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LIST: Best Arizona wineries to visit for a weekend (Good Morning Arizona | azfamily.com)

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PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5)--Today, Arizona is home to more than 80 licensed wineries, which have been poured everywhere from the James Beard House to the White House. 

Located in southeastern Arizona, Sonoita and its neighbor Elgin were put on the national wine map thanks to Callaghan Vineyards and Dos Cabezas Wine Works. 

Winegrowers in Southern Arizona are having particular success with the graciano varietal, which produces a purple wine packed with blackberry flavor. 

In addition to picturesque vineyards and tasting rooms, its easy to make a weekend out of a visit to the Sonoita area, from horseback riding to antiquing. 

You can also plan your visit to coincide with one of the area’s festivals throughout the year, like the upcoming winemaker and chili cook-off at Kief- Joshua Vineyards in April. 

In Verde Valley, which is located south of Sedona, tasting rooms are scattered about Jerome, Cottonwood, Cornville and Clarksdale. 

One grape to spotlight from this region is the tannat, which produces wines that are tannic and intense, marked by dark fruit flavors. 

In addition to tasting rooms like Chateau Tumbleweed and D.A. Ranch, you can also spend time at Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Raku Gallery in Jerome, and Up the Creek Bistro & WineBar in Cornville, which started as a 1956 store and gas station. 

This sleepy outpost might be know for its brushes with Old West historical figures like Rex Allen and Geronimo, but today it’s home to 20 Arizona wineries that grow about 75 percent of Arizona’s grapes. 

In May in October, the small town buzzes with oenophiles (EN-oh-files) at the Willcox Wine Country Festival, which features 18 wineries, arts and crafts, live music and several foodvenues. 

While you’re there, be sure to pay a visit to the Rex Allen Museum and pick up homemade tortilla chips and salsa at La Unica in downtown Willcox. 

To read AAA’s full guide to Arizona wine country, keep an eye out for the upcoming issue of Via Magazine. In the meantime, visit ViaMagazine.com for more travel inspiration. And don’t forget to share your travel adventures with us on social media using #ViaAdventure. 

 

Arizona's best wines: Winners of the 2018 azcentral Arizona Wine Competition (The Republic | azcentral.com)

Richard Ruelas, The Republic | azcentral.com Published 10:00 p.m. MT Jan. 25, 2019 | Updated 12:53 p.m. MT Feb. 25, 2020 
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For the second year in a row, the overall Best in Show winner of the azcentral Arizona Wine Competition comes from Dos Cabezas WineWorks in Sonoita. 

In the 2017 competition, Todd and Kelly Bostock took the award with an unconventional wine: a sparkling concoction in a can. In 2018, Dos Cabezas won with a traditional offering: a red wine in a bottle. 

Arizona's best red wine 

Aguileon, one of Dos Cabezas’s signature red blends, is made from grapes grown in Willcox, a recognized viticulture region in the southeast corner of Arizona, and the region where most of the state’s wine grapes are grown. 

The Aguileon won the Best in Show award and was named Best Red Wine in the competition. 

The 2015 vintage of Aguileon was predominately made from Tempranillo and Graciano, two grapes typically grown in the warmer regions of Spain. The blend was rounded out with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petite Sirah. 

Arizona's best white, rosé 

There was a tie for the Best White Wine award. Trademarked 2017, a Chardonnay made by Burning Tree Cellars, tied with the Bodega Pierce Malvasia Bianca. 

Burning Tree Cellars also won Best Rosé, with its 2017 Colibri Rosé, named after the vineyard on the eastern side of the Chiricahua Mountains where the grapes were grown. 

The Best Dessert award went to Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Late Harvest Vidal Blanc. Second place in the dessert category went to a Dos Cabezas offering called Boxcar 1. Both of those wines were named to the final round, with judges deciding they were among the top 12 wines in the state. 

Judges also named the Burning Tree Rosé into the final round of 12, where it vied for the Best In Show award. 

Typically, judges nominate one or more white wines to the final round, where the entire body of judges decides which is the best. But this year, no white wines made the cut. The Best White Wine awards were determined by judges’ scores. 

250 entries from 32 labels 

The competition attracted more than 250 entries from 32 wine labels. Arizona has had commercial wineries since Sonoita Vineyards opened in the 1970s. But the wines started gaining national critical acclaim in the mid-1990s and have been more commonly found on wine lists in noted Arizona restaurants and resorts over the past two decades. 

Arizona wines are also stocked by many wine shops and grocery stores, though some wineries produce in such limited quantities that mass distribution is impossible. Consumers may visit a winery's website to order bottles and have them shipped. Some locations of A.J.'s Fine Foods plan to feature winners from this contest in their stores in February. 

How the judging was done 

The wines were judged on Nov. 26 in a conference room in the Arizona Republic/azcentral building in downtown Phoenix. The tasting was blind; judges knew the type of wine they were tasting, but not the winery where it came from. 

There were 21 judges placed among six panels, each tasting a selection of wines. The judges included sommeliers, chefs, restaurant managers, wine business professionals and wine shop owners. Some had participated in the contest before; others for the first time. 

The assembled panel also had varied experience levels with the state’s wines. Some specialized in it; others had hardly sampled any. Judges scored each wine individually. Then debated among the other members of the panel which wines were best in each category. 

Some wines earned such high marks from judges that the contest introduced a new class of medal: Double Gold. That medal goes to wines that received scores above 90 from each member of a panel. Seven wines earned that distinction this year, including the overall winner, the Dos Cabezas Aguileon. 

The Dos Cabezas Aguileon wine is, in a roundabout way, named after the winery owners’ youngest son, Griffin. A griffin, in mythology, is a creature with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion. The Spanish word for the creature is a mash-up of the words for eagle and lion, aguila and leon. Hence: Aguileon. 

Winners of the 2018 azcentral Arizona Wine Competition Best in Show 

Dos Cabezas WineWorks Aguileon 2015. 

Best Red Wine 

1st Place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks Aguileon 2015.
2nd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company Mourvedre Reserve 2016.
3rd Place: Deep Sky Vineyard Eclipse 2015. 

Best White Wine 

1st Place (tie): Bodega Pierce Malvasia Bianca 2017, Burning Tree Cellars Trademarked 2017.
3rd Place: Southwest Wine Center Malvasia Bianca 2017. 

Best Rosé Wine 

1st Place: Burning Tree Cellars Colibri Rosé 2017.
2nd Place: Bodega Pierce Rosé 2017.
3rd Place: Chateau Tumbleweed Rosé 2017. 

Best Dessert Wine 

1st Place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Late Harvest Vidal Blanc 2017.
2nd Place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks Boxcar 1 NV.
3rd Place: Carlson Creek Vineyard Sweet Adeline Riesling 2015. 

The Top 12 

These are the wines that judges thought merited consideration for Best in Show.
• Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Late Harvest Vidal Blanc 2017.
• Burning Tree Cellars Colibri Rosé 2017.
• Caduceus Cellars Kitsuné 2015.
• Deep Sky Vineyard Eclipse 2015.
• Dos Cabezas WineWorks Aguileon 2015.
• Dos Cabezas WineWorks Boxcar 1.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Graciano 2016.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Cabernet Franc 2015.
• Gallifant Cellars Merlot 2016.
• Golden Rule Petit Verdot 2016.
• Page Springs Cellars 2015 House Mountain Vineyard Petite Sirah.
• Pillsbury Wine Company Mourvedre Reserve 2016. 

Best Late-Harvest Dessert Wine 

1st Place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Late Harvest Vidal Blanc 2017.
2nd Place: Carlson Creek Vineyard Sweet Adeline Riesling 2015.
No 3rd Place. 

Best Port-style Dessert Wine 

1st Place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks Boxcar 1 NV.
No 2nd or 3rd Place. 

Best Rosé Blend 

1st Place: Burning Tree Cellars Colibri Rosé 2017.
2nd Place: Chateau Tumbleweed Rosé 2017.
3rd Place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Dayden 2017. 

Best Single Varietal Rosé 

1st Place: Bodega Pierce Rosé 2017.
2nd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company Rosé One Night Stand 2017.
3rd Place: Caduceus Cellars Lei Li Nebbiolo Rosé 2017. 

Best Chardonnay 

1st Place: Burning Tree Cellars Trademarked 2017.
2nd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company Chardonnay Reserve 2016.
3rd Place: Cabal Cellars Suspicious Minds Chardonnay 2017. 

Best Malvasia Bianca 

1st Place: Bodega Pierce Malvasia Bianca 2017.
2nd Place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Malvasia Bianca 2017.
3rd Place: Southwest Wine Center Malvasia Bianca 2017. 

Best Pinot Grigio 

1st Place: Winery 101- Gallifant Cellars Pinot Gris 2016.
2nd Place: Cellar 433 Arizona Angel - Pinot Grigio 2017.
3rd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company Pinot Gris 2017. 

Best Viognier 

1st Place: Burning Tree Cellars The Peddler 2016.
2nd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company Viognier 2017.
3rd Place: Alcantara Vineyard Viognier 2017. 

Best White Blend 

1st Place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Tazi 2017.
2nd Place: Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Trio 2017.
3rd Place: Callaghan Vineyards Love Muffin 2017. 

Best Cabernet Franc 

1st Place: Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Cabernet Franc 2015.
2nd Place: Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery 2017 Cabernet Franc.
No 3rd Place. 

Best Cabernet Sauvignon 

1st Place: Golden Rule Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2016.
2nd Place: Four Tails Vineyard Double Trouble Cabernet Sauvignon 2016.
3rd Place: Burning Tree Cellars Bonita Cab 2016. 

Best Graciano 

1st Place: Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Graciano 2016.
2nd Place: Southwest Wine Center Graciano 2017.
No 3rd Place. 

Best Grenache 

1st Place: Copper Horse Vineyard Grenache 2017.
2nd Place: Rune Grenache - Pillsbury Vineyard 2016.
No. 3rd Place. 

