitude among the rocks without paying for them. For a wine country destination that is truly outstanding in quality with plenty of great food and unique character, while still managing to evade the crowds of Sedona, next time you head up to Northern Arizona give Jerome and Cottonwood a try.

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LANDSCAPE

Transform Your Entire Yard with One Thing By Anesia St. Clair Anesia is a licensed contractor and owns Pure Patio, a design center and retail store in Goodyear, Arizona.

If you want to create an inviting, cozy, romantic atmosphere in your outdoor space, nothing does it better than landscape lighting. The right lighting can forgive many imperfections in your yard. You’ll completely overlook the pruning that’s overdue, the debris, that one area that needs repainting, and the dirty grill. Instead, be mesmerized by shadows and texture! Here are some idea starters that will help you create an atmosphere that rivals any five-star resort: Up light trees, palms, large cacti and succulents. Trees and palms look great when lit fairly upright closer to their trunk. The light will illuminate the branch structure within and show off the texture on your palm trunks. Cactus and agave looks great when the light is further back and illuminates the entire plant. Back light pots and art pieces to show off their silhouette. Pots near the house or wall can be lit from behind with a stunning effect. Some lights can be completely recessed into the ground, making them unobtrusive and a good fit for small spaces. Cast shadows onto your house or perimeter wall. Spot lights can create outlines of leaves, palm fronds, and slatted awning and pergola profiles onto structures. Flat, plain surfaces come to life with apparent movement and texture. Light metal cactus and agave from the inside. If you have beautiful art pieces, you’ll appreciate them perhaps even more at night than during the day. Highlight the pieces themselves, but also enjoy the fantastic streaks of light and shadows that surround them. Quality pieces are hollow and built with lighting design in mind.

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Highlight textured stone on your house. If you have stacked stone or ledger stone pillars or accent areas on your home, these spots lend themselves to a fantastic lighting display. Stone is best lit upward from a close distance. This will accentuate the texture and color by creating additional shadows. Integrate lights into steps and sitting walls. These lights take up no space at all. They fit right under the overhang of your bull nose top caps if you have them. Cast light downward along walkways. Pathway lights with an umbrella shaped canopy on top will disperse light down and wide. These are very functional for safety purposes, but also serve to dimly light up larger areas overall without a specific target in mind. Spot light large boulders nice and low. Up lights and down lights can both work, depending on the size of the boulder. Aim the light a bit higher if there is a plant or tree tucked up next to it.

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Fire features always look good. You can’t stop looking at the dancing flames. Flames can be introduced by way of tiki torches, patio heaters with swirling fire, fire tables, and poolside wok pots. Pieces are fueled by lamp or citronella oil, natural gas hookups, standard 20-pound propane tanks, or little Coleman tanks from the camping aisle. >>>>

Fire features always look good. You can’t stop looking at the dancing flames. Flames can be introduced by way of tiki torches, patio heaters with swirling fire, fire tables, and poolside wok pots.

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LANDSCAPE

Use solar to complement, not dominate. The hue of solar lights is generally unattractive. Integrate fun solar accent pieces that are veiled in colored glass to create points of interest. There are many beautiful options to use in addition to your main lighting. Place lights near grass with caution. They can get wet and function just fine, but over time water deposits will build up on your housing and make them look chalky. They will look great at night and not as great during the day. Lots of dim light is better than a few bright lights. Drive your neighborhood at night and pick out the most welcoming homes. They have the most light! Everything is lit up. Accents are here and there, but many lights illuminate nearly the entire yard. Keep it well balanced; light is best when it evenly illuminates the space. Even if your special features are concentrated in one area, you want to light the other areas too for balance. Once you add light, dark areas appear even darker. Spread the wealth!

And here are some general tips to consider:

Don’t go cheap. You’ll regret how quickly it looks bad and others will notice. Definitely avoid plastic housing on the lights. It will look dull and faded within a year. Consider treating your metal lights with a UV sun block spray to keep them looking new for many years.

Look for coach lights that cast interesting shadows onto your stucco. If you don’t add any landscape lights at all, changing your coach lights from the cheap builder model to something a bit more sophisticated can make a huge difference. If you’re using spiral CFL bulbs, spend a few dollars to upgrade the bulbs and it will alter the entire look.

Give your house a million-dollar makeover just by adding tasteful landscape lighting. LED options abound, making the operating cost very low today. You’ll rarely, if ever, change a bulb. Your transformer will have a timer and dusk to dawn options so you might not ever have to touch anything. We all look better in dim light, don’t we? Your house and yard are no different.

Pay attention to the hue. Bluish solar and bright white LED or fluorescent bulbs look sterile and strain your eyes. Choose soft white or slightly yellow tints with lower wattage to create a pleasing effect that’s easy to look at. If you’re looking for security lights, consider brighter motion lights that only come on when needed.

