Arizona Wines- Ready for Prime Time

Several years ago friends visiting us at our Arizona home brought Mrs. Wine Guy and I a bottle of Vino del Barrio from Page Springs Cellars as a gift. The wine was bottled in Arizona and made from grapes made in Arizona.  Prior to this I did not know that you could grow grapes in Arizona let alone make wine.  I had never tasted an Arizona wine, was not looking forward to it, and was more than a bit surprised when the Vino del Barrio did not suck.   

That experience motivated us to make several wine tasting trips to Arizona wineries to dig a bit deeper.

At first there were very few wines that we would classify as outstanding (a Barbara produced by Javelina Leap Winery comes to mind), several were drinkable, and several more that had some serious flaws and had a way to go to catch up to wines from the more established wine regions.  

After each subsequent trip we found more wines outstanding and drinkable wines but still found several that were still a bit funky which reinforced our preconceived notion that Arizona was still in the minor leagues of winemaking.    

That all changed after we went on a recent wine tasting trip to Willcox, Az.  Willcox is where over 70% of Arizona grapes are grown.  (The two other major wine-growing regions in Arizona are  Sonoita, and Yavapai County ).  We tasted over 40 wines (relax we are not embarrassed to spit) and did not find a single wine we would not be willing to try again.  We found the vast majority of the wines outstanding.  

We were a bit shocked but in hindsight if you look at the pioneering spirit of Arizona winemakers and their focus on making quality wine  we should not have been.  

The Arizona wine industry started to get some notoriety after the release of the 2010 Movie  “Blood into Wine” (available on Netflix) which details the partnership of Maynard Keenan, leader of the heavy metal band Tool, and Eric Glomski, the pioneering winemaker who many credit with being the father of the modern Arizona Wine industry, in forming Caduceus Cellars, arguably the leading Arizona wine brand.  The movie brought a lot of aspiring winemakers and entrepreneurs out of the closet and jump-started a series of events that saw the Arizona wine industry grow from a dozen or so wineries 15 years ago to over 80 today.  Further evidence of that transformation was the recent creation of the Southwest Wine Center and the Viticulture (growing wine grapes) and Enology (making wine) programs at Yavapai college in central Arizona  The center and programs were started in large part through donations from Keenan, Glomski, and several other winemakers.  In addition to learning the science of growing grapes and making wine the program emphasizes hands on experience and features an on campus vineyard, winemaking facility, and tasting room.       

During our recent trip to Willcox we visited several wineries whose operations have come on line during the last decade.or so.  

Southern Arizona Sales Manager Catherine and Sam 

Our first stop was Pillsbury Wine Co. founded by Sam Pillsbury the man I now know is who I wanted to be when I grew up.  A native of New Zealand (he still has a home there) among his many accomplishments have been filmmaker, writer, home builder, drama professor and now winemaker.  Sam produces 14 varieties and his wines have won several awards. Our favorites were his white wines particularly his Chardonnay which, unlike most other Chardonnay, is not aged in new oak and does not go through malolactic fermentation resulting in a Chardonnay where all you taste is the fruit and not the vanilla and butter you taste in most other Chardonnay.

Dan Pierce

Our next stop was at Bodega Pierce.  This is a family affair. Dan Pierce handles the business operation while his son Michael Pierce who is in charge of the wine making. Michael does double duty as the department head for the Yavapai College enology program.  They bottle wines under the Bodega Pierce and Saeculum Cellars brands.  Among our favorites was their Saeculum Cellars “El Coraje” Tempranillo.  Tempranillo is one of the varietals that seems to grow especially will in Arizona as well as the Rhone Varietals such as Grenache, Viognier, Mourvedre, and Syrah.

Rhona MacMillan

Next door to Bodega Pierce was our next stop Zarpara.  Zarpara which is Spanish for setting sail something owners Rhona MacMillan (yes she is from Scotland) and Mark Jorve felt they did when they embarked on their winemaking adventure. Founded in 2009 Zarpara still makes some wines with grapes sourced from other states but is transitioning to 100% Arizona as their vineyard becomes more established.  We were particularly impressed with their 2013 “Origen” a blend of Arizona grown Garnacha, Syrah, and Monastrell. A medium body wine that we are looking forward to trying alongside some Mexican food.    

Jan Schaefer (center) with tasting room staff

Our first of two stops on our last day was Keeling-Schaefer.  In business for over 10 years it is owed by the husband and wife team of Rod Keeling and Jan Schaefer.  Rod had a number of jobs over the years including being a traffic reporter for a local radio station and a pilot.  He and Jan met while they were involved in economic development activities for the city of Tempe Arizona. They focus on mostly Rhone Varietals and we were extremely impressed with their  2013 Viognier.  

Robert Carlson and tasting room manager Roy

Our last stop was Carlson Creek.  Founded in 2008 Carlson Creek is truly a family operation with the parents, Bob and Liz Carlson co-owning the operation along with their children Robert, Katherine, and John  The children run the business with Robert in charge of sales, Katherine in charge of marketing and events, and John in charge of wine-making.  We brought home their “Rule of Three” a GSM, a combination Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre.  

All this means that if you live in Arizona you no longer need to travel to California, Oregon, or Washington to taste quality wine and for all of you that don't live in Arizona but planning to visit you now have something else to look forward to.