Best Merlot 

1st Place: Winery 101- Gallifant Cellars Merlot 2016.
No 2nd or 3rd Place. 

Best Mourvedre/Monastrell 

1st Place: Pillsbury Wine Company Mourvedre Reserve 2016.
2nd Place: Burning Tree Cellars Colibri Mourvedre 2016.
3rd Place: The Oddity Wine Collective Minotaur 2017. 

Best Petite Sirah 

1st Place: Page Springs Cellars 2015 House Mountain Vineyard Petite Sirah.
2nd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company Petite Sirah 2016.
No 3rd Place. 

Best Sangiovese 

1st Place: Caduceus Cellars Kitsuné 2015.
2nd Place: Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Sangiovese Select 2016.
3rd Place: Golden Rule Vineyards Sangiovese 2016. 

Best Syrah 

1st Place: Page Springs Cellars 2017 Dos Padres Vineyard Syrah Clone 471.
2nd Place: Zarpara Vineyard Syrah 2015.
3rd Place: Carlson Creek Vineyard Syrah 2015. 

Best Tannat 

1st Place: Heart Wood Cellars Tannat 2016.
2nd Place: Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Tannat 2015.
No 3rd Place. 

Best Tempranillo 

1st Place: Caduceus Cellars Sancha 2014.
2nd Place: Merkin Vineyards Tarzan 2015.
3rd Place: Salvatore Vineyards Tempranillo 2015. 

Best Rhone-style Blend 

1st Place: Keeling Schaefer Vineyards Partners 2014.
2nd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company Roan Red 2016.
3rd Place: Winery 101- Gallifant Cellars Rone Ranger 2016. 

Best Bordeaux Blend 

1st Place: Burning Tree Cellars The Scapegoat 2016.
2nd Place: Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery 2017 Rock Slide.
3rd Place: Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Union de Tres Rojos 2016. 

Best Super Tuscan 

1st Place: Winery 101- Gallifant Cellars Super Tuscan 2016.
2nd Place: Caduceus Cellars Nagual del Marzo 2014.
3rd Place: Caduceus Cellars Nagual de la Naga 2014. 

Best Non-Traditional Red Blend 

1st Place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks Aguileon 2015.
2nd Place: Deep Sky Vineyard Eclipse 2015.
3rd Place (tie): Bodega Pierce Athena 2016, Southwest Wine Center Patada 2017. 

Medal winners 
These wines earned medals based on an average of judges’ scores on a 100-point scale. 

Double Gold
Judges unanimously rated the wines 90 points or above. 

• Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Late Harvest Vidal Blanc 2017.
• Burning Tree Cellars Colibri Rosé 2017.
• Caduceus Cellars Kitsuné 2015.
• Deep Sky Vineyard Eclipse 2015.
• Dos Cabezas WineWorks Aguileon 2015.
• Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery 2017 Cabernet Franc.
• Southwest Wine Center Patada 2017. 

Gold
Judges’ average score of 90 points or above.

• Bodega Pierce Athena 2016.
• Bodega Pierce Rosé 2017.
• Chateau Tumbleweed Rosé 2017.
• Dos Cabezas WineWorks Boxcar 1.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Cabernet Franc 2015.
• Four Eight Wineworks Four Eight Red 2015.
• Golden Rule Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2016.
• Page Springs Cellars 2015 House Mountain Vineyard Petite Sirah.
• Pillsbury Wine Company Rosé One Night Stand 2017.
• Winery 101 - Gallifant Cellars Super Tuscan 2016. 

Silver
Judges’ average score of 85 points or above.

• Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Dayden 2017.
• Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Mangus 2017.
• Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Tazi 2017.
• Bodega Pierce Malvasia Bianca 2017.
• Burning Tree Cellars Trademarked 2017.
• Burning Tree Cellars Bonita Cab 2016.
• Caduceus Cellars Nagual del Marzo 2014.
• Caduceus Cellars Lei Li Nebbiolo Rosé 2017.
• Callaghan Vineyards Aglianico Cimarron 2016.
• Carlson Creek Vineyard Rosé 2017.
• Deep Sky Vineyard Nebula 2016.
• Dos Cabezas WineWorks Toscano 2015.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Sangiovese Select 2016.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Graciano 2016.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Trio 2017.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery La Flor 2017.
• Four Tails Vineyard Double Trouble Cabernet Sauvignon 2016.
• Golden Rule Vineyards Petit Verdot 2016.
• Golden Rule Vineyards Sangiovese 2016.
• Heart Wood Cellars Tannat 2016.
• Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery Barbera 2017.
• Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery Red Canyon Cuvee 2017.
• Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery 2017 Hassayampa Cabernet Sauvignon 2017.
• Keeling Schaefer Vineyards Partners 2014.
• Merkin Vineyards Jane Pink 2017.
• Page Springs Cellars 2017 Dos Padres Vineyard Syrah Clone 471 2017.
• Page Springs Cellars 2017 House Mountain Vineyard Counoise Rosé 2017.
• Pillsbury Wine Company Mourvedre Reserve 2016.
• Pillsbury Wine Company Petite Sirah 2016.
• Provisioner Wines Provisioner Red 2017.
• Southwest Wine Center Malvasia Bianca 2017.
• The Oddity Wine Collective Minotaur 2017.
• The Oddity Wine Collective Centaur 2017.
• Winery 101 - Gallifant Cellars Merlot 2016.
• Winery 101 - Gallifant Cellars Rone Ranger 2016.
• Winery 101 - Gallifant Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon George's Tribute 2016.
• Winery 101 - Gallifant Cellars San Franc 2016.
• Winery 101 - Gallifant Cellars Pinot Gris 2016.
• Zarpara Vineyard Syrah 2015. 

Bronze
Judges’ average score of 80 points or above.

• Alcantara Vineyard Viognier 2017.
• Alcantara Vineyard X-Port NA.
• Alcantara Vineyard Confluence X 2016.
• Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Malvasia Bianca 2017.
• Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Playa Rojo 2017.
• Bruzzi Vineyard 2017 Vidal Blanc 2017.
• Burning Tree Cellars Colibri Mourvedre 2016.
• Burning Tree Cellars The Peddler 2016.
• Burning Tree Cellars The Scapegoat 2016.
• Cabal Cellars Roswell Red 2015.
• Cabal Cellars Suspicious Minds Chardonnay 2017.
• Caduceus Cellars Nagual del Marzo Rosé 2017.
• Caduceus Cellars Nagual de la Naga 2014.
• Caduceus Cellars Nagual del Agostina Red 2016.
• Caduceus Cellars Sancha 2014.
• Caduceus Cellars Primer Paso 2014.
• Callaghan Vineyards Love Muffin 2017.
• Callaghan Vineyards Petit Manseng Greg's 2016.
• Carlson Creek Vineyard Syrah 2015.

• Carlson Creek Vineyard Sweet Adeline Riesling 2015.
• Cellar 433 Verdelho 2017.
• Cellar 433 Arizona Angel Pinot Grigio 2017.
• Chateau Tumbleweed Miss Sandy Jones 2017.
• Chateau Tumbleweed Cimarron Vineyard Cabernet Franc 2016.
• Chateau Tumbleweed Le Blend 2017.
• Chateau Tumbleweed Dr. Ron Bot 2016.
• Chateau Tumbleweed Earth Cuckoo 2015.
• Copper Horse Vineyard Grenache 2017.
• Dos Cabezas WineWorks El Norte 2015.
• Dos Cabezas WineWorks 2017 Meskeoli.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Cabernet Sauvignon 2015.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Tannat 2015.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Union de Tres Rojos 2016.
• Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Sangiovese Reserva 2016.
• Four Eight Wineworks Four Eight Pink 2017.
• Four Tails Vineyard Amigos Petit Verdot 2016.
• Garage-East Green Wine 2017.
• Garage-East Rosé 2017.
• Golden Rule Vineyards Mourvedre 2016.
• Golden Rule Vineyards Picpoul Blanc 2017.
• Heart Wood Cellars Heart 2016.
• Keeling Schaefer Vineyards Rock Creek Rosé of Grenache 2017.
• Keeling Schaefer Vineyards Little Block Petite Sirah 2016.
• Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra 2017.
• Merkin Vineyards Tarzan 2015.
• Page Springs Cellars 2016 El Serrano.
• Page Springs Cellars 2017 Vino de la Familia.
• Page Springs Cellars 2017 Vino de la Familia Blanca.
• Page Springs Cellars 2017 Vino del Barrio Blanca.
• Pillsbury Wine Company Roan Red 2016.
• Pillsbury Wine Company Chardonnay Reserve 2016.
• Pillsbury Wine Company Malvasia 2017.
• Pillsbury Wine Company Shiraz 'Guns and Kisses' 2016.
• Pillsbury Wine Company Diva 2016.
• Pillsbury Wine Company Viognier 2017.
• Rune Rosé 2016.
• Rune Mourvedre - Colibri Vineyard 2016.
• Saeculum Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2016.
• Saeculum Cellars One Stone 2016.
• Saeculum Cellars Cache 2016.
• Saeculum Cellars Muscat of Alexandria 2017.
• Salvatore Vineyards Cerca Aglianico 2015.
• Southwest Wine Center Graciano 2017.
• Southwest Wine Center Red Storm 2017.
• Zarpara Vineyard Monastrell 2015.
• Zarpara Vineyard Origen 2015. 

Judges' favorites 
These are the judges in the 2018 azcentral Arizona Wine Competition and their favorite wines.

