MonaciEnoteca

06/17/2024

Happy Father’s Day Pops… You Are An Amazing Father, A Great Friend, Mentor and Jack of All Trades In Which I Learned The Jacks of Life… Will Always Remember and Cherish You Teaching Me on How to Handle a Chain Saw and The Approach To Cutting Trees… And I’ll Never Forget The Time We Were Cutting Trees At Noni’s House in Alhambra… and I leaned in to Grab a Big Branch to Cut It Down to Size and The Chain Saw by Weight Caught My Left Calf and Cut a Quarter Size Flesh Wound… (Still Can See The Scar ~ HaHa)
I Must have been Thirteen or Fourteen Years Old… You Jumped into Action and All was Good… and Noni and You Patched it with Gauze and ButterFly Bandages… All I was Thinking was that Mom would had Rushed Me to Hospital (being The HardRocks Nurse She Was) and as We Went Back to More Tree Cutting, I was Laughing as You Told Me “DON’T TELL MOM… CAPISCI… DON’T TELL MOM”… Of Course She Found Out… How Many Trees I’ve Ssen You Cut from Camping Trips for Home Firewood to Clearly Properties as a Side Gig… And Here You are in Sedona Cutting Down Maybe Your Last Tree at Eight Months from Turning 89 Years Old… You Never Stopped Moving… Love You Pops and Miss You Greatly… And Mom Too! OHH… And the Last Two Photos… The Enthusiasm on My Pops Face… Classic!

05/05/2024

04/23/2024

Sunday Hiking Paying Homage to Earth Day ~ Monday, April 22nd. “In Every Walk in Nature One Receives Far More Than He Seeks.” ~ John Muir
Started Out at Soldier Pass Trail Parking… “Don’t Wait for the Shuttle… Just Go”… to Devil’s Kitchen Sink Hole and then East to Cibola Pass (Where I Met Cinque Italiano Hikers… Bravo!)… Connected to Jordan Trail and on Up to Brins Mesa. From Brins… On Up the next Butte (which I call “Montagne Russe… Reminds Me of a Roller Coaster) … Descend and East via Brins Mesa Trail to Soldiers Pass with Some Excurions to the West, reconnect Soldier Pass… Seven Sacred Pools… Devil’s Kitchen… SP Trail Parking… Beer… Earth Day 2024! #

09/16/2023

Drinking Into The Whiskey Weekend with The Frank August…

“Frank. The state of being open, honest and sincere. A philosophy we have built our brand upon. Bourbon is America’s native spirit, but as intrinsically steeped in the American experience as bourbon
is, it has predominantly had one story; one of origin. Respectfully, we believe there is a more expansive story to tell, one that belongs to all of us because it
will be told by all of us. Frank August exists to evolve the identity of bourbon by uniting authenticity with modernity. Taking the best of where we’ve been and projecting those ideals into where we have yet to go. So let the story of bourbon continue; as the story of Frank August begins.”
~ the Frank august.com
The Frank August and Frank Sinatra are Some of My Franks… What Are Some Of Your Franks?? Enjoy Some Bourbon this Weekend Celebrating National Bourbon Heritage Month… DM to Request Stockists to Buy
All Photos ~ Credited To… The Frank August Instagram and thefrankaugust.com #

09/13/2023

N V E R F O R G E T…
N E V E R A G A I N…
Thoughts and Prayers Photo @ 6:35 PM September 11th, 2023 Sedona, Arizona… Sedona Fire Station No. 6… Paying Homage… To The Families That Lost Their Loved Ones... 🇺🇸 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

09/13/2023

N E V E R F O R G E T…
N E V E R A G A I N…
Thoughts and Prayers Photo @ 6:35 PM September 11th, 2023 S Dona, Arizona… Sedona Fire Station No. 6… Paying Homage… To The Families That Lost Their Loved Ones... 🇺🇸 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

