In
1990, The Pahrump Winery opened for business to the amazement of some and
the disbelief of others. At that time, Pahrump was a dusty little town with
a brothel and not much else. The Pahrump Winery became the state’s oldest
and largest winery (with two other wineries in Northern Nevada). After
several attempts to develop a vineyard and produce fine wine under the
original ownership, the winery was sold to a Colorado company in 2002 with
Bill and Gretchen Loken as part of the management team.
Pahrump in 2002 was vastly
different from the Pahrump of 1990, with the addition of affordable homes, a
Wal-Mart Supercenter (and other retail establishments), casinos and a new
feel to this little town. People working in Las Vegas were willing to
commute to and from Pahrump, travel to Pahrump for a day trip and the Lokens
took the plunge and purchased the winery and restaurant in 2005.
Improvements and renovations continued including new winemaking equipment,
barrel room, renovation of the wine-tasting rooms, and a whole new feel to
the restaurant.
Gretchen worked with the
existing vineyard beginning in 2002 with the intention of producing wine
from that vineyard.
It
took three summers but the first crop was harvested in August, 2005 and aged
for an
additional two years before the first-ever estate bottled red wine believed
to be produced in Nevada was released on April 16, 2008. The wine, named
“Nevada Ridge,” is a 2005 Zinfandel. “We’re proud to produce the first red
wine from grapes grown solely in Nevada,” said Bill Loken. “It is a
historical, one-time event for the state of Nevada. There’s only one crush,
like there’s only one first kiss.” Loken does qualify his statement by
saying that Nevada Ridge is believed to be the first estate red wine
produced in Nevada since Frank “Pop” Buol, a pioneering settler of Pahrump,
was bonded to sell wine in the 1930s but there is little information about
Buol’s vineyard. An Estate wine is a wine where the vineyard has total
control from growing the grapes to producing the wine to bottling it to
creating the label.
Pahrump Valley Wine will
produce about 1,200 bottles or 100 cases of Nevada Ridge. The name
represents the Nevada-California border since Pahrump is only a few miles
from California. “The gold, silkscreen wine label shows the outline of a
mountain ridge and evokes images of the picturesque desert sunsets over the
Pahrump Valley,” said Loken.
Pahrump Valley Winery also
offers Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Peak White, Symphony, Desert Blush, American
Burgundy, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Crème Sherry produced with grapes
grown in California. Just to give you an idea of the quality of wine, the
winery has won over 118 national awards since 2004. There is quite a treat
for wine connoisseurs.
But in additional to the
winery and wine tastings, there is Symphony’s at the Winery, an intimate
gourmet restaurant open for lunch and dinner. According to Gretchen, when
they were remodeling the restaurant, the sommelier from Bradley Ogden was
visiting the winery and asked them what they were going to name of their new
restaurant. “Bill said he didn’t have a name, so the sommelier said that we
should name it after our most popular wine, Symphony. We do cook with it
and it is in many of our dishes. So it became Symphony’s at the Winery.”
Everything here is upscale
with white linens, beautiful plates, cutlery and specialties. As Bill
stated, “It is a combination what people respond to and what Gretchen and I
like, so we put it on the menu and we hope our patrons like it too.” Their
lobster bisque is one of their best selling items and I have to say, it is
incredible. Other dishes include Alaska halibut, salmon, chicken limone,
oven roasted chicken and flame grilled Black Angus steak.
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“It is not our intend and
we don’t like to use the term fine dining because it conjures up an image of
too much of a stuffy atmosphere in that sense. We want people to come here
to eat and enjoy what I would call a little more sophisticated comfort food
in a very nice setting so they get some of the trappings and feeling of
being in a fine dining restaurant without having to dress that way, so I
like to use the term upscale casual,” said Loken. “I love it when our
customers come to us and say to us that they spent X number of dollars and
they had a meal that was every bit as good as they would have in Las Vegas
and it cost half as much. I love that.”
The desserts were
incredible with a Chocolate Lava Volcano that was TOO decadent as well as
other wonderful treats. There is a wine steward to help with pairings and
just a warm atmosphere to enjoy a special day trip. Plan on spending some
time in the winery with the tastings, enjoying the surrounding outdoors and
indulging in a wonderful lunch or dinner. It is well worth the trip and one
of Nevada’s best accomplishments in wine.
Pahrump Valley Winery
Symphony’s at the Winery
3810
Winery Road
Pahrump, NV 89048
775-751-7800
www.pahrumpwinery.com