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CULINARY ART

Roasted & Stuffed Acorn Squash Acorn squash is a late-season classic culinary delight. And when filled with a hearty mixture of wild rice, pecans and cranberries, it represents a substantial side dish at any holiday meal. For planning purposes and efficient preparation on the big day, the wild rice mixture can be made up to two days in advance; keep it refrigerated in an airtight container. The filling can also be prepared up to 6 hours ahead as long as you keep it covered in the fridge until you’re ready to make the magic happen. INGREDIENTS • 3 medium acorn squash • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted • 1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar • 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped • 2 medium shallots, finely chopped • 4 celery stalks, finely chopped • 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves • 2 cups cooked wild rice mix • 2/3 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped • 1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped • 1 teaspoon kosher salt • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper INSTRUCTIONS 1. Heat the oven to 450°F. 2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds. Place the squash cut-side up on a baking sheet and brush 1 tablespoon of the melted butter over the tops and insides of the squash halves, sprinkle with the brown sugar, and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until just fork tender, about 25 to 30 minutes. 16

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3. Meanwhile, place 1 tablespoon of the melted butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots and celery, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 or 6 minutes. Stir in the thyme and cook for another minute to release the fragrance. 4. Remove from the heat and stir in the rice, pecans, cranberries and measured salt and pepper. 5. Divide the rice filling among the roasted squash halves (about 1/2 cup for each) and drizzle the remaining tablespoon of butter on top. Continue roasting until the squash is completely fork tender, the edges have started to brown, and the filling is heated through, about 20 to 25 minutes. 6. Serve and enjoy!

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HOME SERVICES

Unwelcome Holiday Houseg By Aaron Workman Aaron is owner of Greenleaf Pest Control and can be reached at 623-399-9970.

If you live in Phoenix, Arizona, especially in the outlying areas, you have probably seen a scorpion or two. Although these creepy crawlers are visually frightening, their armored bodies and Edward Scissorhands pincers (only a small part of their naturally intriguing existence), make them one of the coolest looking creatures on earth. That being said, they are definitely unwelcome holiday houseguests.

Scorpions glow under UV light, which makes scorpion hunting an actual thing. Because these creatures are nocturnal, you can usually find them hiding in the cracks and crevices of walls, underneath rocks and the bark of trees during the day. Boasting an evolutionary history that dates back 430 million years (Yes, you read that correctly), Scorpios have been around forever. They tend to live in areas with temperatures ranging from 68 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit but they can handle much more extreme temperatures. Researchers have even frozen scorpions overnight, only to put them in the sun the next day and watch them thaw out and walk away. Tough little guys to say the least! Scorpions are also excellent parents. They allow their babies to ride on their backs for protection. Although it is very rare to find a large group of scorpions hanging around, they do enjoy the

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guests

company of others and sometimes spend the winter months with masses of their own. There are approximately 2,000 species of scorpions. All scorpions are technically considered poisonous; but fewer than 25 species can actually kill humans. I think we can all agree that is a relief. However, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings. Aggravating this creature can result in a very painful sting. Small children and elderly people are more susceptible to allergic reactions from scorpion stings. So be very careful if you happen to spot one in your home. One way to avoid this is by keeping your home free of other bugs that attract scorpions. If you already have a scorpion problem, make sure the pest control company you contact uses a high-quality solution with residual effects.

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HAPPY HOUR

Grignolino: A Rare but Ex for the Holidays By Michael Apstein You can find more articles from Michael Apstein and other talented wine writers at www.winereviewonline.com.

I never gave much thought to Grignolino, an obscure grape from Piedmont, until Marchesi Cattaneo Adorno Giustiniani poured one, a 1971, from his winery, Castello di Gabiano, at dinner last month. It was show-stopping. One of the qualities that determines greatness for a wine, at least for me, is its ability to develop over time. Wines start their lives redolent of fruit, but with proper aging, the fruit flavors fade and are replaced by non-fruit flavors, such as leather, coffee, mushrooms--it really doesn’t matter how you describe them--while remaining fresh and harmonious. Well, at 46 years of age, Castello di Gabiano’s 1971 Grignolino ticked that box. More practically, tasting Castello di Gabiano’s younger versions, their 2014, 2015 and 2016 Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese “Il Ruvo,” other producers’ Grignolino at an event in New York City last year, and a visit in July of this year to the Monferrato hills, where the bulk of the grape is planted, reminded me that Grignolino can make a wine that gives great pleasure when drunk young; hence my suggestion to try one this holiday season. Grignolino, the wine, which Jancis Robinson, the renowned British wine writer, described as “the flirtatious aromatic side of Piemonte’s …wines,” has fallen out of favor. Consumers clamor over round robust reds. Grignolino, by contrast, is the opposite. This lightly colored wine--just a shade darker than many rosés-takes on orange hues with only a year or two of bottle age. (Thankfully, though, it bears no resemblance to the “orange” wines currently revered by hipster sommeliers.) With high acidity and firm tannins, it isn’t a good choice as a stand-alone aperitif when your holiday guests arrive, but it will be a fine choice for the plethora of flavors found on the table.