08/17/2023

Pleased and Excited to Announce One Of the Three Owners of Vins Claramunt, that being Eric Lopez, will be Visiting Arizona Starting Sunday, August 20th Thru Saturday, August 26th… Gonna Be a Busy Week! Special Shout Out To Xavier & Eduard Llaguna ~ Owner Partners. Arizona is the First State to Receive The New 2022 Vintage for The Blanc de Claramunt White Grenache and 2022 Vintage for The Claramunt Negre Red Grenache and Received more of The 2017 Vintage for The Claramunt Reserva (Syrah 85% and Merlot 15% with Aging in French Oak Casks for 22 Months

~ “Claramunt is a work by brothers Eduard & Xavier Llaguno, along with Eric López. We began with a simple philosophy: to craft a truly unique experience through wine. For us, this is more than a wine: it is a form of artistic expression and homage to our heritage. By combining exceptional terroir and artisanship, webring to you a product of supreme quality.
The name Claramunt is an homage made by Eduard & Xavier, to their hometown La Pobla de Claramunt and its founding family, who founded the town over 1.000 years ago. Our wines are produced in the town of Batea, in the Terra Alta D.O (Denominació d’Origen) of Catalonia. We work side by side with Josep MariaVaquer, who carries on his family’s centuries-old wine making tradition.
Around 4,000 hectares of vineyards are cultivated, making an annual production of around 20 million kilos of grapes. The vines are mainly on dry land, with a low rain fall rate, and long hours of exposure to the sun in the summer time. The vineyards are kept in a healthy state thanks to the combination of two predominant winds: the ‘cierzo’, which is very dry, and the ‘garbí’, a local humid wind.”
“A glass of wine at the right moment is worth more than all the riches in the world.” ~ Vins Claramunt #

06/24/2023

The Wolves are Restless… Here in Arizona… Introducing Wolves Black Label Single Malt: The Malted Barely Series… No of Barrels: 11 Years Aged: 7 Proof 110 Label Wrap: Italian Sheepskin… This Should be Added To Your Collection.
S T O R Y
“Wolves is American whiskey made in California from an equally creative group of founders, also based in California. Wolves is distilled in Sonoma County by 13th generation Master Distiller Marko Karakasevic using an old, slow, brandy still that was imported from Cognac in 1983.

Uniquely, Wolves signature blend consists of whiskey created from refined craft beer, and Rye whiskey. The flavor profile is unlike anything else on the market.”
P R O C E S S

Master Distiller Marko Karakasevic creates a small batch (10 barrels) of distillate over a 10-day period, sleeping in four hour shifts so that he alone can make each cut, selecting “the heart of hearts” for double distillation in the small still. The distillation process is far less efficient than an industry-standard column still, but the end result is whiskey with more body, flavor, and viscosity.
In between each release, the Pilsner, Stout, and Rye whiskeys continue to age and change in the Oak. The Wolves team recreates the blend for each release, adjusting the percentages and proofs of the Stout, Pilsner, and Rye whiskeys to find the right balance for that particular moment in time. This process takes more than a dozen attempts and a few weeks to get right.
The full blend is finally cut with the mineral rich water from the Russian River.”

“Don’t sleep on Wolves – we just wish it was a little easier to get ahold of.”
~ Maxim Magazine

06/16/2023

Pleased and Excited (Fc***ng Excited) to Announce Our Vins Claramunt Three Pallets (Fc***ng Hefty Pallets Of 72 Cases Each) Have Arrived to Phoenix, Arizona… Arizona is the First State to Receive The New (Fc***ng New) 2022 Vintage for The Blanc de Claramunt White Grenache and 2022 Vintage for The Claramunt Negre Red Grenache and Received more of The 2017 Vintage for The Claramunt Reserva (Syrah 85% and Merlot 15% with Aging in French Oak Casks for 22 Months (Yup… Aging 22 “Fc***ng” Months)… Giving The Boys and Girls a Rest in The WareHouse before Breaking ‘Em Out to The Arizona Market… Bravo… Brava…

