If you were to ask most wine producers about the market in Utah, I’m sure responses would range from  “Where is Utah” to “Drinking is illegal there, isn’t it?” However, more and more importers and distributors are doing a great job of bringing producers and wine makers to Utah for special events, dinners and tastings.

This past Sunday around 40 people had the wonderful opportunity to meet, eat and drink with Senor Joseph Puig from Vinedos de Ithaca in the Priorat region of Spain. I was lucky enough to be able to attend the event held at the always delicious Lugano restaurant here in Salt Lake. As an Italian restaurant, head chef Greg Neville didn’t disappoint with his Spanish themed dinner, which included such classic dishes and ingredients as paella, Jamon Iberico and one of my favorite cheeses, Cabrales.

The wines being produced by Senor Puig and his daughter Sylvia are classic Priorat wines, with all the minerals and ripe fruits you would typically find in wines from the region. Each wine has a very distinct label, and I was quite confused the first time I saw them, as they all have very Greek inspired designs. Playing heavily of the bodegas namesake, the wines we tasted at the dinner were the Akyles Red, as well as the Odysseus Red and White. I found the Odysseus red most intriguing as it had wonderful hints of cola, and absolutely incredible color extraction. Most surprisingly about the wine was its inclusion of 10% Touriga Nacional, a common Portuguese grape variety.

Senor Puig was a wonderfully open and warm person, which I have found all to often in every part of Spain. He was passionate about his work and clearly enjoyed the evening walking around the room speaking with people about his wonderful wines. He is involved in many different ventures in Spain, owning several restaurants, a high end delicatessen and is also the founder and manager of Torres in Chile and the international sales manager for Torres Spain. Being involved in so many different areas of the wine and gastronomic world, his passion clearly shines through in his wines and warm smile and gently manner.

Vinedos de Ithaca wines are available in Utah through the UDABC as well as selected markets throughout the US. If these wines are available in your market, I highly recommend seeking them out and trying them for yourself!

–Michael

With a brand new blog set up courtesy of the good people at catavino.net, I figured my first post should be about the fact that the P.R. Grisley Co. is a wine importer based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Yes, you read that correctly, Mormontown, U.S.A. Believe it or not, it is legal to drink here if you are of age, but unfortunately it is still illegal to dance in some counties in Southern Utah. While there are too many laws to discuss in detail, I thought I’d share what it is like to buy wine here on a daily basis, especially with two Spanish friends visiting for a few weeks. Here you go-

Carlos, Emi, and myself enter a State Liquor and Wine Store to check out the selection that an average wine store has in Utah. While I must admit, we have a decent selection based on other liquor stores I have been in around the country, there are areas that are definitely lacking, which I’ll save for another day.

The point of this story happens when we went to buy our selected wines and head home for a nice dinner. The store had the A/C pumping as the thermometer rises here, so Emi went outside to save herself from frostbite. Carlos and I, being the perfect gentlemen that we are, went to pay for everything and meet Emi outside. When we approached the cashier, she asked for our I.D.’s, which is nothing out of the ordinary. We obliged, but she insisted that Emi needed to come back inside and show her I.D………..rediculous. While I went outside to retrieve Emi and her elusive Spanish passport, Carlos was being lectured on how the cashier was unable to find the birthdate on Carlos’ I.D. He pointed the date out to her that was clearly printed on his I.D., but because she was unfamiliar with a Spanish drivers liscence, she would not sell us the wine. After trying to explain to her several times, that the Spanish switch placement of the month and date when writing out what day it is, I became fed up. I kindly asked to speak with the manager, who took a glance, said ok and enjoy. REALLY? Is it that simple I thought? Needless to say, we left with several big brown bags in our hands (the mark of a boozehound in Utah) and enjoyed our wine and our dinner. I still have been unsuccessful in explaining what exactly happened at the store to Emi and Carlos, but just wanted to fill everyone else in on how some of the laws work here in Utah and how tourists view them.