Tumbleweed in the news

The Wines to Buy This Thanksgiving: A Guide to America’s Up-and-Coming Regions (Wall Street Journal)

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By Lettie Teague
Nov. 15, 2019 11:45 am ET

Full article available by subscription to the Wall Street Journal.

Excerpt of article that mentions Chateau Tumbleweed:

16. Arizona
2018 Chateau Tumbleweed Cimarron Vineyard Picpoul Blanc Cochise County $28 : Winemaker Joe Bechard characterizes this crisp, dry white as “dangerously chuggable.” It’s sourced from the Cimarron Vineyard, considered Arizona’s very best, planted by Oregon Pinot Noir superstar Dick Erath.

 

 

 

The best Arizona wines to sip by the pool this summer (Arizona Republic)

Georgann Yara, Special for Arizona Republic Published 7:30 a.m. MT Aug. 1, 2019 | Updated 2:26 p.m. MT Aug. 21, 2019 

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For the last few years, this mental image has made Arizona winemaker Todd Bostock smile: 

It’s a sunny day on a golf course. A guy driving his cart pulls up and comes to a stop. He prepares a refreshing adult beverage and opens his cooler. It’s packed with aluminum cans dressed in green and gold. And filled with wine. 

“It warms my heart,” said Bostock of Green Wine, his creation in a can for Garage-East, an urban winery in Gilbert’s Barnone of which he’s a partner. “It’s like an alternative to beer.” 

The Green Wine is in part the result of borrowed elements. The logo and colors on the can were made to resemble a beer can from the 1970s, and the contents emulates Vinho Verde, the Portuguese varietal known for being light and spritzy. The combination was what Valley residents who brave summers at home craved. 

“Garage-East is in the Valley, and it’s warm. We wanted to make a wine that would be useful most of the year. We were going for something low alcohol and refreshing,” Bostock said. 

Bostock is also the winemaker and co-owner of Dos Cabezas WineWorks, which is based in Sonoita and in a southern Arizona wine region that features high elevation and cooler temperatures year round. 

The Green Wine comes in totable 375 ml can ($12) – about two glasses worth. At Garage-East, it’s also available by the glass. The current 2018 vintage is the third generation of the wine. It’s a blend of malvasia bianca, reisling and sauvignon blanc. It is no shade of emerald. 

It’s one of the several Arizona wines made for enduring scorching desert summers. It’s also part of a wine packaging revolution that, as Bostock has said, lets wine to go where beer goes. 

What was once considered a trend-of-the-moment has become a $45 million business, according to Nielsen. And while canned wine makes up a fraction of the industry, it’s growing faster than its bottle counterparts. Canned wine sales in the U.S. grew 43 percent from 2017 to 2018, according to alcoholic beverage market research firm BW 166. 

Bostock is a veteran of the practice. His Dos Cabezas canned carbonated pink is among the most sought-after Arizona wines upon its annual release and Dos Cabezas’ Methode Canpenoise – another canned sparkler – was named the state’s top wine in the 2017 Arizona Republic Wine Competition. 

Bostock was prepared for criticism. But he said most consumers understand that opting for a can instead of a bottle is no reflection of the quality of wine inside it. 

“Most people get it. It’s not lame wine in a novel package. It’s the same wine we put in a bottle but in a package you can stick in your pocket,” he said. 

This is time of year when pink and white wines are in high demand. Lindsey Schoenemann, co-owner of downtown Phoenix wine bar GenuWine Arizona, said customers’ first word is “refreshing” when choosing one. 

Currently, rosé is king. Schoenemann’s personal favorite is the Rune Wines 2017 Rosé ($20), a crisp blend of grenache, syrah, mourvedre, petite sirah and graciano. 

When it comes to local white wines, Schoenemann is a fan of Arizona viogniers. She really likes the 2017 Pretty Girl Viognier from Four Tails Vineyard ($25). 

“This one is well-balanced, mineral and fruity. It’s really easy to drink,” she said. 

But this doesn’t mean reds don’t get any love when temps hit triple digits. Schoenemann enjoys red wine year round. Some may wish to chill their reds down in a bottle chiller or refrigerator for a few minutes, but she likes it at room temperature. Right now, Schoenemann is loving the Sand-Reckoner Vineyard 2016 R ($23), a blend of syrah, tannat, zinfandel and petite sirah. 