Shaun Adams, Talavera at Four Seasons Resort: Page Springs Cellars Dos Padres Vineyard Syrah Clone 471 2017.
Michael Ayer, Workman Ayer winery: Dos Cabezas WineWorks Boxcar 1 NV.
Rick Benson, Wine Cellar Experts: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Late Harvest Vidal Blanc 2017.
Tracy Dempsey, ODV Wines: Golden Rule Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2016.
Craig Dziadowicz, Hidden Track Bottle Shop: Golden Rule Vineyards Petit Verdot 2016.
Christopher Gross, Wrigley Mansion: Page Springs Cellars House Mountain Vineyard Petite Sirah 2015.
Michelle Jacob, Gertrude's at Desert Botanical Garden: Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Cabernet Sauvignon 2015.
Chris Jeffers, Tarbell's Wine Store: Gallifant Cellars Merlot 2016.
Raini Keyser, Vinum 55: Dos Cabezas WineWorks Aguileon 2015.
Rachel Lockwood, Hidden Track Bottle Shop: Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery Graciano 2016.
Steven Maynard, Tempo Urban Bistro: Golden Rule Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2016.
Jason Morris, CruTacos: Dos Cabezas WineWorks Aguileon 2015.
Shannan Perciballi, ODV Wines: Caduceus Cellars Kitsuné 2015.
Emily Rieve, GenuWine Arizona: Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery Hassayampa Cabernet Sauvignon 2017.
Lindsey Schoenemann, GenuWine Arizona: Page Springs Cellars House Mountain Vineyard Petite Sirah 2015.
Jay Soloff, DeLille Cellars: Pillsbury Wine Company Mourvedre Reserve 2016.
Katie Stephens, Beckett's Table: Caduceus Cellars Kitsuné 2015.
T. Scott Stephens, Southern Rail: Gallifant Cellars Merlot 2016.
Jordan White, Vinum 55: Caduceus Cellars Kitsuné 2015.
Mark Yeager, Frederick Wildman & Sons Importers: Dos Cabezas WineWorks Aguileon 2015. 

 

 

2017 azcentral Arizona Wine Competition winners: The best does not come in a bottle (The Republic | azcentral.com)

Richard Ruelas, The Republic | azcentral.com Published 9:00 p.m. MT Jan. 26, 2018 | Updated 11:22 a.m. MT Jan. 27,  2018
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The winner of the 2017 azcentral Arizona Wine Competition marked two firsts: It is the first sparkling wine to win the contest and the first to not come packaged in a bottle. 

Dos Cabezas WineWorks Methode Canpenoise, the sparkling wine named Best in Show, is sold by the can. 

The bubbly wine is fermented by yeast added into that can, the same method used with Champagnes and sparkling wines that are fermented in bottles. That is called methode champenoise; Dos Cabezas plays on that with its Methode Canpenoise name. 

Dos Cabezas, co-owned by Todd and Kelly Bostock, begins with a non-vintage rose wine of Riesling, Grenache and Tempranillo grapes. Yeast is then added to the can so it ferments. 

Bottles of Champagne are usually disgorged of yeast after fermentation. But the yeast is still present in the Dos Cabezas sparkling, settling at the bottom of the can. Careful pouring keeps it out of the glass. The spent yeast is not harmful; just a little bitter. 

But consumers will only need to worry about that if they can get their hands on a can. The Sonoita winery initially released just a small amount of the unique wine in November at $48 for a 1-liter can. Those cans, according to the Dos Cabezas website, are sold out. The next release is not known. 

The Growers Cup for the best red wine in the contest was the 2015 Callaghan Vineyards Aglianico. That grape is typically grown in the southern region of Italy. This wine was made from grapes grown at Cimarron Vineyards in Willcox, a vineyard owned by the Bostocks. 

The Growers Cup for the best white wine went to Pillsbury Wine Co.’s 2016 WildChild White, a white blend grown on Sam Pillsbury’s Willcox-area vineyard. Pillsbury, a New Zealand film director, has operated his namesake vineyard and winery since 2000. 

The Growers Cup award for the best rosé wine went to the students of the Southwest Wine Center in Clarkdale. The 2017 Amphoria is a pink wine made with Sangiovese grapes grown on the Yavapai College campus. The college offers degree programs in grape-growing and winemaking and students, as part of their course work, take part in all aspects of winemaking, from the vineyard to the label design. 

The Growers Cup for dessert wines went to the Arizona Stronghold Vineyards 2016 Bruzzi Vineyards Vidal Blanc. The grapes, as the name suggests, come from the Bruzzi Vineyards in Young. Arizona Stronghold won the Growers Cup for dessert in the 2016 competition as well, for a Vidal Blanc wine called “Zas.” 

Callaghan has won three Growers Cups and two Best In Show Awards.
Dos Cabezas has won a Growers Cup for its rose and was last year’s Growers Cup winner for red wine. Pillsbury won a Growers Cup for dessert in 2014.
It is the first cup win for the Southwest Wine Center. 

The competition was held Dec. 11 at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Phoenix. 

Twenty-four judges, a mix of chefs, sommeliers, out-of-state winemakers, restaurant managers and wine shop owners, were divided into six four-person panels to taste more than 200 entries. 

Each panel tasted a portion of the more than 200 entries, choosing the winners of the subcategories listed below. Each panel then picked two wines to push forward to the sweepstakes round. 

All 24 judges tasted those 12 wines. The top awards were picked through this tasting. The tasting was blind; the judges knew the types of wines, but not who made it. 

The judges also didn’t know — until the awards were announced — that the wine they selected as best came from a can. 

2017 azcentral Arizona Wine Competition winners Best In Show 

Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Methode Canpenoise 

Growers Cup 

Best Red Wine 

1st Place: Callaghan Vineyards, 2015 Aglianico
2nd Place: Flying Leap VIneyards & Distillery, 2015 Petit Verdot
3rd Place: Carlson Creek Vineyard, 2013 Rule of Three 

Best White Wine 

1st Place: Pillsbury Wine Company, 2016 WildChild White
2nd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company, 2015 Malvasia Bonnie Lee 3rd Place: Bodega Pierce, 2016 Sauvignon Blanc 

Best Rosé 

1st Place: Southwest Wine Center, 2017 Amphoria
2nd Place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks, 2016 Pink
3rd Place: Page Springs Cellars, 2016 La Flor Rosa 

Best Dessert wine 

1st Place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, 2016 Bruzzi Vineyards Vidal Blanc
2nd Place: Wilhelm Family Vineyards, Sunset
3rd Place: Carlson Creek Vineyard, 2013 Sweet Adeline Riesling 

The Finalists: 

Each of the six panels picked two wines they thought merited consideration as the best wine of the competition. Here are those wines:
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, 2016 Bruzzi Vineyards Vidal Blanc
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, 2016 Tazi
Bodega Pierce, 2016 Sauvignon Blanc
Callaghan Vineyards, 2015 Aglianico
Carlson Creek Vineyard, 2013 Rule of Three
Dos Cabezas WineWorks #Methode Canpenoise
Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery, 2015 Petit Verdot
Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery, 2015 Sangiovese
Pillsbury Wine Company, 2015 Malvasia Bonnie Lee
Pillsbury Wine Company, 2015 Viogner
Pillsbury Wine Company, 2016 WildChild
White Salvatore Vineyards, 2014 Sangiovese 

Best Cabernet Franc 

1st Place: Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery, 2016 Cabernet Franc
2nd Place: Bodega Pierce, 2015 Cabernet Franc
3rd Place: Golden Rule Vineyards, 2015 Cabernet Franc 

Best Cabernet Sauvignon 

1st Place: Alcantara Vineyards and Winery, 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon
2nd Place: Page Springs Cellars, 2014 Bonita Springs Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
3rd Place: Saeculum Cellars, 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon 

Best Grenache 

1st Place: Rune, 2015 Grenache - Pillsbury Vineyard
2nd Place: Rune, 2015 Grenache - Colibri Vineyard 

Best Malbec 

1st Place: Deep Sky Vineyard, 2015 Big Bang
2nd Place: Coronado Vineyards, 2015 Malbec 

Best Merlot 

1st Place: Alcantara Vineyards and Winery, 2015 Merlot 

Best Mourvedre 

1st Place: Alcantara Vineyards and Winery, 2015 Mourvedre
2nd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company. 2015 Mourvedre Reserve
3rd Place: Bodega Pierce, 2015 Mourvedre 

Best Petit Verdot 

1st Place: Flying Leap VIneyards & Distillery, 2015 Petit Verdot
2nd Place: The Oddity Wine Collective, 2016 Datura
3rd Place: Golden Rule Vineyards, 2015 Petit Verdot 

Best Petite Sirah 

1st Place: Rune, 2015 Petite Sirah
2nd Place: Alcantara Vineyards and Winery, 2015 Petite Sirah 

Best Sangiovese 

1st Place: Salvatore Vineyards, 2014 Sangiovese
2nd Place: Flying Leap Vineyards & Distillery, 2015 Sangiovese
3rd Place: Winery 101 - Gallifant Cellars, 2014 Sangiovese 

Best Syrah 

1st Place: Winery 101 - Gallifant Cellars, 2014 Syrah
2nd Place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks, 2015 Syrah "Club Selection"
3rd Place: Page Springs Cellars, 2012 Colibri Vineyard Syrah Clone 174 

Best Tempranillo 

1st Place: Chateau Tumbleweed, 2015 Cimarron Vineyard Tempranillo
2nd Place: Zarpara Vineyard, 2015 Tempranillo 

Best Zinfandel 

1st Place: Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery, 2016 Zinfandel
2nd Place: Bodega Pierce, 2016 Zinfandel
3rd Place: Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery, 2016 Legacy Zinfandel 

Best Rhone-Style Blend 

1st Place: Carlson Creek Vineyard, 2013 Rule of Three
2nd Place: Golden Rule Vineyards, 2015 Commonwealth
3rd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company, 2014 Diva 

Best Non-traditional Red Blend 

1st Place: Southwest Wine Center, 2016 Puente
2nd Place (tie): Chateau Tumbleweed, 2016 Le Blend
2nd Place (tie): Salvatore Vineyards, 2014 Cerca
3rd Place: Winery 101 - Gallifant Cellars, 2014 Super Tuscan 

