UNLVino - Always a Grape Time


On April 3, 4, and 5, UNLV hosted its annual triathlon of fermented splendor with the 34th annual UNLVino event, with the famous tag line, “Take a sip for scholarship.” Don’t you love Las Vegas? Where else would the subsidizing of education be dependent upon mass consumption of alcoholic beverages? Tickets ranged in price from $75-$125 with all proceeds going to benefit the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration.

Southern Wine and Spirits of Nevada sponsored all three separate tastings that comprised this flagship event. Your humble correspondent lists them herewith:


Bubble-licious

A celebration of champagne and sparkling wines, took place on April 3 at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Complete with a live band and gourmet accompaniments for the flute-carrying crowd, the event featured an array of classic and unusual libations from Moet & Chandon champagne to a dry Israeli sparkling wine from Yarden Vineyards, to the sweeter sparkling sake which tasted like a refreshingly effervescent, chilled beverage with grassy undertones (sounds weird, tastes great).

Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn

Hometown favorite Vegas Vino came through in a big way with their Almond Sparkling Wine that tasted like a complex soft drink with a kick. Elegant passed hors d’ouveres included salmon and caviar canapés vied with colorful, vinegar-based vegetables, cheese and fruit trays and hand-prepared swordfish and lamb chop plates. Evian and Fiji water had their own booths, providing a quick palate cleanse when needed.

A friend recommended a stop at the Yarden booth for a taste of their dry sparkling wine (it can only be called champagne, if it comes from the Champagne region of France). I am not a connoisseur by any means, but this effervescent product had me enthusiastic and impressed. Made from 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay, the Golan Heights offering was one of the best at the tasting. Hometown Vegas Vino’s Almond Sparkling was a great hit as well, flavored to taste like elegant fun. These folks have learned how to bottle it.

Yarden sparkling wine from Golan Heights Israel
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn

Vegas Vino's popular Chocolate/Almond Champagne

Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn

Here’s where I discovered prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine grown from a variety of white grape from the Veneto region of Italy. Villa Sandi offered a particularly good one, smooth, with a tiny bite of an aftertaste.

President and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention Center and Visitors Authority, and 2005 UNLV Alumnus of the Year Rossi Ralenkotter was honored with a Dom Perignon 21 cork salute. Not too shabby, as DP is THE recognized leader in the champagne field.

21 Cork Salute
Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn

A student raffle was held at a cost of $10 for five tickets with prizes as varied as Dinner for two at Red Rock Casino to a Terrible Herbst Lube & Oil Change. Lucky winners also won golf games, spa certificates and a Sunset Studio Family Photo Session.

Attendees seemed as bubbly as the contents of their flutes, those long, oddly shaped glasses that make you feel as if you’re drinking from a transparent pipe. Bubble-licious, as the name suggests, is a fun and upbeat occasion. I even saw the ultimate “champagne wishes” spokesperson, Robin Leach, raising a glass. You can’t get a better endorsement than that.


Auss-some and Then Some – The District at Green Valley Ranch

Don’t rule out the southern hemisphere when it comes to winemaking. Billed as New World wines, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Chile and South Africa were represented and filled the complimentary Reidel wine glasses at every turn. As the brochure quipped, “Even the water is from Fiji!”

UNLVino 2008 - Auss-some and Then Some – The District at Green Valley Ranch

Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn

Food was generously provided by District establishments like PF Chang’s, King’s Fish House, The Elephant Bar, The Cheesecake Factory, and Ben & Jerry’s, who also scooped for charity, promoting their ONE program to combat world-wide poverty. There was pomegranate iced tea from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and Farmer Brothers coffee. If your hand wasn’t wrapped around a wine glass stem, it could find its way to the great wraps provided by Tacone Grill.

Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn

Held in a fenced-in walkway flanked by District shops, the wine area comprised about one city block, edged with wine booths. Decorative trees bore Italian lights in festive display like electronic versions of white grapes. From what I witnessed first-hand, red wine was distributed and requested over the white varieties on a 2:1 ration.