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When young, the Castello di Gabiano’s 2016 Il Ruvo, for example, exhibited a light cherry-red color and aromas of wild strawberry or cherry-like fruitiness. On the palate, the wine’s delicate fruitiness is apparent, buttressed by firm, not hard, tannins and a sour cherry-like acidity. With even a year or two of bottle age, the wine can deliver herbal or spicy notes that complement the delicate red fruit flavors. The Italians insist Grignolino is the perfect wine for charcuterie because its firmness balances the richness of the meats. Similarly, Grignolino’s lovely austere quality, light body and vibrancy pairs well with turkey and the sweet/savory foods on the Thanksgiving or Christmas table without overwhelming them.

xciting Choice

To make matters worse, this lightly colored red grape with abundant tannin and lots of acidity is difficult to grow, requiring plenty of sun and southern exposure, precisely the requirements for Nebbiolo. That explains why less and less Grignolino is found in the Langhe around Alba, which includes the Barolo or Barbaresco zones. You don’t need to be an economist to understand why growers there opt to plant Nebbiolo and make either Barolo, Barbaresco or Langhe Nebbiolo--all of which command a higher price in the market--than Grignolino. Nonetheless, Cavallotto, one of the top Barolo producers located in Castiglione Falletto, still has Grignolino planted in their prized Bricco Bocchis vineyard alongside Nebbiolo…and makes an excellent wine from it. The best Grignolino comes, not from the more famous Langhe hills, but from the Monferrato hills around Asti in the DOC zones of Grignolino di Asti and Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese. Grignolino di Asti comes from the area’s sandy soil, which means it’s lighter compared to Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese, which has more structure and a fuller body because of that zone’s loamy clay and limestone soil. The distinction is relative since Grignolino from both areas are lightly colored, light-bodied reds.

From an economic point of view, it is easy to why growers have abandoned Grignolino for other varieties. Grignolino produces less juice than most other grapes because it has lots of seeds, typically six or seven rather than two, and less pulp, so yields are inherently low. (Indeed, it takes its name from “grignole,” which means many seeds in the Piemontese dialect.) Lowering yields further is what is known as asynchronous maturation: The berries in any given bunch do not ripen simultaneously, which means lots of manual sorting at harvest and discarding grapes because bunches contain both ripe and unripe ones.

Another challenge for winemakers using Grignolino is to get more color into the wine, since the paleness of it resembles a rosé, not a plus for a red wine among most consumers. To extract more color from Grignolino, winemakers must perform a longer maceration, which extracts even more tannin. Clearly, a tough line to walk. One advantage of Grignolino for consumers is its narrow stylistic range. Unlike Chianti, where the wines can be diverse depending on whether the producer includes Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah in the blend or opts to use small French oak barrels (barriques) for aging, most growers in Grignolino di Asti and Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese do not blend significantly and avoid barrique aging, so consumers are faced with fewer surprises after they pull the cork.

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HAPPY HOUR

The Grignolino likely to be the most familiar to American consumers is the delightful one from Heitz Wine Cellars in Napa Valley. Although the famed Heitz’s Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon gets all the attention, Grignolino was the first wine they made--it was the only grape planted when Joe and Alice Heitz purchased the property in 1961--and they have made it in every vintage since. Despite all the hurdles, dedicated winemakers still make Grignolino, either because it’s their tradition, or because they just like the wine, or because it’s what generations preceding them planted in their vineyards. Whatever the reason, we are the better for it. Availability of Grignolino is limited, but finding one you like is worth the effort. Winesearcher.com lists 34 producers whose Grignolino ranges in price from $14 to $38. In addition to the aforementioned Cavallotto, who grows Grignolino, other well-known Langhe producers buy grapes from growers in Grignolino del

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Monferrato Casalese and Grignolino d’Asti zones, so consumers will see Grignolino from the likes of Francesco Rinaldi and Pio Cesare, to name just two. In addition to those, I have listed alphabetically below growers whose wines I can recommend highly. The ones listed in bold I find particularly notable. If your local wine merchant doesn’t have one of these, ask him or her for suggestions. Davide Beccaria “Grignò,” Marco Botto “Barba Carlin,” Marco Canato “Celio,” Castello di Gabiano “Il Ruvo,” Castello di Uviglie “San Bastiano Terre Bianche,” Tenuta Tenaglia, Gaudio--Bricco Mondalino, Vini Angelini “Arbian,” (all Grignolino del Monferrato Casalese), Crivelli, Marchesi Incisa della Rocchetta, and Tenuta dei Re, all Grignolino d’Asti.