Best Chardonnay 

1st Place: Burning Tree Cellars, 2014 Trademarked
2nd Place: Winery 101 - Gallifant Cellars, 2014 Chardonnay
3rd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company, 2016 Chardonnay 

Best Malvasia Bianca 

1st Place: Pillsbury Wine Company, 2015 Malvasia Bonnie Lee
2nd Place: Callaghan Vineyards, 2016 Ann's
3rd Place: Page Springs Cellars, 2016 Dos Padres Malvasia Bianca 

Best Sauvignon Blanc 

1st Place: Bodega Pierce, 2016 Sauvignon Blanc
2nd Place: Carlson Creek Vineyard, 2013 Sauvignon Blanc 

Best Viogner 

1st Place: Pillsbury Wine Company, 2015 Viognier
2nd Place: Saeculum Cellars, 2016 Viognier
3rd Place: Salvatore Vineyards, 2015 Viognier 

Best White Blend 

1st Place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, 2016 Tazi
2nd Place: Pillsbury Wine Company, 2016 WildChild White
3rd Place: Bodega Pierce, 2016 Pandora 

Best Rosé Varietal 

1st Place: Southwest Wine Center, 2017 Amphoria
2nd Place: Page Springs Cellars, 2016 La Flor Rosa
3rd Place: Mogollon Vineyards, 2016 Grenache Rose 

Best Rosé Blend 

1st Place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks, 2016 Pink
2nd Place: Callaghan Vineyards, 2016 Dry Rose' 3rd Place: Chateau Tumbleweed, 2016 Rose 

Best Late-Harvest Dessert 

1st Place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, 2016 Bruzzi Vineyards Vidal Blanc
2nd Place: Carlson Creek Vineyard, 2013 Sweet Adeline Riesling
3rd Place: Alcantara Vineyards and Winery, 2016 Riesling Dolce 

Best Port-Style Dessert 

1st Place: Wilhelm Family Vineyards, Sunset

Best Sparkling 

1st Place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Methode Canpenoise
2nd Place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks, 2016 Carbonated Pink 

 

 

2 Arizona wineries named Best In Class at San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (The Republic | azcentral.com)

Richard Ruelas, The Republic | azcentral.com Published 7:02 a.m. MT Jan. 18, 2018 | Updated 1:11 p.m. MT Jan. 18, 2018 
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Two Arizona wineries, Chateau Tumbleweed and Lightning Ridge Cellars, and have won Best In Class awards at the 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. 

The two wins are a first for Arizona wines in the largest U.S. wine competition. 

Chateau Tumbleweed won for the best Viogner priced above $25 for its 2016 Viogner, made from grapes grown at the Deep Sky Vineyard in Willcox. 

Lightning Ridge Cellars won for the best Montepulciano for its 2013 vintage, made with grapes grown on its vineyard in Sonoita. 

Both bottles retail for $28. 

Chateau Tumbleweed's wine can be found at some AJ's Fine Foods and Whole Foods Market locations. It can also be found at wine shops, including Central Wine, Hidden Track Bottle Shop and ODV Wines. 

Lightning Ridge's wine (http://lightningridgecellars.com/) is available through its Sonoita tasting room. Orders can be taken online or by phone. 

The best in class award means that judges declared it the best wine of its category. Only one of those awards is given for each category. The competition attracted 6,960 entries, according to its website. Judging was in January and the results were announced this week. 

In all, 14 Arizona wineries won medals at the competition, including three wineries awarded Double Gold medals. That designation reflects the unanimous ruling of gold by each judge that tasted the wine. 

The Double Gold winners are: 

Callaghan Vineyards for its 2016 Ann’s, a Malvasia Bianca.
Pillsbury Wine Co. for its 2015 Guns and Kisses Shiraz.
Chateau Tumbleweed for its 2016 Miss Sandy Jones white blend. 

Gold medals were won by Alcantara Vineyards, Aridus Wine Company, Arizona Angel, Callaghan Vineyards, Javelina Leap Vineyard and Winery, Passion Cellars and Pillsbury Wine Company. 

Next week, look for the results of the azcentral Arizona Wine Competition, which is restricted to wines made in Arizona with grapes grown in the state. 

Double Gold, Gold medal winners 

The Arizona Wine Growers Association compiled a list of the Double Gold and Gold medal-winning wines in the Chronicle's wine competition. 

Double Gold 

Callaghan Vineyards 2016 Ann's.
Chateau Tumbleweed 2016 Miss Sandy Jones.
Pillsbury Wine Company 2015 Guns and Kisses Shiraz. 

Gold 

Alcantara Vineyards 2015 Confluence IX.
Aridus Wine Company 2015 Tempranillo.
Aridus Wine Company 2016 Malvasia Bianca.
Arizona Angel Aritage White.
Callaghan Vineyards 2016 Dry Rose.
Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery 2016 Syrah.
Passion Cellars 2016 Malvasia Bianca.
Pillsbury Wine Company 2016 Chardonnay.
Pillsbury Wine Company 2014 Guns and Kisses Shiraz.
Pillsbury Wine Company 2016 Viognier.

Fire and Ice: Extreme Weather Hits Vineyards in Arizona, France (Flagstaff Business News)

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Severe weather has wreaked havoc with winemakers on both sides of the Atlantic this spring. As adjusting with the elements is a staple of agriculture, Arizona winemakers and aficionados anxiously watched destructive flames approach Sonoita, the state’s oldest continuous viticultural area located south of Tucson. Meanwhile, Sonoita-Elgin, its counterpart in France’s Bordeaux and Burgundy regions, was taking extreme measures to keep vineyards warm through the night, fighting off the worst frost events since 1991 with up to 60 percent of French vineyards at least partly affected. 

Setting hay bales on fire overnight was common, and estates that could afford it had helicopters hover over their vines all night to keep air circulating. And as the copper state’s high-altitude vineyards also experienced with temperatures near freezing, parts of Burgundy’s famous Chardonnay-producing region, Chablis, even resorted to a most delicate technique whereby vines are purposely coated with ice so they remain above freezing (think of the igloo effect). 

In the world-famous Bordeaux region, extreme frost events are less common than in Burgundy and other more northern and less coastal wine-producing areas. But this year, Bordeaux’s Right Bank (eastern parts) experienced devastating frost, including the famous wine hamlets of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, killing this year’s new growth in many areas. 

Jan Thienpont, president of the Francs-Cotes de Bordeaux appellation (or winemaking sub region), decides what emergency agricultural and financial measures will be allowed this year. He and his counterparts have released a dire set of emergency measures, including various types of indemnities and subsidies, permission to buy grapes for other local vineyards but with constraints on how the wine can be marketed, and simpler processes for laying off workers. Thienpont remains optimistic that tackling this season’s issues fits with long-term changes to Bordeaux’s winemaking protocols motivated by a desire for increased environmental stewardship and sustainability. “Despite the challenges, we remain devoted to what I call the “green revolution” in Bordeaux and in my appellation,” he said. 

Arizona suffered from similar but much less catastrophic frost events this year, fueled by the same early spring, warm temperatures and soils primed by a wet winter. That same wet winter has also spawned more brush and grass that can feed wildfires, like the Sawmill Fire that threatened Sonoita. Jeff Hendricks, co-owner of the Clarkdale-based winery Chateau Tumbleweed and an experienced vineyard manager in Northern and Southeastern Arizona, knows these concerns all too well. “In Arizona, bud burst occurs in late March through early April and frost dangers are said to be over between May first to the 15th depending on how optimistic you are,” said Hendricks, who also served as vineyard manager for Cornville’s Page Springs Cellars. “Spring frosts are a huge concern for newly established vineyards especially. In a young vineyard, the defoliation of a frost event can cause death. In mature plants, the danger is fruit loss and not usually mortality. Once every 10 years or so, you have a catastrophic frost that wipes out a sizable portion of the fruit load (50 percent or more), but your typical frost event is a much smaller percentage loss. For the 10 years I’ve farmed here, I’ve never seen a completely frost-free spring. At best, there are still a dozen plants or so that get nipped.” 

During his tenure in Arizona, Hendricks has had to resort to the radical solutions to which France’s vintners recently resorted. “For your typical inversion frost event, frost moves from above and slides over the topography like molasses. It moves slowly and it seems like the only time damage occurs is when it settles in a pocket, valley or wash for a sustained period. Hillside vineyards see much less risk. Tarps, barriers, fans and fires can help with these events. Barriers are a good way to divert the slow-moving frost for local problem areas. Advection events will destroy any vines, hillside or not. Fans and barriers won’t help. The entire air mass in the area drops to below freezing. This is when heaters or fire will save you. We do a fire every 40 feet in a grid and keep the fires burning low. We did this a dozen or so times for Page Springs. We’d be up all night feeding fires but in all cases, we saved much of the crop.” 

Ironically, in June 2016, Page Springs Cellars was threatened by a quick moving brush fire that sparked on an adjacent empty property. All local firefighters were called and the blaze extinguished before any vines or property were damaged. 

And while a few tales of wildfires near vineyards have happy endings – such as Southeastern Arizona’s 2011 vintage that yielded some interestingly smoke- tainted red wines – most are terrifying ordeals that put enormous stress on people and the places they tirelessly steward. “Increasing wildfires in the area are a huge concern,” Hendricks added. “A fire close to a vineyard cluster could potentially wipe out an entire vintage across a huge swath.” 

Like Hendricks, Thienpont’s hardest job is mitigating and dealing with nature’s curveballs, but his leadership role in Bordeaux also makes him an optimistic cheerleader for the industry. “Despite the frost, life goes on!” Only vintners who make ice wine, whereby very late-harvest grapes need to freeze on the vine, might argue that statement. FBN 

By Tom Vitron

 

How Chateau Tumbleweed Makes Such Eye-Catching Labels (Phoenix New Times)

ROBERT ISENBERG | MAY 12, 2017 | 6:00AM 

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When you see a bottle of Chateau Tumbleweed in the wine aisle, you might do a double-take. Whoa! you think. Those people have no heads! 

