By Babs Harrison
An oasis for oenophiles in the Arizona desert, Castle Hot Springs offers an intriguing collection of 400 wines intentionally selected to appeal to guests’ wine preferences and to enhance the New American farm-to-table menu at Harvest restaurant. Wine sommelier Sarah Foote, Director of Wine & Service at the resort, handpicked each wine in the 2,457-bottle inventory, which Wine Spectator honored with a 2022 Award of Excellence.
Creating the wine program for Harvest was like building an art collection. “Some of what I acquire is what I like, but I’m also looking at price, and ultimately I’m thinking about what the guest would like,” said Sarah. “My goal is to assemble interesting choices so that anyone who opens our wine list will think it’s fairly priced and will see something they want.”
The wines range in price from $50 to $5,200. The most expensive bottle? Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, a rare Burgundan Pinot Noir. The most popular varietal, however, is Cabernet Sauvignon from California.
“California Cabernet comprises the largest segment of our wine cellar by far,” says Sarah. “Many of our guests hail from the West and prefer old Cabernets from Napa. On the other hand, guests from the East Coast tend to prefer more European-style wines.”
While Sarah ensures the cellar is stocked with hard-to-get Napa Cabernets and stellar wines from the Old World, the list also showcases wonderful wines that are lesser known, offering an excellent opportunity to nudge a diner out of their comfort zone and into an amazing find that will delight their taste buds and pair well with Harvest’s menu. Every wine has a story, and Sarah is willing to share the history and anecdotes with the guest as part of the discovery experience.
After all, it’s the job of a wine connoisseur to taste and ponder wines, and Sarah’s travels to vineyards around the world continue to add new gems to the wine cellar. Feeling adventurous? Grab the corkscrew and let’s explore a few choice selections from the Castle Hot Springs wine cellar.
While exploring wine regions in South America, Sarah discovered wines that mirrored guests’ flavor profiles.
“Vik Cabernet Sauvignon is a Chilean Cabernet blended with Carménère, a grape originally from Bordeaux that now thrives in Chile. It’s been a hit with guests who love California Cabernets,” said Sarah.
For guests who crave the taste of Old Word Bordeaux, she found under-the-radar wines in Argentina, where old French rootstock still exists. “Some of the best Bordeaux-style wine is actually being made in Argentina,” she says, citing Caetana as one old-school family who is producing Malbec wines. Argentina is the world’s largest producer of Malbec, but the grape originated in France and is one of the permitted red grapes in Bordeaux wines.
From Alsace, one of her favorite wine regions, Sarah likes the bone-dry Zind Blend produced by Domaine Zind-Humbrecht. “It’s lighter than chardonnay, not driven by oak, and goes well with a lot of our first courses that showcase the farm’s produce,” she said.
Interested in a Pinot Noir that you won’t easily find elsewhere? Harvest is one of only two restaurants to have “Back of the Envelope” Pinot Noir from Et Fille Winery, a split lot acquired at a recent Willamette Valley wine auction. The vineyard’s name comes from the winemaker’s father who wrote the winery’s business plan on the back of an envelope.
If you want to try some of the best Syrahs in the world, ask for E. Guigal, a family-owned vineyard in the northern Rhone region of France. Try the 1990 E. Guigal “La Mouline” Côte-Rôtie, the 1990 E. Guigal “La Turque” Côte-Rôtie, or the 1990 E. Guigal “La Landonne” Côte-Rôtie.
“These unbelievably good wines are all about balance and they only get better with age,” says Sarah.
What is she excited about adding next? “I’m making room for Arizona wineries like Arizona Stronghold, and Arizona Sake too. I’m also creating a robust selection of natural, biodynamic and organic wines as we’re now seeing the results of vineyards who invested in the massive upfront cost to convert to organic or biodynamic years ago, and the product is worth it.”
Overwhelmed by choice? If you find a wine list daunting, and many do, a good sommelier can be your best friend.
“Just tell me what wine you drink at home, name the producer, and give me a price range,” said Sarah. “I’ll bring you three choices, explain why I think you’ll like each, and you choose one.”
Before you know it, you’ll be a wine connoisseur yourself, developing the qualities of curiosity, and memory, building on the knowledge of what you like and have tasted before. Cheers!