~ “Claramunt is a work by brothers Eduard & Xavier Llaguno, along with Eric López. We began with a simple philosophy: to craft a truly unique experience through wine. For us, this is more than a wine: it is a form of artistic expression and homage to our heritage. By combining exceptional terroir and artisanship, webring to you a product of supreme quality.
The name Claramunt is an homage made by Eduard & Xavier, to their hometown La Pobla de Claramunt and its founding family, who founded the town over 1.000 years ago. Our wines are produced in the town of Batea, in the Terra Alta D.O (Denominació d’Origen) of Catalonia. We work side by side with Josep MariaVaquer, who carries on his family’s centuries-old wine making tradition.
Around 4,000 hectares of vineyards are cultivated, making an annual production of around 20 million kilos of grapes. The vines are mainly on dry land, with a low rain fall rate, and long hours of exposure to the sun in the summer time. The vineyards are kept in a healthy state thanks to the combination of two predominant winds: the ‘cierzo’, which is very dry, and the ‘garbí’, a local humid wind.”
“A glass of wine at the right moment is worth more than all the riches in the world.” ~ Vin Claramunt #

05/19/2023

Sneaked In a Two Hour Hike Wednesday Evening… And Sneaked Out Alive… During the Last 45 Minutes of the Hike… Trekking Down a Deer Path @ 8:30 No Lamp… Nite~ Hiking… Ch ~ Ch ~ Ch… Rattle! Within Splitting Seconds I Stopped and Expressed My Bodily Composure as Non~Threatening and Not An Aggressore… All The While at the Same Time Listening for the Location of the Rattle in Order to Slowly & Skillfully Exit Myself from The Area… From the Sound of the Rattle I knew The Rattlesnake was a “Youngin”… so instantly Knew the Striking Distance was Less than Three Feet & and even less with Rock and Foliage Prohibiting… All in All A “Cool” Experience… Just Remember… Calm & Collective… The Rattle of a RattleSnake is a Warning if to be An Aggressore… They’re One of Nature’s Best and Know When Something/SomeOne Is An Aggressore… Lessons by John Muir after His First RattleSnake Experience… Ohh & Got a Good Poke in the Calf by an Agave Plant and Hiking In The Rain… Love Nature… Hike More… Thank You Sedona!

04/29/2023

Cafe Monarch ~ Old Town Scottsdale ~ Arizona… Need I Say More… MonaciEnoteca is Pleased and Excited to Share that The Last of The 2016 Vintage of Guado Al Melo “ A T I S “ Bolgheri DOC Superiore is at Cafe Monarch…
Enjoyed… Guido al Melo… Bolgheri DOC… Michele Scienza… Terroir Wines… Artisanality… Sustainability… Library Wines… Museum… Culture… Ecological… Attilio Scienza… “A T I S”… Scorperta!… “ A T I S “ is the Name of a Mythic King, Zeus’s Grandchild. According to a Legend, He is at the Origen of the Etruscan People, the First Inhabitants Of Our Territory and First Wine~Growers in Italy. They used to Grow Grapevines trained (“Married”) to Trees, as in Nature… “In The Ancient Poetry, the Vine Married to a Tree was the Indissoluble Love Metaphor” .germain.3333

04/29/2023

Cafe Monarch ~ Old Town Scottsdale ~ Arizona… Need I Say More… MonaciEnoteca is Pleased and Excited to Share that The Last of The 2016 Vintage of Guado Al Melo “ A T I S “ Bolgheri DOC Superiore is at Cafe Monarch…
Enjoyed… Guido al Melo… Bolgheri DOC… Michele Scienza… Terroir Wines… Artisanality… Sustainability… Library Wines… Museum… Culture… Ecological… Attilio Scienza… “A T I S”… Scorperta!… “ A T I S “ is the Name of a Mythic King, Zeus’s Grandchild. According to a Legend, He is at the Origen of the Etruscan People, the First Inhabitants Of Our Territory and First Wine~Growers in Italy. They used to Grow Grapevines trained (“Married”) to Trees, as in Nature… “In The Ancient Poetry, the Vine Married to a Tree was the Indissoluble Love Metaphor” .germain.3333