Well, not no heads. Their crania have been replaced with a scraggly bunch of tumbleweed, drawn in intricate pen-and-ink. It's creepy and funny at the same time, and you have to wonder where such a surreal idea came from. 

"We started to develop these wines as people, as family members," says Kris Pothier, co-owner of Chateau Tumbleweed and the artist behind its eccentric labels. "We came up with images that feel like the wines feel. It's fun to come up with fresh content all the time. This is a pretty competitive industry, and you want to create something that everyone is talking about." 

The winery is a small business based in Cottonwood. Pothier started Chateau Tumbleweed in 2011 with her husband, Joe Bechard, and fellow couple Kim Koistinen 

and Jeff Hendricks. In the half-decade since, their unlikely startup has become something of a local legend. The Arizona wine industry is still pretty modest, despite its own Wine Growers Association. Chateau Tumbleweed has gained some attention as a startup run by Gen Xers, and the labels have caught extra attention. 

"The four of us riff really well together," says Pothier. "That's what makes our business really tight. We sit together and drink wine and come up with these funny names. I used to make silly line drawings of things Joe said when he was drunk. Suddenly, we were making wine, and we needed to come up with a label." 

Now 42, Pothier hails from the Northwest and has a lively bohemian personality to match. After growing up in Seattle, Pothier and Bechard lived in Eugene, Oregon, where they enjoyed the college town's rich and offbeat culture. 

"We used to have this group of friends to party with," she recalls. "I would go to bookstores, sit at a typewriter. Eugene was such a different life. I lived for five years with an artist, and he taught me how to draw. He had an old-school method. He was very underground, unexposed to normal life." 

This unconventional creativity stuck with her, even when Pothier and Bechard moved to Arizona. Pothier worked briefly in the film industry, then shifted her attention to Chateau Tumbleweed, but the desire to compose drawings by hand has never 

waned. Here was a chance to put that talent to good use, by creating labels that look like they come out of high-concept comic books. 

The drawings may looks simple and free, but they're actually the result of an elaborate digital process. 

"[First] I draw them, then reduce them to basically cookie-cutters so we can put them into Photoshop," Pothier explains by e-mail. "Jeff [Hendricks] takes control of the process from there, then I come back in to decide on colors. Then the image goes into [Adobe] Illustrator for the background and font. Also, our labels are super nerdy on the back, so Joe collects all of the pertinent info and passes it to Jeff. Then we edit a billion times and send to the federal government for approval, then they go to the Paragon label company for printing." 

While many of their labels are merely descriptive, several have distinct characters, such as "Cousin Id," "Will E. Cox," "Lil Frankie," and "Earth Cuckoo." Each portrait incorporates the same tumbleweed image, usually replacing the figure's face, although the tumbleweed is often just a presence: Rolling View Vineyard shows an elephant balancing on the tumbleweed just like a circus ball. The figures are drawn without heads, and only two different tumbleweed drawings are used; one or the other is digitally inserted into the composition. 

Given the growing popularity of the images, it's easy to imagine a gallery show of those original drawings. But the quartet is kept busy crafting and bottling their stock, and they're not sure exactly what to do with the artwork. 

"There's just a huge folder [of sketches] in my drawing area," Pothier says. "We talk about making coloring books. They are really neat on their own. But they're headless, so they're kind of weird." 

Follow Pothier on Instagram @chateautumbleweed to learn more about the wine and to see more labels.

Arizona Wine Country: Chateau Tumbleweed wines are on a roll (MyNewsMesa.com)

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by Darla Hoffmann

The voyage of life can be much like that of a tumbleweed. We break away from our roots and go where the wind takes us. We might get stuck when there are obstacles in our way, but when we come across wide-open spaces, we can’t be stopped. This is the story of two determined husband and wife teams and their road trip to Chateau Tumbleweed.

The four owners, Kris Pothier, Joe Bechard, Kim Koistinen and Jeff Hendricks met around 12 years ago working at Page Springs Cellars in Cornville, Arizona. Kim and Jeff had been in the industry for some time but up until then Kris and Joe had only considered themselves cellar rats. All four of them played different roles, honed their skills and gained an incredible amount of knowledge. For a period of time thereafter, each of them explored various opportunities at different vineyards, wineries and careers in the arts in addition to Page Springs.

The talented foursome drew attention from prominent winemakers, and were quite possibly being recognized as the future of Arizona wines. Youth combined with ambition make for a promising marriage in the wine industry. Maynard Keenan, owner of Caduceus cellars and former rock star, saw great things in these wind travelers and approached them about making their own wine at his Four Eight Wineworks co-op. This is a facility he created to allow winemakers with a high level of skill, but not a hefty bank account, to make wine. It is a shared space with a press, destemmer, crush equipment, bottling line and fermentation tanks all funded by Keenan. Keenan was faced with some legality issues at first because rotating use in one location was not specifically allowed under Arizona state law. Therefore, his guinea pigs had to make wine under Keenan’s Caduceus license. The laws were changed in 2014 and Four Eight Wineworks now runs as a true cooperative. Chateau Tumbleweed made three vintages there never losing sight of their goal to open their own winery. All four owners worked other jobs while breathing life into Tumbleweed at the co-op. The Petznick family, owners of the historic D.A. Ranch in Cornville, took notice of their hard work as well and not only extended employment, but invested in their solo operation.

In 2015, Chateau Tumbleweed broke roots from Four Eight and took their own building on Highway 89A. They’ve done two harvests on their own and are already seeing a need for expansion on their property. When asked how they came up with the name for their winery, Pothier said: “We had no intent to be in Arizona or in wine. We kind of got stuck in the fence of the wine industry.” They are expressing their appreciation of freedom by experimenting with different winemaking styles, varietals, types of oak, and yeast. They also use fun labels with ornate drawings incorporating the tumbleweed.

I had the pleasure of tasting their 2015 “Miss Sandy Jones” Chardonnay and Verdelho blend, along with their fresh and spicy 2015 “Cimarron Vineyard” Graciano made in whole cluster fermentation. Additionally, Pothier and her benevolent character, sent me home with the 2015 “Will E. Cox” red blend and the 2014 “Cimarron Vineyard” Tempranillo. There is an embodiment of cutting-edge style to their wines as well as their individual personalities. They are staying true to who they are as well.

“We take our winemaking very seriously, but not ourselves. We like to have fun and take out the ‘snobby’ of wine,” said Bechard.

As they tumble into new ideas, they are spreading their seeds across Arizona, guaranteeing that there will be more tumbleweeds in the future. They don’t have their own vineyard yet but this is something they are hoping to roll into as well. For now, they source from 10 different vineyards mostly in Willcox in Southeast Arizona. So, as the song goes, “As tumbling tumbleweeds go, they have plans of drifting along with nowhere and everywhere to go, pledging their love to the ground, and leaving the cares of the past behind.”

Chateau Tumbleweed Winery and Tasting room is located at 1151 AZ-89A, Clarkdale, Arizona 86324.
Visit their website at www.chateautumbleweed.com to learn more or purchase their wines online.

These 3 Arizona rosé wines are so good they'll make you blush (This is Tucson)

Andi Berlin | This Is Tucson Aug 9, 2016 

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Proof that Arizona rosé is becoming a thing: When I started the research for this article I figured you could count our state's pink wines on one hand. I called five stores and discovered a dozen different varieties; some dry, some fruity, some traditional and some in a can. 

Our state is hot, and that makes for big, fruity wines as the grapes ripen in the sun. Arizona rosé is not the light and mellow stuff you'd sip in France, and it's not California either. To understand what Arizona rosé really is though, you have to drink it. So I spoke to the folks at Tap & Bottle as well as Allen Rodriguez of Plaza Liquors to find out, just where to start ... 

The cheap one: Provisioner Arizona Rose (2015) 

Bargain hunters already love their red and the white, but this "pink table wine" is a new addition to the Provisioner lineup. We know it's good, because it's made by Camp Verde winemaker Eric Glomski of Page Springs Cellars and the state's most popular winery Arizona Stronghold. Provisioner Rosé is a blend of 56% French Colombard, 25% Malvasia Bianca, 12% Grenache, 4% Mourvedre and 3% Malbec. The bottle says to expect "aromas of honeydew melon, pink grapefruit, Bing cherries and rose water." 

The moderate one: Chateau Tumbleweed Rosé (2014) 

Look for the drawing of the red-headed girl with tumbleweeds pulled into pigtails. That's Chateau Tumbleweed, a burgeoning Clarkdale winery run by two husband and wife teams. Despite its Northern Arizona digs, Chateau Tumbleweed sources its grapes from Cochise County: The rosé is a blend of 95% Sangiovese from Fort Bowie Vineyards and 5% Graciano from Cimarron. I included it on this list because it was tested an approved by my editor Irene McKisson, if that's proof enough for ya. 

The less moderate one: Sand Reckoner Rosé (2014) 

This vibrant rosé is the fifth vintage for the Cochise County vineyard Sand Reckoner, which continues to push boundaries by exploring rare varietals. Unlike other blends on this list the wine is 100% Nebbiolo, an exceptionally finicky grape from northwestern Italy. Look for "aromas of red fruits, blood orange and grapefruit. The palate shows a great tension between crisp acidity and minerally structure." 

BONUS: Keeling- Schaefer Vineyards Rock Creek Rosé (2014) 

Allen at Plaza liked this rosé the best "especially for the money," and said it's one of their most popular sellers. The Cochise County winery Keeling- Schaefer priced this rosé "aggressively" compare to the rest of its selection, but the quality is still there. It's a Provencal-style rose made from 100% Grenache grapes, "clean, dry, crisp" and "full of cherry, watermelon and prickly pear fruit." 