“It’s a little bit spicy but still refreshing and well-balanced. I love it with a meal ... like a black bean burger,” she said. 

From porch pounders to palate-smacking sippers, here are the homegrown wines that should be filling your glass when temperatures soar. Prices vary at retail locations. 

Carlson Creek Vineyard, 2015 Sauvignon Blanc ($23)
This straw-colored refresher’s light herbal inflection with hints of grilled pineapple and vanilla custard recently scored 91 points and a gold medal in the 2019 World Wine Championships. Light enough for poolside solo sipping with just enough personality to stand up to dishes like chicken fajitas or tofu banh mi. Don’t let the older vintage fool you. This vineyard is known for churning out white wines that peak gracefully with age.
Details: carlsoncreek.com (https://carlsoncreek.com/). 

Callaghan Vineyards, 2017 Love Muffin ($28)
This intoxicating blend of malvasia bianca, viogner, marsanne and rousanne entices in a friendly way as lychee and apricot permeate the nose and palate, waxing all the quenching ripeness that the season has to offer. A teeny spicy finish makes the encounter memorable.
Details: callaghanvineyards.com (https://www.callaghanvineyards.com/). 

Page Springs Cellars, 2018 Vino del Barrio Blanca ($16) 
One of this popular winery’s most high-profile offerings, this white boasts a union of eight varietals, with the heavy lifting done by malvasia bianca, pinot gris, viognier, vermintino and French colombard. The profile changes slightly each year depending on the blend but hitting all the right notes with hints of tropical fruit, citrus and pear that’s balanced with just enough minerality is the constant.
Details: pagespringscellars.com (http://pagespringscellars.com/).

Dos Cabezas WineWorks, 2018 El Campo Blanco ($30)
This brand new release was bottled in July and is anxious to play. It boasts a blend primarily comprised of rousanne and viognier, a Rhone duo that results in a refreshingly balanced sip.
Details: doscabezas.com (http://www.doscabezas.com/). 

Pillsbury Wine Company, 2017 WildChild White ($25)
Filmmaker-turned-winemaker Sam Pillsbury’s WildChild wines have been perennial pleasers for years, and his white blend is especially beloved when temperatures soar. An aromatic melding of symphony, viognier, malvasia bianca and chardonnay, this holds its own alone as well as paired with flavorful seafood dishes like grilled mahi mahi dressed with a mango salsa. It was also a double gold medal winner at this year’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
Details: pillsburywine.com (http://www.pillsburywine.com/). 

Merkin Vineyards, 2018 Puscifer Queen B Sparkling Rosé ($12)
This can of bubbly was made for summer picnics, hikes and San Diego beach escapes. Made from 100 percent mourvedre rather than the mainstream Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, this sparkling pink carries a bit more heft, zero sweetness and the ability to play nice with most summertime eats.
Details: merkinoldtownscottsdale.com (http://merkinoldtownscottsdale.com/). 

Chateau Tumbleweed 2017 Rosé ($25)
Don’t be fooled by the dark shade that may conjure up Kool-Aid memories. This bone-dry rosé made with barbera, sangiovese and grenache is far from sugary sweet. It also packs enough berry fruit and crispness to make it a versatile buddy for noshing.
Details: chateautumbleweed.com (http://www.chateautumbleweed.com/). 

Lightning Ridge Cellars, 2017 Montepulciano ($28)
Winemaker Ann Roncone specializes in Italian varietals, and this red is among her estate-grown wines. It’s medium-bodied but light enough to go with hearty grilled vegetables and stand up to steaks. A peppery finish gives it a playful kick.
Details: lightningridgecellars.com (http://lightningridgecellars.com/). 

File this away for summer 2020: Garage-East Rosé Pops 

Another Garage-East grab-and-go summer favorite is the rosé pop — kind of like a wine Otter Pop. Bostock worked with Tempe-based pastry chef Tracy Dempsey to come up with a recipe that allowed them to freeze yet kept its shape, texture and flavor. 

The pops are sold out, but put them on your next summer’s to-drink list.
Bostock said of the inspiration for the adult treat: “Everything is so serious. We wanted to have some fun.” 