04/27/2023

Eccitata… Eccitato… Very Excited & Thank You GenuWine for The Invitation To Pour And Share Wines at Your Wine Club Appreciation Event… A Thank You To GenuWine Wine Club Members… This Sunday, April 30th from 1:00 to 4:00PM… If You and Yours Have Not Signed Up For Wine Club Membership… Stop On By and Sign Up and If You are New To DownTown Phoenix… This is Your Wine Bar and Check It Out… You’ll Probably Sign Up… Lots Of Wine, Beer On Tap and Boards To Enjoy… See You All GenuWine Club Members this Sunday… #

04/26/2023

Two Weeks Ago Today… Montagne Russe Wines By The Hands Kevin Bersofsky Met Arizona… And What a Welcoming The Arizona Wine Seen Gave His Wines & Kevin… A Huge Shout Out “Thank You” to EveryOne that Gave Us the Time to Taste Montagne Russe Wines and Hear The Roller Coaster Story by Kevin about His Wine Journey… Looking forward to Montagne Russe and Kevin’s next Visit. The Wines: Montagne Russe ~ 2021 Tous Les Deux… a Beautiful White Wine Blend of Pinot Gris & Pinot Noir, Petaluma Gap, Sonoma Coast, 2021 La Cruz Chardonnay, Keller Estate, Sonoma Coast, 2018 Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, 2019 “Dragon’s Back” Pinot Noir Black Knights Vineyard, Sonoma Coast, 2019 “Robert’s Road Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, 2019 “Birchbark” Pinot Noir TONDRE Greapefield, Santa Lucia Highlands, 2018 “Alder Springs Vineyard” Syrah, Sonoma Coast, 2018 “Old Lakeville Vineyard” Syrah, Sonoma Coast and… 2019 “Claire ~ Obscure” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley… “Ohh Pritchard?!?” .brixwines .di.sedona_az

04/01/2023

Friday’s are Made For Moving Into The Weekend To Tell Stories On Monday… Tasting Some Samples of Montagne Russes Wines Over The Weekend in Preparazione of Launching Montagne Russe Wine Week Starting The Week of April 10th… Stay Tuned for Calendar of Public and Industry Tastings…

03/09/2023

Happy International Women’s Day 2023… Here’s To All The Amazing Women In Our World… Especially For My Mom... And For My Family Classic Ladies…Today We Toast All The Heroine And BadAss Women... (Again, Especially My Mom...) Out There Chasing Their Dreams and Teaching Young Women How to Chase Their Dreams Too, By Making Things Happen With A Stance of Grace, Morals, & Integrity... and Much More! To All The Women in Our Lives ( ) (Noni Constantina Monaci & Noni Fanini “Fanny” Piroli) Who Have Inspired Us & Me (-GodMother) ( & ) upported Us ( Piroli & CostantinaMonaci-Noni) Loved Us, Laughed With Us () or Shared a Story While Holding a Glass of Wine or Whiskey ( & )... Here's To You Today, Tomorrow, And Never Forget Yesterday's Memories ( Mary & AuntVi)!… And New Too My Life… Bibiana González Rave and Kristin Humphreys ( ) ❤️

