An affair to remember

By Frances Vanderploeg

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008 | midnight

For several of the UNLV Wine Affair's visitors, time was best spent talking to friends while relaxing on couches next to where the wine was being poured.

Few seemed to realize that only a few steps away they would find an actual vineyard, similar to those that produced the wine they drank. The vineyard is part of the attraction in Green Valley Ranch Resort's backyard and was intended to be one of the highlights of the event Sept. 19.

The Wine Affair, a partnership of UNLV's College of Hotel Administration students and DeLuca Liquor and Wine Ltd., allowed residents and resort customers to experience the world of high-end wines and walk away with a bit of an education.

Mohsen Azizsoltani, UNLV professor and event director, intended for the vineyards to play a role in the evening's event, with guided vineyard tours conducted by a master sommelier. The idea wasn't fully realized and tours were not conducted, but, Azizsoltani said, he hopes to change that for future Wine Affairs.

Master Sommelier Thomas Burke, director of education for DeLuca, was available at the event to provide information on wine education and vineyards.

No wine is produced at the vineyard at Green Valley Ranch Resort, hotel officials said.

That is understandable, Burke said. The balance of sugars and acids are most important in the production of quality wines, he said. The hot climate throws off the balance by producing sugars faster than acids, he said.

"You can really grow vines anywhere … but can you make great wine out of it? That's the question," Burke said of the possibility of getting wine-producing grapes from the vineyard. "If I'm going to exaggerate the point, it's like growing grapes on the moon. … It's cool to see, but you lose a lot of acidity in the end."

Wine experts at the event tried to figure out what kind of grapes were being grown, but Claes Landberg, vice president and assistant general manager at Green Valley, revealed they are not vitis vinifera, or wine-producing grapes. The purpose of the vineyard is only to add to the atmosphere and serenity of the resort.

"Even if these were vinifera grapes, Las Vegas' climate would make it difficult (to make wine)," he said. "This was part of the original design, and meant to create an atmosphere that hasn't been realized before at a Las Vegas resort."

Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or [email protected].