Provençal Pairings: Wine with Food

Blending In

Winery: Los Milics
Cuvée: Renato’s
Appellation: Jenny’s Vineyard, Cochise County, Arizona
Type: Red
Vintage: 2020
Grape Varieties: Grenache 58.5%, Graciano 26%, Tempranillo 10%, Monastrell 4.5%, Syrah 1%
Alcohol: 14.5%
Average Retail Price: U.S. $26.00

I’m a sucker for a good red blend. And looking at today’s blend — especially the Graciano, Tempranillo, and Monastrell (more commonly known in France as Mourvèdre)— you might think I’d slipped into Spain from Provence. Instead, think New Spain, as in Arizona. While it was then only a small part of the Vice royalty of New Spain, which also included parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California, Arizona is now producing some really fine wines with these grapes, as well as many other varieties.

Today’s wine is from Los Milics Winery in Elgin, Arizona, just a little over an hour south of Tucson. I’ve been down to the winery for several tastings, and just recently for a wonderful conversation with the winery co-owner, Mo Garfinkle. Garfinkle has been passionate about wine since he was a teen visiting the home of his childhood friend whose father owned a gourmet food store. There would always be three or four smelly cheeses and a couple of wines out for the tasting. His lifelong interest in wine has brought him to consider purchasing vineyards in Tuscany or New Zealand but, when he met winemaker Pavle Milic at a well known Phoenix restaurant, an Arizona partnership was forged. Just a few years later, Los Milics Winery opened.

At each tasting I attended, Renato’s was offered. This wine really spoke to me and I came home with quite a few bottles. Los Milics’ chef Ana Borrajo, from Grenada, Spain, offers a variety of small plates at the winery, each designed to go with all five wines in the tasting. A single dish that pairs well with white, rosé, and red wines is quite a feat; pulling that off with the entire menu is quite impressive. (Starting in June, dinners will be offered along with the possibility of an overnight stay on the property in one of their beautifully designed casitas; read more about the winery at Cocoa & Lavender). Chef Borrajo gave me a recipe to share with you — one that is currently not on the winery menu: her Salmorejo. It is a refreshing Spanish summer soup, and it doubles as a sauce for a variety of tapas. Her recipes for the soup and one tapa are on Cocoa & Lavender.

Renato’s is a deep ruby red in color, with a complex nose of dark plum, blackberry, cherry, and leather, with a touch of smoke. It is a very smooth wine with medium to low tannins; it’s earthy with notes of dried plum, and dark red and black fruits on the palate. It paired seamlessly with the Salmorejo, and with her Bruschetta with Salmorejo, Jamón Serrano, and Manchego. In addition, this wine drinks beautifully on its own without food.

The varieties grown at Los Milic are from a broad swath of the Mediterranean from Croatia to Spain. Garfunkel shared with me that, in addition to all they are growing now, they are experimenting with additional grapes in our Arizona soil. Milic is a master of blending and producing fine wines, and I look forward to more great releases in the near future!

I have enjoyed all of the wines I sampled Los Milics. Hannah’s and Sandra’s recently won the 2024 Best White and 2024 Best Rosé in the Arizona Governors Cup, and Sandra’s (rosé) won 2024 Best Wine in Arizona. (Sandra’s is named for Arizona’s iconic judge Sandra Day O’Connor.) When visiting Arizona, I highly recommend a trip down to Elgin for a visit (reservations recommended). The staff is warm and welcoming, as well as incredibly knowledgeable. With the opening of the casitas, visitors will be able to make Southern Arizona a wonderful destination for culinary, cultural, and nature exploration. It’s the full package.