02/16/2023

Today’s Sedona Snow Reminder Me of My Last Snow Hike Up A.B. Young Trail in Oak Creek Canyon… February 5th, 2023… What a Gorgeous Day Hitting the 33 SwitchBacks with An Elevation Gain of 2000Ft… Now Add In The Snow…
The First 5 Switchbacks were pretty clean of Snow… Then North Facing SwitchBacks were Somewhat Clear of Snow and South Facing SwitchBacks were Snow Filled… I think hitting SwitchBacks 23 Thru 25 The Hiker Previously Before Me Stopped and Turned Around… At This Point I had To Create My Own Footing and Steps for the Remainder of the Trail to The Top… Definitely Dressed Up Warm, but Snow Soaking Shoes and Socks… Didn’t Think There would be that Much Snow and No WaterProof Socks or Snow Gators… Once at The Top… Search a Nice Sun Exposed Boulder and One with Some Wind Protection… Tore Off the Shoes and Socks and placed on Sun Exposed Rocks… Ripped Out the North Face Wind Breaker and Sleeved Up My Feets and Second Layer in The Pockets… I then Grabbed a Sock and Human Blow Dried it… then the Second Sock the Same… After About a 40 Minute Rest and Warm Up… The Hike Down would Be Much Desirable… Oh The Adventures Hiking… Love It… wanted To Hit Up The Fire Tower, But Knew It Best To Head Back… #2023 🌲

02/02/2023

Lessons To The Soul, The Mind, And Physical Body… Trails Giving Comfort… Photo Captures of The Days… 01/19/23 5:32PM Chapel Devotion to VAMonaci, 5:44PM Little Horse To Chicken Point, 5:57 Chicken Point SuntSet… 01/20/23 5:35 Devil’s Kitchen Sink Hole ~ Fire and Ice, 01/21/23 4:49 Ice & Moss Long’s Canyon, 5:03 Moss & Ice Long’s Canyon, 5:16 Ice & Moss Long’s Canyon Exiting View to 4:49 Capture Entering View, 01/22/23 5:42PM Bear Mountain Alligator Knotted Tree SunSet View, 5:46 Bear Mountain SunSet View

12/22/2022

M O R E T H A N E V E R . . . I Pledge Allegiance To The Flag Of The United States Of America …N O W W I L L
C O N G R E S S. . . ? . . . Where are the Questions???

12/08/2022

What does the Morning of
7 December 1941, at 7.48am local time mean to You… 177 aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. I think I only saw One Post for referencing Peral Harbor, December 7, 1941… I think It’s Important to Remember History… to Remember not Only December 7th, but 911… if We Lose Touch… I’m Afraid We just Might Lose Our Touch to What Freedom Is and How to Fight For It.
With a Photo Within Of a Naval Officer… He Announces… Chief Boatswain's Mate Joseph L. George will be posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroic achievement while serving aboard the repair ship USS Vestal (AR 4). George, a second class petty officer at the time, saved the lives of several Sailors from the battleship USS Arizona (BB 39). He survived the war and retired from the Navy in 1955, but passed away in
1996. The Bronze Star Medal will be presented by Rear Adm. Matthew J. Carter, deputy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, to George's daughter, Joe Ann Taylor, on Dec. 7 during a 4:30 p.m. (Hawaii-Aleutian time) ceremony at the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.
“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 a Date which will Live in Infamy” ~ FDR
My Family is a Military Family… and I almost was to Serve too… Grateful for My Family and All The Veterans!The Last Photo is of My Great Zio James Paluzzi…
#

10/25/2022

Two Photo Captires of the Day… Due Scatti Fotografici del Giorno… Beautiful Day and Hike in Sedona… Bella Giornata ed Escursione a Sedona… Bravo… Brava… Sunday, October 23rd Photo #1 ~ 4:46PM… Photo #2 3:15PM… Somewhere along Munds Trial and HangOver Trail… Bellissima!

10/23/2022

Photo Capture of The Day… Saturday, October 22… 4:01PM… What a Beautiful Day To Be Outside in Sedona… q 🌲

09/12/2022

N E V E R F O R G E T…
N E V E R A G A I N…
Thoughts and Prayers for The Families That Lost Their Loved Ones Thoughts and Prayers for The Families That Changed Their Lives To Fight For The American Spirit…And Saddened Yet Grateful for the Heroism That EveryOne Gave That Day And Beyond... 🇺🇸 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