 

 

Winners of the 2015 Arizona Republic Wine Competition (The Republic | azcentral.com)

Richard Ruelas, The Republic | azcentral.com Published 9:45 p.m. MT Nov. 20, 2015 | Updated 1:58 p.m. MT Nov. 23, 2015

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Celebrating the best wines made in Arizona 

For the second year in a row, Kent Callaghan of Callaghan Vineyards in Elgin has taken home the Best in Show award in the Arizona Republic Wine Competition. 

Last year, he won for a red wine. This year, he wins for a white, Ann's, a 2014 vintage of Arizona-grown Malvasia Bianca. 

The wine is named for Ann Buhl, the wife of Al Buhl, an Arizona wine pioneer who passed away in 2013. The grapes are sourced from the Buhl Memorial Vineyard, owned by Maynard James Keenan of Caduceus Cellars. 

That grape is becoming one of the state's signature plantings. Another Malvasia Bianca, from Sand-Reckoner Vineyards near Willcox, made it to the final round, as did a white blend from Page Springs Cellars that features the grape. 

Callaghan won top honors last year with a 2013 Tannat, another grape varietal that appears uniquely suited for Arizona's wine-growing regions.
The best rose in the contest — which received numerous votes for Best in Show — was from Sand-Reckoner, owned by Rob and Sarah Hammelman. 

The best red wine was a 2013 Page Springs Cellars Grenache aged on staves made from Arizona white oak trees. The best dessert wine was a 2014 Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Muscat made with grapes grown at Bonita Springs Vineyard near Willcox. Page Springs Cellars and Arizona Stronghold Vineyards are both owned by Eric Glomski. 

Judges met at Tarbell's restaurant on Oct. 26 for the judging. The 20 judges — sommeliers, food and beverage managers, chefs and other wine professionals — were divided into five panels. Each panel tasted a selection of the more than 220 entries. 

Each panel was encouraged to discuss and debate the wines they tasted and select two to advance to the final round. Those 10 wines were tasted by all 20 judges. That round determined the top prizes, including Best in Show. The Growers Cup awards are given to wines that are made in Arizona from at least 75 percent Arizona-grown grapes. The Winemakers Medal is awarded to wines made in Arizona with grapes that could be grown anywhere. 

Best in Show 

Callaghan Vineyards, Ann's, 2014. 

Growers Cup Red 

First place: Page Springs Cellars, Grenache AZ White Oak, 2013.
Second place: Gallifant Cellars, Rone Ranger, 2014.
Third place: Chateau Tumbleweed, Dr. Ron Bot, 2013.

Growers Cup White 

First place: Callaghan Vineyards, Ann's, 2014.
Second place: Sand-Reckoner, Malvasia Bianca, 2014.
Third place: Page Springs Cellars, 2014. Vino del Barrio Blanca, 2014.

Growers Cup Rose

First place: Sand-Reckoner, Rose, 2014.
Second place: Page Springs Cellars, Counoise Rose House Mountain Vineyard, 2014.
Third place (tie): Chateau Tumbleweed, Rose, 2013. Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Sparkling Pink, 2014. 

Growers Cup Dessert 

First place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Bonita Springs Vineyard Muscat, 2014.
Second place: Carlson Creek Vineyard, Sweet Adeline Riesling, 2013.
Third place: Coronado Vineyards, Riesling, 2013.

The Top 10 

Judges selected these wines for the final round of tasting:
Callaghan Vineyards, Ann's, 2014.
Chateau Tumbleweed, Dr. Ron Bot, 2013.
Dos Cabezas WineWorks, El Campo Blanco, 2013.
Gallifant Cellars, Rone Ranger, 2014.
Pillsbury Wine Co, Diva, 2013.
Page Springs Cellars, Grenache AZ White Oak, 2013.
Page Springs Cellars, Vino del Barrio Blanca, 2014.
Rune, Grenache, 2013.
Sand-Reckoner, Malvasia Bianca, 2014.
Sand-Reckoner, Rose, 2014. 

Winemakers Red 

First place: Burning Tree Cellars, Jespersen Ranch Syrah, Edna Valley, Calif., 2013.
Second place: Caduceus Cellars, Le Cortigiane Oneste, Luna County, N.M., 2013.
Third place: Caduceus Cellars, Velvet Slippers Club: Aglianico, Luna County, N.M., 2013. 

Winemakers White 

First place: Passion Cellars, Malvasia Bianca, N.M., 2014.
Second place: Burning Tree Cellars, Spanish Springs Chardonnay, Edna Valley, Calif., 2012.
Third place: Rune, Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley, Calif., 2013. 

Best Cabernet Sauvignon 

First place: Golden Rule Vineyards, Black Diamond, 2013.
Second place: Saeculum Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013.
Third place: Gallifant Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012.

Best Grenache 

First place (tie): Page Springs Cellars, Grenache AZ White Oak, 2013. Flying Leap Vineyards, Grenache FLV - Block1, 2013. Rune, Grenache, 2013.
Second place: Callaghan Vineyards, Grenache, 2014. 

Best Merlot 

First place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Bonita Springs Merlot Pick 1 Free Run, 2014. 

Best Petite Sirah 

First place: Pillsbury Wine Co., Petite Sirah, 2013.
Second place: Keeling Schaefer Vineyards, Little Block Petite Sirah, 2013.
Third place: Bodega Pierce, Petite Sirah, 2014.

Best Sangiovese

First place: Freitas Vineyard, Bellocchio, 2012.
Second place: Golden Rule Vineyards, Sangiovese, 2013.
Third place: Caduceus Cellars, Kitsuné, 2013.

Best Syrah

First place: Rune, Wild Syrah, 2013.
Second place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Buhl Memorial Vineyard Syrah Clone 383, 2014.
Third place (tie): Rune, Classic Syrah, 2013. Zarpara Vineyard, Syrah, 2013.

Best Rhone Blend

First place: Gallifant Cellars, Rone Ranger, 2014.
Second place: Zarpara Vineyard, Origen, 2013.
Third place: Chateau Tumbleweed, Dr. Ron Bot, 2013.

Best Bordeaux blend 

First place: Callaghan Vineyards, Ruth's, 2014.
Second place: Callaghan Vineyards, Caitlin's, 2013.
Third place: Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Rock Slide, 2013. 

Best Super Tuscan blend 

First place: Bodega Pierce, Emotiva, 2014.
Second place: Caduceus Cellars, Nagual del Marzo, 2013.
Third place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Mangus,2013. 

Best non-traditional red blend 

First place: Pillsbury Wine Co, Diva, 2013.
Second place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Red, 2013.
Third place: Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Prospectors Blend, 2014. 

Best Chardonnay 

First place: Bodega Pierce, Chardonnay, 2014.
Second place: Gallifant Cellars, Chardonnay, 2013.
Third place: Pillsbury Wine Co., Chardonnay Reserve, 2014. 

Best Malvasia Bianca 

First place (tie): Callaghan Vineyards, Ann's, 2014. Sand-Reckoner, Malvasia Bianca, 2014.
Second place (tie): Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Bonita Springs Vineyard Malvasia Bianca, 2014. Bodega Pierce, Malvasia Bianca, 2014. 

Best Viogner 

First place: Rune, Viognier, 2013.
Second place: Pillsbury Wine Co., Viognier, 2014.
Third place: Zarpara Vineyard, Viogner, 2014. 

Best White blend 

First place:Dos Cabezas WineWorks, El Campo Blanco, 2013.
Second place: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, DIYA, 2014.
Third place: Merkin Vineyards, Chupacabra Blanca, 2014.

Best Rose varietal

First place: Page Springs Cellars, Counoise Rose House Mountain Vineyard, 2014.
Second place: Caduceus Cellars, Marzo Rose, 2014.
Third place (tie): Callaghan Vineyards, Dry Grenache Rose, 2014. Deep Sky Vineyard, Nebula, 2014.

Best Rose blend

First place:Sand-Reckoner, Rose, 2014.
Second place: Chateau Tumbleweed, Rose, 2013.
Third place: Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Sparkling Pink, 2014. 

Judges 

These are the judges and the wines they scored the highest. Some judges awarded multiple wines the same high score.

Cornelius Cover, sommelier, Core Kitchen & Wine Bar, Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain: Rune, Viognier, 2013.

Alex Davis, beverage manager, J&G Steakhouse, The Phoenician: Sand-Reckoner, Malvasia Bianca, 2014. 

Bill Dunphy, owner, Trocadero Wine School: Pillsbury Wine Co., Diva, 2013. 

Blaise Faber, Pizzeria Bianco, Town and Country: Rune, Viognier, 2013. 

Regan Jasper, sommelier, Fox Restaurant Concepts: Golden Rule Vineyards, Black Diamond, 2013. 

Sarah Joubert, supervisor, Province, Westin Phoenix Downtown: Callaghan Vineyards, Grenache, 2014. Page Springs Cellars, Grenache AZ White Oak, 2013. 

Kevin Lewis, sommelier, wine director, Kai: Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Buhl Memorial Vineyard Syrah Clone 383, 2014. 

Patrick Norton, general manager, J&G Steakhouse: Sand-Reckoner, Rose, 2014. 

Jenna Rousseau, owner, Central Wine: Chateau Tumbleweed, Arneis, 2014. Bodega Pierce, Chardonnay, 2014. Callaghan Vineyards, Tannat, 2013. 

Jay Soloff, co-founder, DeLille Cellars, Wash.: Sand-Reckoner, Malvasia Bianca, 2014. 

Jared Sowinski, director of beverage, The Phoenician: Chateau Tumbleweed, Dr. Ron Bot, 2013. Deep Sky Vineyard, Orbit, 2013. Gallifant Cellars, Rone Ranger, 2014. 

