Delightful surprises along the southwest wine trail: a Slovenian wine tasting adventure

The Phoenix, Arizona area has been successfully developing its wine identity for a decade or so, and is home to some fun and popular concepts in wine presentation. There are urban wineries, such as Vino Studio, where customers can blend and bottle their own wines, and wine bars like the friendly Armitage Wine Lounge, which is a classic wine bar complete with small plates and live, unplugged bistro music. There are places which serve sandwiches and wine, like The Tasting Room in Peoria, and the Kokopelli Winery in Chandler (see my earlier article about this place), which invented the Wine-a-rita, their famous white wine-based margarita.

In the fine dining establishments, the wine lists are getting longer, and excellent wines can be found by the glass or bottle, with an emphasis on California, California, California, Australia, France, and Italy. Although a passionate, adventurous wine lover like me can definitely enjoy a glass of wine in a Phoenix area restaurant these days, in most cases, I could be drinking that same wine anywhere in the US, certainly in any western city.

Caffe Boa in Tempe is shattering the established Phoenix wine list template. Nodding to San Francisco-style eclecticism, owner Jay Wisniewski offers a much more well-rounded wine selection where, in addition to finding your favorite top California or French pinot noir, you can also have your tongue tickled and your toes curled by the ancient winemaking traditions of Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, and Hungary. You can even find regional selections from Arizona and New Mexico, along with detailed explorations of West Coast, French, and Italian terroir. In addition, they focus on traditionally and naturally produced wines, with several of them certified organic or biodynamic. The wine list has won the Wine Spectator "Best Of" Award of Excellence for several years running.

On my visit to Caffe Boa in late September, I joined a tasting of eight Slovenian wines, an Irsai Oliver varietal rosé from Hungary, and a Gruner Veltliner varietal from the Wachau region of Austria presented by importer Blue Danube Wines and distributor Emply Glass Wine Company. The presentation included only two reds out of ten wines. Being a red wine drinker, I felt that I might only really enjoy that end of the selection, as sometimes happens to me at tastings. Pleasantly surprised doesn't begin to describe my delight at these clean, vibrant, inventive, and (dare I say it?) amusing wines.

It was clear to me right away that these winemakers were drawing from truly ancient traditions (believed to date back to around 400 BC) that allow them to draw out and play with deep, subtle, and unexpected flavors found within the grape anatomy, without the need for modern chemical interventions. The Batic 2005 Sauvignon Blanc Riserva not only had crisp apples and herbs on the nose, but also a light cheese. It made my mouth water, skillfully sharpening my appetite.

The Batic Zaria 2007 was precisely the type of wine I like to encounter on adventures into new terroir. Primarily a blend of five native grapes, including Pinela and Zelen, it was a cloudy light honey color, with a seductive, rustic appeal. For me, this wine showcased a wide range of flavors and textures, that included walnuts, butterscotch, and mild paprika. This is a wine I would like to enjoy with rustic comfort foods and firelight. This is a wine whose nuances could also accompany experiences like reflecting on a mountain vista after a vigorous hike, or leafing through an art history textbook . According to the importer, Zaria is highly anti-oxidant and contains no sulfites.

The reds, Santomas "Big Red" Refosk and Batic 2007 Cabernet Franc were outstanding and lush. They indicated to me that trends in world winemaking are changing and opening up, allowing for lesser known grape varietals and winemaking styles to find new expressions in unexpected parts of the world. Amazingly, similar rustic style Cabernet Franc, Refosco (akin to Refosk), and other big, natural, minimally fined reds can be found at mountain wineries in the southwest, and often sell out because they can be so reliably satisfying.

I enjoyed all the wines I sampled at this tasting very much. Though I will not describe them all here, I am including a list of the selections I tried as a guide for you. If you are looking to buy them by the bottle or case, the importer, distributor, and Caffe Boa will all happily assist you in sourcing them.

Tempe and the Phoenix area are fortunate to have Caffe Boa as a local wine source, with its committment to presenting and promoting natural world wines. Wisniewski is giving the public the unique opportunity to learn about rare, natural wine flavors that are so responsive to their unique locations on the topographical map. By the same token, Wisniewski is lucky to have been embraced for so long by Phoenix and the southwest. They seem to have a great relationship.