With names like Woop Woop Chardonnay from South Australia, to Gato Negro Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile to Long Neck Shiraz from South Africa, there were whites, reds and rose/blush wines for all tastes. Australia dominated the market, offering the most brands from down under to keep patrons at that level if they imbibed too much. South Africa was a close second with its Cape Rock varieties including Sauvignon Blanc (white) and Shiraz (red), both sparkling and fruity, with respective aromas of peach and honey.

Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn

A silent auction offered such luxurious activities upon which to bid as spa massages, indoor skydiving, a two-night stay at the Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas, and a Cher concert.

Everyone looks chic with a wine glass in hand, especially at an outdoor soiree. Elegant stemware could be filled with vinegar but the body language wouldn’t change, a swish, an appreciative sniff, a sip and a pensive look on one’s face is all it takes to convince onlookers that you know what you’re tasting. The appearance at Auss-some was that everyone knew what they were tasting – and appreciated the effort.

The Grand Tasting

Held appropriately enough in the Paris Las Vegas Ballroom, the vast exhibit area was full of wine vendors, bottled water purveyors, (Evian, Figi, Liquid Salvation in its own blue flask, and a sparkling variety, Waiwera from New Zealand) gourmet food stations, and equipment booths featuring the latest must-have wine accoutrements.

The Designated Driver program, complete with breathalyzer was on hand – stationed wisely on the way to the parking garage to give attendees a literal lift if they needed it, in their own cars. Their purpose is to avoid sending scores of wine-iacs into the parking garage to maneuver down a winding ramp into the Strip.

Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn

This is wine done properly, not a quick brown-bag swig off of a bottle with a screw-top. You’ll find an expert at every turn, just waiting to fill you in on climate, elevation, grape variety, vintage year, and serving temperature. Spill buckets were provided at each booth to quickly empty a glass or mouth, with pitchers of water standing by for a quick rinse before further tasting.

A wine-themed silent auction of art, trips, golf games, collectibles and rare vintage wines was held throughout the day, with all items donated in support of education.

Candoni Italian wines featured the most beautiful bottles at the event, No boring brown or green, their labels incorporated Roman frescoes and etchings ornate enough for display.

The Murai Family’s handcrafted sakes range from spicy to earthy with wildflower, fruit and fresh rain listed in the profile. Sho Chiku Bai, a competing brand, offered even more varieties and recipes for mixed drinks using the product. This is not your grandfather’s sake.

Hennessy Cognac’s recognizable display was one of the most popular with men, while Francis Ford Coppola’s Gold Label Chardonnay booth enjoyed a brisk business from both genders.

Landmark Vineyards’ 2006 Kanzler Pinot Noir boasts sweet currant and cherry notes, while their 2005 Steel Plow Syrah summons a “nose” of dark berries, smoked meat, minerals and floral oil and is loaded with sweet fruit. Never is wine more mysterious as when described to the uninitiated like this.

The Robert Hall Winery’s selection of wines included their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Best of Class Gold Medal (black currant aromas with nuances of cedar and spice), a 2005 Merlot (red plum and cherry flavors, complex tannins, earthy and juicy) and a 2006 Chardonnay (apple, pear, and lemon peel with overtones of roasted nut and oak).

Photo credit: Stephen Thorburn

It seems 2006 was also a good year for Pinot Noir. Red Car Wine Company’s Boxcar Pinot Noir “bursts of wild raspberry, Lambert cherry, and cardamom spice, while the “nose” offers up tea leaves and rhubarb pie.

Spain’s Campo Vieja and Sicily’s Arancio Nero d’Avila are two exotic reds influenced by berries, reminding us that there are varieties beyond Merlot and Cabernet to be explored.

UNLVino is full of discovery for even the most seasoned wine lover. Here you can taste another region, country or hemisphere simply by extending your glass. In doing so you help the next generation of hospitality professionals excel, improve upon and innovatively enhance the field.

Even a lifelong, tee totaling curmudgeon like me will have to drink to that.

For further information:
http://www.unlvino.com