Pav on Juice: “Judgment of Arizona,” Part Deux

Last fall, I was elated but not at all surprised to hear that Arizona wine advocates Scott and Katie Stephens were replicating the famed “Judgment of Paris” of 1976, in which wines from Napa were blindly paired against the best from France, and the American wines came out on top. The twist: They’d be doing it with Arizona wine.

“There still exists this resistance to acceptance that Arizona can make world-caliber wine,” Scott says. “[Our thinking] was, it’s time to put up or shut up.”

Inspired by chats with winemakers Kent Callaghan and Todd Bostock, the Stephenses – who co-own Beckett’s Table in Phoenix – rallied the support of the Arizona Wine Growers Association and got to work putting together a panel of experts, including restaurateur Mark Tarbell, master sommelier Tim Hanni, Lori Hassler of The Farish House, the list goes on. After an arduous wine-selection process and blind tastings, the results came in this past February. Arizona performed like a champ, at least with reds:

• Dos Cabezas Red, with grapes from Willcox, and my own Los Milics “Mos’s” Red from Cochise County, tied to win the Full-Bodied and Rich Red category, with the Dos Cabezas winning Best Overall Red.
• Laramita Cellars, also from Willcox, won Best Light-Bodied Red with its Sangiovese. Domaine de Noíré’s Cabernet Franc from Chinon in the Loire Valley took first in the Medium-Bodied Red category.

Side note: 14 years ago, I did a similar “judgment” tasting in Scottsdale, and to my delight, both red and white categories went to Arizona wines, made by Callaghan Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars, respectively. As they say, the more things change…

For a complete list of winners, visit azwinegrowersassociation.com/in-the-news.