Best Place to Take a Wine Geek 2024 | Hidden Track Bottle Shop & Wine Bar | Food & Drink | Phoenix
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Best Place to Take a Wine Geek

Hidden Track Bottle Shop & Wine Bar

The recent proliferation of wine bars around Phoenix has been a boon for oenophiles. Hidden Track has been a champion of natural wines since Craig Dziadowicz and Danielle Middlebrook debuted their original bottle shop in 2015. At its current uptown location in The Strip on 12th Street, Hidden Track's shop boasts unique wines that are often only distributed to them. Dziadowicz and his knowledgeable team can help you make a selection that will delight any geek. You will also find beers and provisions, such as conservas, pickles and cured meats to make a luxe charcuterie plate to pair with your purchase. But, Hidden Track is much more than a shop. The bar offers a rotating selection of wines by the glass and hosts tastings each Wednesday night. With the addition of Chef Marco Di Santo, Hidden Track's food menu has blossomed with tapas and pizza-like flammekueche, a thin baked tart, to pair with your drink.

Best Arizona White Wine

Callaghan Vineyards 2021 Love Muffin White

This white blend is refreshing, easily drinkable and ideal for sipping poolside. However, that's not what catapults this wine to the top of the heap. It's dominated by malvasia bianca, a delicate grape with peachy-apricot vibes that most don't think would thrive in the Southwest but, like most Mediterranean varieties, does well in the Arizona desert. A nice dose of picpoul blanc, a Rhone grape that also grows happily here whose name translates to "lip stinger," brings its distinct acidity and a kiss of abrasiveness, but in a good way that balances the bouncy and floral personality that malvasia brings to the party. It's wonderful chilled. But after 10 minutes at room temperature, it changes and its full flavor and personality struts its stuff. This evolution reflects that of Arizona's wine industry and growth, and the determination of fruit that defies mainstream reason by flourishing in rugged terrain. It also represents Arizona wine royalty with winemaker Kent Callaghan being the state's most experienced winemaker, whose family planted their vineyard in the Sonoita/Elgin designated American Viticultural Area in 1990. Side note: "Love Muffin" is how Callaghan affectionately refers to his wife, Lisa.

Best Arizona Red Wine

Chateau Tumbleweed 2021 Le Blend

Ten grape varieties. Six vineyards. Two counties. Le Blend is not just a clever name. It's an amalgam representing the harmony that arises in the hands of a talented winemaker willing to push the boundaries in an emerging Arizona wine industry while having fun with it. The actual blend changes every year. This vintage flaunts sangiovese, cabernet franc, mourvedre, petite sirah, graciano, aglianico, grenache, tannat, montepulciano and tempranillo sourced from vineyards in Cochise and Graham counties in southeastern Arizona. The list may seem overwhelming, but the combination of light and fruity grapes with meatier and hearty ones produces a very likable, straight-forward red that offers qualities red wine loyalists crave — hefty dark fruit characteristics with a nice mouthfeel — and none that tend to scare non-fans away from it, such as intimidating tannins or a finish that overstays its welcome on the palate. It's also super food-friendly. Le Blend originated 10 years ago, when winemaker Joe Bechard wanted to use grapes leftover after creating his other wines. It was intended to be a one-off. But it proved so popular that it's been part of this Clarkdale winery's regular lineup ever since, with the grapes intentionally sourced for this blend.

Best Liquor Store

Trevor's Liquor

Sara Crocker

A visit to the liquor store is often called a run because the implication is that it's a quick trip. When Trevor's opened its first outpost on McDowell Road, the expansive and luxe liquor shop proved that a visit doesn't always need to be rushed. In addition to boasting impressive selections of whiskies, craft beer, wine and cigars, these stores also come with bars, food and plenty of room inside and out to sit, sip and savor. Each location has something unique and fun to offer, too, from golf simulators to pinball machines. This combo of play and shopping works so well that Trevor's continues to expand, with three locations and counting. Coming up next is a spot in PV, the redevelopment of the Paradise Valley Mall. We'll be there, not just to make a run but also to relax and linger.

Best AZ-Born Nonalcoholic Beverage

Big Marble Organics

When the owners of The Breadfruit & Rum Bar released the first of Big Marble Organics' bubbly sodas in 2020, that ginger beer was a bright spot amid the swirling chaos and uncertainty of the pandemic. Although The Breadfruit has shuttered, owner Dwayne Allen has continued to dazzle drinkers with Big Marble's growing roster of award-winning zero-proof sips. That lineup now includes tonic water, a lemon soda and — our personal favorite — a hibiscus soda that highlights the warm, floral notes of a Jamaican sorrel. You'll find these sodas around town at local bars and restaurants, as well as at retailers including Fry's, Whole Foods and Total Wine and independent shops such as Arcadia Meat Market and Nelson's Meat + Fish.

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