Katie Stephens, co-owner, Beckett’s Table and Southern Rail: Page Springs Cellars, Vino del Barrio Blanca. 2014. Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Cabernet Franc, 2014. 

T. Scott Stephens, co-owner, Southern Rail and Beckett’s Table: Flying Leap Vineyards, Petit Verdot, 2013. Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Bonita Springs Vineyard Muscat, 2014. 

Ryan Swanson, chef de cuisine, Kai: Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Cabernet Franc, 2014. 

Mark Tarbell, owner and chef, Tarbell’s Restaurant: Sand-Reckoner, Malvasia Bianca, 2014. 

Greg Tresner, sommelier, The Phoenician, Court of Master Sommeliers: Rune, Viognier, 2013. 

Alec van Dobben, beverage manager, El Chorro Lodge: Passion Cellars, Malvasia Bianca, New Mexico, 2014. Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Bonita Springs Vineyard Muscat, 2014. 

Noelle Waite, division manager, Southern Wine & Spirits of Arizona: Dos Cabezas WineWorks, El Campo Blanco, 2013. Gallifant Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012. Pillsbury Wine Co, Diva, 2013. 

Michael West, restaurant manager, wine director, Core Kitchen & Wine Bar, Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain: Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Cabernet Franc, 2014. 

Cortney Wilson, assistant F&B manager, resident mixologist, District American Kitchen and Wine Bar, Sheraton: Callaghan Vineyards, Ann's, 2014. 

Medals 

Judges awarded gold, silver and bronze medals, either through a table consensus or through an average of individual judges' scores. 

Gold Medals 

Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Buhl Memorial Vineyard Syrah Clone 383, 2014.
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, DIYA, 2014.
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Tazi, 2013.
Bodega Pierce, Pandora, 2014.
Callaghan Vineyards, Ann's, 2014.
Callaghan Vineyards, Tannat, 2013.
Dos Cabezas WineWorks, El Campo Blanco, 2013.
Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Red, 2013.
Flying Leap Vineyards, Grenache FLV-Block 1, 2013.
Freitas Vineyard, Bellocchio, 2012.
Gallifant Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012.
Golden Rule Vineyards, Black Diamond, 2013.
Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Cabernet Franc, 2014.
Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Prospectors Blend, 2014.
Merkin Vineyards, Chupacabra Blanca, 2014.
Page Springs Cellars, Counoise Rose House Mountain Vineyard, 2014.
Page Springs Cellars, Grenache AZ White Oak, 2013.
Page Springs Cellars, Vino del Barrio Blanca, 2014..
Pillsbury Wine Co., Diva, 2013.
Pillsbury Wine Co., Viognier, 2014.
Rune, Classic Syrah, 2013.
Rune, Grenache, 2013.
Rune, Viognier, 2013.
Rune, Wild Syrah, 2013.
Saeculum Cellars, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013. Sand-Reckoner, Malvasia Bianca, 2014.
Sand-Reckoner, Rosé, 2014.
Zarpara Vineyard, Syrah, 2013.
Zarpara Vineyard, Viognier, 2014.

Silver Medals

Alcantara Vineyards and Winery, Sauvignon Blanc, 2014.
Alcantara Vineyards and Winery, Syrah, 2012.
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Dayden, 2014.
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Bonita Springs Vineyard Muscat, 2014..
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Bonita Springs Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Pick 4 Free Run, 2014.
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Bonita Springs Merlot Pick 1 Free Run, 2014.
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Bonita Springs Vineyard Malvasia Bianca, 2014.
Bodega Pierce, Emotiva, 2014.
Bodega Pierce, Chardonnay, 2014.
Bodega Pierce, Malvasia Bianca, 2014.
Burning Tree Cellars, Jespersen Ranch Syrah, 2013.
Caduceus Cellars, Dos Ladrones, 2014.
Caduceus Cellars, Kitsuné, 2013.
Caduceus Cellars, Le Cortigiane Oneste, 2013.
Caduceus Cellars,Velvet Slippers Club: Viognier, 2014.
Caduceus Cellars, Marzo Rosé, 2014.
Callaghan Vineyards, Grenache, 2014.
Callaghan Vineyards, Grenache, 2013.
Carlson Creek Vineyard, Grenache, 2013.
Carlson Creek Vineyard, Syrah, 2012
Carlson Creek Vineyard, Riesling, 2013.
Chateau Tumbleweed, Rose, 2013.
Chateau Tumbleweed, Arneis, 2014.
Chateau Tumbleweed, Dr. Ron Bot, 2013.
Chateau Tumbleweed, Syrah, 2013.
Coronado Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013.
Coronado Vineyards, Syrah, 2013.
Deep Sky Vineyard, Constellation, 2013.
Deep Sky Vineyard, Aurora, 2014.
Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Sparkling Pink, 2014.
Dos Cabezas WineWorks, La Montaña, 2012.
Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Pink, 2014.
Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Aguileon, 2012.
Flying Leap Vineyards, Petit Verdot, 2013.
Four Eight Wineworks, Four Eight Red, 2013.
Four Tails Vineyard, Big Paw Syrah, 2013.
Freitas Vineyard, Mesa, 2010.
Gallifant Cellars, Rone Ranger, 2014.
Golden Rule Vineyards, Eureka, 2013.
Golden Rule Vineyards, Manzora Red, 2013.
Golden Rule Vineyards, Sangiovese, 2013.
Golden Rule Vineyards, Commonwealth, 2013.
Golden Rule Vineyards, Cobra Loma, 2013.
Golden Rule Vineyards, Lucky Prospector, 2013.
Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Syrah, 2014.
Keeling Schaefer Vineyards, Three Sisters Syrah, 2012.
Keeling Schaefer Vineyards, Best Friends Viognier, 2013.
Kief-Joshua Vineyards, Magdelena, 2013.
Lawrence Dunham Vineyards, Syrah, 2012.
Page Springs Cellars ̧ Grenache Neutral Oak
Page Springs Vineyard, 2013.
Page Springs Cellars, Syrah Clone 470 Dos Padres Vineyard, 2014.
Passion Cellars, Malvasia Bianca, 2014.
Passion Cellars, Sauvignon Blanc, 2014.
Pillsbury Wine Co., WildChild White, 2013.
Pillsbury Wine Co., Petite Sirah, 2013.
Provisioner Wines, Provisioner Red, 2014.
Provisioner Wines, Provisioner White, 2014.
Saeculum Cellars, Viognier, 2014.
Salvatore Vineyards, Viognier, 2014.
Sand-Reckoner, Picpoul Blanc, 2014.
Sand-Reckoner, "7", 2012.
Sierra Bonita Vineyards, Hacienda, 2012.
Southwest Wine Center at Yavapai College, Viognier, 2014.
Southwest Wine Center at Yavapai College, Grenache, 2014.
Zarpara Vineyard, Origen, 2013.

Bronze Medals

Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Bonita Springs Vineyard Gewurztraminer, 2014.
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Mangus, 2013.
Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, Nachise, 2014.
Bodega Pierce, Petite Sirah, 2014.
Burning Tree Cellars, Spanish Springs Chardonnay, 2012
Caduceus Cellars, Velvet Slippers Club: Aglianico, 2013.
Caduceus Cellars, Nagual del Marzo, 2013.
Caduceus Cellars, Velvet Slippers Club: Malvasia Bianca, 2014.
Callaghan Vineyards, Ruth's, 2014.
Callaghan Vineyards, Caitlin's, 2013.
Callaghan Vineyards, Dry Grenache Rose, 2014.
Carlson Creek Vineyard, Rule Of Three, 2012.
Coronado Vineyards, Riesling, 2013.
Coronado Vineyards, Conquistador Red, NV.
Coronado Vineyards, Two Heads Red, NV.
Deep Sky Vineyard, Orbit, 2013.
Deep Sky Vineyard, Nebula, 2014.
Dos Cabezas WineWorks, El Norte, 2012.
Flying Leap Vineyards, Solo, 2014.
Gallifant Cellars, Chardonnay, 2013.
Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2013.
Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Legacy Zinfandel, 2014.
Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, Rock Slide, 2013.
Keeling Schaefer Vineyards, Little Block Petite Sirah, 2013.
Keeling Schaefer Vineyards, Two Reds Grenache, 2012.
Keeling Schaefer Vineyards, Keeling Brothers Shiraz, 2012.
Lawrence Dunham Vineyards, Petite Sirah, 2012.
Lawrence Dunham Vineyards, The Signature Petite Sirah, 2012.
Merkin Vineyards, Chupacabra, 2014.
Page Springs Cellars, Mertis Ap, 2013.
Passion Cellars, Heaven's Half Acre, 2013.
Pillsbury Wine Co., Symphony, 2014.
Pillsbury Wine Co., Chardonnay Reserve, 2014.
Pillsbury Wine Co., Symphony Sweet Lies Reserve, 2014.
Pillsbury Wine Co., Shiraz Guns and Kisses, 2013.
Pillsbury Wine Co., Chardonnay, 2014.
Rune, Chardonnay, 2013.
Salvatore Vineyards, Lacrime di Risate, 2013.
Sierra Bonita Vineyards, Hacienda Blanca, 2012.
Sierra Bonita Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012.
Sonoita Vineyards, Sonora Blanca, NV.
Sonoita Vineyards, Petite Sirah, 2012.
Southwest Wine Center at Yavapai College, Syrah, 2014.
Southwest Wine Center at Yavapai College, Petite Sirah, 2014.
Su Vino Winery, Chardonnay, NV. 

 

AZ winemakers take flight with rocker's help (The Republic | azcentral.com)

Richard Ruelas, The Republic | azcentral.com Published 3:07 p.m. MT Sept. 11, 2015 | Updated 7:33 a.m. MT Sept. 14, 2015
ARTICLE LINK
 

Acquiring the desire to make wine is much easier than acquiring the equipment to do so. 

Kim Koistinen, who had both that desire and a head for numbers, had penciled out exactly how large that gap was. 