08/19/2022

Taking National Pinot Noir Day… Today, August 18th Straight Into Puppies and Pinot on Saturday, August 20th @ Oeno Wine Lounge in Collaborazione with High Country Humane Society
y’All Invited To Oeno Wine Lounge To Hang with All The Puppies and Drink Pinot… what’s Better than Drinking Pinot and Adopting a Puppy! What an Awesome GiveBack to the Flagstaff Community and Dog Lovers (& WineLovers)… Created by the Thoughts of Dara Sprinces Wong, Tyler McBribe, High Country Humane Society and the Entire Team at Oeno… I’m very Excited to Pour Some Pinot and Raise Some Dollars with Oeno Wine Lounge and High Country Humane Society… Special Shout to Deb at Oeno!!! See You All There… Shout Out To Bibiana González Rave at Cattleya Wines, Domaine Henri Latour Et Fils Auxey Duresses Vieilles Vignes, and My Good Friend Kevin Bersofsky’s Winery Montagne Russe Who in in Collaborazione with The Birchbark Foundation in Sonoma… This Saturday, August 20th 11:00AM to 2:00PM… Stay Longer… Your Pups will Love You!

07/21/2022

C O U R S E ~ T W O . . .Pa’La ~ Wine Down The One last Tuesday! If You Missed This Food and Wine Pairing Experience… Then You Missed It… As Curated by Gilles Kolakowski, Tai~Kora Banks, and Chef Jason… There Will Be a Next Time!
| Charred Tomato | Fresh Wasabi | Castelvetrano Olives | Feta | Capers | Cattleya Cuvee Number Five 2018 Russian River Valley Chardonnay, Sonoma County, California |Assemblage: 100% Chardonnay | By The Wine Maker: Bibiana González~ Rave | This Charred Tomato Salad
Delivered An Assortment of Flavors All Balanced at Once and Then Disturbed in The Best Graces of the Culinary Heart… And Then Back To All Balanced Flavors Enhancing Each Other. And Then Enters Cattleya Cuvee Number Five 2018 Russian River Valley Chardonnay… Each and Every Flavor Threshold Elevated to The Next Level… The Umami of The Tomatoes are Slightly Calmed by the Charred Notes and then Only to Be Excited by The Fresh Wasabi… At This Point You Think this Super Well Balanced Chardonnay of Soft Buttery Notes and Hints of Oak and Fruit Characteristics of this Chardonnay would Fall Off and Fail to Carry This Dish to The Next Level… Then You Realized “Second Level”… This Chardonnay didn’t Stop and Further Carried the Palate to Enhance The
Castelvetrano Olives, The Feta, and The Capers with Vinaigrette… The Dish Lasted… The Chardonnay Lasted… They Carried Themselves to The End!… Only To Open The Up The Next Course… GrazieGrazie Pa’La, Gilles, Kai~Kora & Chef Jason .jasonalford

07/17/2022

Pa’La ~ Wine Down The One last Tuesday was an Amazing Food and Wine Pairing Curated by the Thoughts and Hands of Gilles Kolakowski, Tai~Kora Banks, and Chef Jason.
| Kumamoto Ousters | Tomato Ponzu | Domaine Jean ~ Paul Ballard, Sauvignon Blanc , Sancerre 2019 Grand Cuvee, Sancerre, Loire Valley, France: Assemblage: 100% Sauvignon Blanc. The Ousters ~ “Enjoyed by beginners and pros alike, Kumamoto Oysters are a popular favorite due to their fruity, sweet, melon-scented flavor and light brininess. Named after its origin place, these native Japanese oysters are mainly grown in the Pacific Northwest and endearingly called "Kumies." I Paired this DJPB Sancerre with The ‘Kumies’ cause both the Oysters and the Sancerre have Melon Scented Notes and Melon-Dew, along with Citrus on the Palate. A Perfect Pairing… an Then You add in the Umami notes of the Tomato and the Citrus Tart~Tangy and Vinaigrette notes all within the Tomato Ponzu Sauce… Every Element of this Dish and the Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc is Contained and Balanced. I always Field a Great Food and Wine Pairing any Chance I May… It Excites the Soul! GrazieGrazie Pa’La, Gilles, Kai~Kora & Chef Jason .jasonalford