MY BIRTHDAY TRIP ~ June 9, 2007

Well, what exciting destination do you think I chose for my birthday weekend trip? Route 66 of course! I wanted to do a few things that we didn’t get around to the last time, and I also wanted to attend a special lecture at the Riordan Mansion State Historic Park in Flagstaff. That wasn’t going to be till the evening, so we took a leisurely drive up north on Saturday morning. Usually we’re in a hurry to get somewhere but since we had plenty of time on this day, Rich wanted to stop at the San Dominique Winery.

Located in the hills above the Verde Valley at 4,600 feet just off I-17 and Hwy 169 (southeast corner), the San Dominique Winery was founded in 1978 with a vineyard of premium varieties of wine grapes. Owner William Staltari continues the tradition handed down to him by his father, Joseph Severio Staltari, who in 1903 brought his family’s fine food and wine recipes to America from Calabria, Italy. In addition to 16 varieties of award-winning wines, the San Dominique Winery also offers over 65 gourmet garlic products – thus their website is called www.garlicparadise.com.

It had been years since we’d stopped at the San Dominique Winery. I wasn’t even sure if they were still in business, because the place looked run down and their signs on the side of I-17 weren’t visible any more. When we headed east on Hwy 169 (Cherry Road) and then down the dirt driveway toward the winery, it still didn’t look promising. There were old vehicles and other junk laying around, the outdoor patio furniture was faded and dusty, and I would have thought the place was abandoned until we got out and went up to the building which was hidden behind some large trees.

The exterior of San Dominique Winery may be past its prime, but “you can’t judge a book by its cover.” They still offer a great selection of unique Arizona-grown products, all of which are professionally packaged with their own labels and look just like those found on a gourmet grocery store shelf. Some are seasonal, but most are available year-round. All of their original recipes are formulated and packed in their own kitchen using only the freshest fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. These are preserved in glass jars and bottles with the use of pickling and brine solutions, and without the use of fillers, chemical preservatives, or MSG. They also use organically grown produce when available locally.

Some of their products include: Pickled Carrots, Garlic Mayonnaise, Garlic Dijon Mustard, Pickled Garlic, Bread Dipping Sauce, Raspberry Chipotle Barbeque Sauce, Sun Dried Tomato Salsa, Roasted Garlic Salsa, Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce, Tangy Garlic Dressing, Sweet Lemon Rosemary Dressing, Classic Caesar Dressing, Roasted Sweet Pepper Jam, Chocolate Fudge Sauce, and Dessert Toppings. (No, the last two don’t contain any garlic, ha!)

Visitors are welcome between the hours of 10am-5pm, seven days a week. So if you’re a garlic lover, wine taster, or gourmet food connoisseur, consider taking a detour over to San Dominique whenever you’re on your way up north.