Four years ago, she and her husband, along with another married couple, shared a dream of starting their own winery. The other three focused on the immediate expenses — grapes, barrels and bottles. But Koistinen took it upon herself to calculate just how much money they would need in the long term to be an independent winery. 

The more numbers she crunched, the more daunting it seemed.
“I was planning it out to the point where it’s almost pointing (to) you can’t do it, so give it up,” Koistinen said. 

She recalled this while standing behind the bar at the Chateau Tumbleweed tasting room, the independent winery that the four friends had dreamed about. 

It was the first hour the tasting room off Highway 89A in Clarkdale had opened. It was before noon, but already one customer had come in. “Part of this doesn’t feel real,” said Kim’s husband, Jeff Hendricks, sitting on a couch waiting for the second customer of the day. 

Chateau Tumbleweed was able to go from an idea to a stand-alone business, thanks in part to a wine cooperative designed to lower the financial barriers for ambitious Arizona winemakers. 

Keenan's idea 

The Four Eight Wineworks co-op was the brainchild of Maynard James Keenan, who released the first wines from his own Caduceus label in 2004. 

Keenan entered the wine business as a second career. His first career was a lucrative one as a Grammy-winning musician. Keenan fronts the bands Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer. 

He was just as busy in the Arizona wine industry. Besides the Caduceus label, Keenan co-founded the Arizona Stronghold label with Eric Glomski of Page Springs Cellars. That partnership dissolved in 2014, but the effort let Keenan meet a bunch of talented young professionals who worked for Stronghold and Page Springs. 

None of them were successful rock musicians or retired executives living off their nest eggs. They were, by and large, young. 

None had the kind of bankroll required to start a winery — where the grapes, barrels and bottles are just part of a costly process that also requires equipment to crush fruit, let it ferment in tanks and fill and label bottles. Equipment varies, but in all it can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Keenan knew that each of the winemakers he knew had the desire to strike out on their own. And he also knew the state’s industry would be better off if they did. 

“We are far from saturated,” Keenan said, comparing the 94 licensed wineries in Arizona to the thousands in California. Having more quality winemakers around tends to lift up everybody’s game, he said. 

“So it’s the idea of nurturing talented guys and just kind of having a small army of people going out into the universe pimping Arizona (wine), to let people know about it. 

“The only way we can do that is to help each other.” 

A problem solved 

Keenan figured he could help by letting the winemakers use the equipment in the building where he was making his Merkin Vineyards wine, especially the expensive pieces like the press, the de-stemmer, the bottling line and holding tanks. He also has a forklift. 

A cooperative arrangement seemed the best idea, Keenan said, one in which each winery takes turns on the equipment, but makes their wine themselves. 

One problem: Such a rotating use in one location was not specifically allowed under Arizona state law. 

That was resolved in the 2014 legislative session. A so-called omnibus bill introduced by the liquor industry resolved several issues, including allowing ceramic beer growlers, allowing wineries to distill spirits and raising production limits on microbreweries. One paragraph allowed what was called “alternating proprietorships.” 

Two or more licensed wineries could share a location, under the law, with each having sole responsibility for its own winemaking. 

Wines produced at the co-op are poured at the Four Eight Wineworks tasting room, located in a historic bank building in downtown Clarkdale, a town on a historic highway between Cottonwood and Jerome. The tasting room allows each winery to get their bottles to the public, generating both interest and cash flow. Without that outlet, upstart wineries sell through weekend festivals — a hit-or-miss proposition at best. 

Keenan opened the tasting room in 2013, before the law was changed. His first clients made wine under Keenan’s Caduceus license. With the change in the law, which went into effect in July 2014, Four Eight now runs as a true cooperative. 

It is housed in a former meat processing plant in Camp Verde. Now, growers process grapes instead. Along the walls are spots where tenants can store barrels, as well as yeasts and small-scale equipment. Boundaries are marked with bursts from a spray-paint can. 

A nod to that tool is on the bottles of white and red Four Eight Wineworks wines – also poured at the tasting room – and listed as a collaboration of all member wineries. 

Current tenants are Saeculum Cellars and Iniquus Cellars. Both labels’ winemakers, Michael Pierce for Saeculum and Tim White for Iniquus, had worked at Arizona Stronghold. 

Keenan said there is no time limit on how long winemakers can be part of the co-op. “If we had eight guys making 1,000 cases each or less under that roof forever, great,” he said. But once wineries get to making 2,000 or 3,000 cases a year “it’s probably time to start saving your pennies and open your own place.” 

Which is exactly what happened to Chateau Tumbleweed. 

Getting a start 

Tumbleweed had been the first tenant at Four Eight. Its winemaker is Joe Bechard, who was a winemaker at Page Springs Cellars. 

Bechard moved to Arizona from Oregon to work as a reporter at a Sedona newspaper. He was covering a county meeting, and on its agenda was the approval of a winery in Cornville. Bechard said he approached the applicant, Glomski, about doing a story on the winery. That evolved into Bechard quitting journalism and getting hired at Page Springs. 

His wife, Kris Pothier, worked part time at the tasting room of Page Springs. 

They soon met a couple, Koistinen the number-cruncher and Hendricks, transplanted Californians who also took jobs at Page Springs: Koistinen in the office, Hendricks in the vineyard. 

The four friends would often be “hanging out late at night,” Pothier said, “talking about what it would be like to make wine on our own.” That was about when Koistinen, who had made business plans for Arizona Stronghold, started crunching the numbers further. 

The four could continue forging ahead, she said, but it would mean continuing their full-time jobs while devoting their off hours to this hobby, in the hopes it would eventually pay off. 

“I think it would have taken three or four years like that,” she said. Had the four been able to sustain the effort, maybe they could have shown enough sales for a bank to lend them funds. “Still, you usually need 20 to 30 percent down yourself,” she said. “It would have been a long run.” 

Enter Keenan with a plan to do an end-around that long run.
Keenan didn’t want winemakers like Bechard to feel they needed to move to California or another wine-growing area to gain experience and save money. 

“We knew that there had to be a way to make this thing work,” Keenan said. “We wanted to have people who already had experience, already had talent and provide them with a space to get their thing going, get off the ground.” 

Keenan sent Bechard to the Carlton Wine Studio in Oregon, by all accounts the first wine co-op in the country, to do some research. Eric Hamacher opened the co-op in 2002. Since then, he said, about three dozen wineries have rotated through.
“At its core, the idea of sharing equipment is extremely practical,” Hamacher said.

Growing together 

One lesson Keenan and Bechard grasped was how important the chemistry is among the co-op members. At Four Eight, Keenan said, existing members will get a say on new members. 

“If the consensus is that guy’s not fun to work with, we don’t want him in the space,” Keenan said. “It has to be people that get along.” 

Keenan said all co-op members need to come with a business plan. They need to show how they intend to keep making wine year over year, and how they plan to sell it. Keenan said he doesn’t want them to solely rely on sales from the tasting room in Clarkdale. 

So far, a collegial spirit has existed at Four Eight. At harvest time, members help each other out with the labor of processing grapes. And there have been few battles over scheduling the use of equipment. A general manager runs the winery to referee disputes. 

The winemakers pay a fee for use of the equipment — based on how much wine they produce — and make their own business- and winemaking decisions. Each produces a unique product. 

Pothier said Chateau Tumbleweed still had expenses after joining the co-op. But they were in the mere thousands, not the hundreds of thousands. 

Chateau Tumbleweed saw quick growth. It went from producing 65 cases in 2011, its first year, to a planned 1,200 cases this year. The wine also earned top honors at the 2015 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest in the United States. 

And it attracted attention from the Petznick family, owners of one of Arizona’s biggest and oldest agriculture 

businesses. The Petznicks own the historic D.A. Ranch in Cornville, where it planted a vineyard. The family hired Bechard to make the wines for the D.A. Ranch label. The Petznicks also invested in Chateau Tumbleweed, accelerating the winery’s move toward independence. 

This year, Chateau Tumbleweed bought a building along Highway 89A, a few miles from both the Four Eight tasting room and the row of tasting rooms in Old Town Cottonwood. It started moving its barrels out of the Four Eight winery and into its own space. It also had the new equipment delivered — its own tanks, de-stemmer and bottling line. It wouldn’t be needing the co-op’s anymore. 

Taking flight 

Opening day brought a crush of small details. Pothier printed out small tags to place by the display of T-shirts. Koistinen tried to figure out a price for wines by the glass, an oversight on the menu. Hendricks was on the phone with Google trying to convince them that he was indeed a co-owner and that the winery had a new phone number and address. 

Bechard walked through the temperature-controlled barrel room and winery, and the outdoor pad where grapes will be brought in for initial crushing and processing. 

“It will get small fast,” Bechard said. “I hope that problem comes.” 

Just four years after producing their first bottle, the four are planning for an ambitious future. They might build more cold storage around back. Or an expanded tasting room. They are eyeing the parcel next door. And they are looking for land to plant their own estate vineyard. 

Meanwhile, the departure of Chateau Tumbleweed left space to fill at the co-op. 

The newest member will be Oddity Wine Collective. It is made up of three friends — Aaron Weiss, Bree Nation and David Baird — who met at the wine program at Yavapai College in Clarkdale. The oldest of them, Weiss, is 30. 

But their spray-painted spot will be in a smaller area. Baird said the trio plan on growing the winery slowly. All three plan to keep their day jobs. For Baird, that is as the manager of the Four Eight Wineworks tasting room. 

Baird said even though the three will pay a fee to use the winery equipment, he sees Keenan’s co-op as a “philanthropic idea to stimulate this industry.” Oddity plans to start small, releasing 250 cases of wine – one white and three reds – in the fall of 2016, Baird said. 

“We want to strike while the iron is hot,” Baird said. “We have the opportunity to not only be on the ground floor of the co-op, but this industry itself is in its infancy. We want to get in on it while we can and make a name for ourselves.”