Great Arizona wine and olive oil

May 6, 10:54 PMPhoenix Farmers Markets ExaminerSarah Parkin

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Phoenix Farmers Markets Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Nope - not grapes - olives from the Queen Creek Olive Mill

Two dedicated local Arizona growers join forces on Saturday, May 9th. Pillsbury Wine Company will be presenting a Full Moon Festival at the Queen Creek Olive Mill from 6-9 p.m. Both Pillsbury Wine Company and the Queen Creek Olive Mill have found success with growing outstanding products not traditionally considered to be Arizona specialties. At this event, attendees will experience great Arizona wine and great Arizona olive oil right under the olive trees and the full moon.

Winemaker Sam Pillsbury, who coincidentally also happens to direct films in Hollywood, will be on hand to introduce five new wines, including one that will be sold exclusively at the Queen Creek Olive Mill. He will cheerfully sign bottles and pose for photos, if you bring your camera.

The mill’s restaurant, del Piero, will provide bruschetta for sampling with the wines, as guests listen to recording star Jerry Tye play his 12-string guitar.

Upon request, the free drivers from Zingo with their collapsible mopeds will drive you and your car home, if necessary.

The Queen Creek Olive Mill has blown away even the Italian competition in olive oil, producing oils with a lower oleic acid level than most olive oils currently imported from Italy. The wonderful store at the olive mill will be open, and del Piero will be open for dinner.

The new wines will be the 2007 Pillsbury Roan Red, 2007 Pillsbury Diva, 2007 Pillsbury Petite Sirah, 2008 Pillsbury Pinot Gris ‘Casa Blanca’, and 2008 Pillsbury Rose ‘One Night Stand’.

Pillsbury Wine 2007 Roan Red is 93% Syrah, actually an Aussie clone of Shiraz...see what an Aussie Shiraz grown in the Arizona Desert tastes like.

Our 2008 Pinot Gris 'Casa Blanca' is made from the same vines we made wine that was twice served at White House State Dinners in 2002 and 2005.

Pillsbury wines are served at some of the valley’s best restaurants, Pizzeria Bianco, Noca Restaurant, The Phoenician, J & G Steakhouse, Quiessence, Razz's Restaurant, Rancho Pinot, and Tapino Kitchen and Wine Bar.

The Queen Creek Olive Mill provides olive oil to several of the same best restauarants as well as some of the best resorts including the Arizona Biltmore, the Royal Palms, the Hilton Resorts, Wild Horse Pass.

The vineyards for the Pillsbury Wine Company are located 40 miles north of Mexico at an elevation of 4300 feet in Sulphur Springs Valley in Cochise County, Arizona. The tasting room is scheduled to open on 2010, but in the meantime Sam holds winemaker dinners in private homes and provides unique opportunities such as this one at the olive mill.

Entry is $15, which covers 5 tastings and bruschetta prepared by the Mill.
25062 S Meridian Rd, Queen Creek, AZ 85242.
The mill can be tough to find with some mapping programs, so check out the website before leaving home. For directions, please call the Olive Mill at 480-888-9290 or visit www.queencreekolivemill.com.

Photos courtesy of Pillsbury Wine Company and Queen Creek Olive Mill.

For more info: Pillsbury Wine Company, Queen Creek Olive Mill