If you’re looking for a good selection of Arizona wines and want to avoid the big box booze stores and grocers, head to these independent wine shops. Whether you’re very familiar with local wines or a newbie taking your first steps into the homegrown scene, chances are great that you’ll have your questions answered by someone who can help you navigate the terroir. 

Arcadia Premium: 5618 E. Thomas Road, Suite 100, Phoenix. 602-464-9000, arcadiapremium.com (https://arcadiapremium.com/arcadiapremium/). 

Bottle Shop 48: 3318 S. McClintock Drive, Tempe. 480-820-0804, bottleshop48.com (http://bottleshop48.com/).

GenuWine Arizona: 888 N. First Ave., Phoenix. 602-682-7494, genuwinearizona.com (https://genuwinearizona.com/).

Hidden Track Bottle Shop: The Monroe, 111 W. Monroe St., Suite 120, Phoenix. 602-566-7932, hiddentrackbottleshop.com (https://www.hiddentrackbottleshop.com/).

ODV Wines: 1325 W. University Drive, Tempe. 602-376-9021, odvwines.com (https://odvwines.com/).

Sphinx Date Co.: 3039 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. 480-941-2261, sphinxdateranch.com (https://www.sphinxdateranch.com/). 

 

It's Wine O'Clock: 48 Hours in the Verde Valley Is an Intoxicating Experience (Phoenix New Times)

STUART WARNER | JUNE 6, 2019 | 7:00AM

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We were making good time driving north on Interstate 17 at about 11:30 a.m. on Friday, May 10. I took the day off work so we could get an early start. That was important because the 90-minute drive can extend to two and a half hours on a busy weekend. “Traffic can get pretty bad coming from Phoenix on a Friday after work,” Paula Woolsey, vice president of the Verde Valley Wine Consortium, reminded me later.

Then, we encountered temptation. Exit 262. Rock Springs Café. Pie. Cherry pie. Apple pie. Banana cream. Key lime. Blueberry crumb. Lemon meringue. And of course, the specialty of the house, Jack Daniels pecan pie.

Dare we take the bait? Risk our on-time arrival? No, I tell my wife (and driver). We don’t want to spoil our wine-drinking with an early dessert. We can stop on the way home Sunday.

And that was our mission. Forty-eight hours on the Verde Valley Wine Trail, which more and more is becoming a popular weekend getaway from the Valley of the Sun. It doesn’t hurt that summertime temps average 10 to 15 degrees cooler than in Phoenix, either.

Certainly, the lure of wine has been contributing of late to the traffic on I-17, which also carries travelers to Sedona, Jerome, Flagstaff, and Arizona’s ultimate vacation destination, the Grand Canyon.

That hardly used to be the case.

Fifteen years ago, there were only three tasting rooms in the Verde Valley, which includes Cottonwood, Clarkdale, Cornville, and Page Springs. Today, there are more than two dozen, including several in Jerome and Sedona.

Wine is still a boutique industry in Arizona, but vineyards generate $56 million annually in tourism dollars, according to a 2017 study by Northern Arizona University. An economic report for the National Organization of American Wineries is even more generous, calculating that Arizona’s 121 wine producers create a total annual economic impact of $3.3 billion and generate more than 187,000 tourist visits.

The Verde Valley, in Yavapai County, is one of three prime wine regions in the state along with Sonoita-Elgin in Santa Cruz County and Willcox in Cochise County, south of Tucson, where the majority of the state’s grapes are grown on much less expensive land.

And people like us, who used to take California winecations in Napa, Sonoma, the Anderson Valley, and Santa Barbara, have started staying closer to home. Even the New York Times has taken notice with a recent travel piece on the Verde Valley.

“We’re not California,” said Tom Schumacher, president of the Verde Valley Wine Consortium, “but we have to be true to our own tastes, our own wine. And people are discovering that what they put in their mouths tastes pretty good.”

We’ve been to all three Arizona regions, and the Verde Valley easily has become the most amenable for an extended stay. There’s so much more to do than just drink wine all day (although that’s not a terrible alternative). Sonoita-Elgin and Willcox provide few additional options other than a view of the mountains and the Labor Day Rodeo.

The Verde Valley offers excellent restaurants plus museums, scenic train rides, Jeep tours, kayaking, birding, shopping, some nightlife, and, of course, the Cliff Castle Casino in nearby Camp Verde. There’s also the proximity to the attractions in Jerome and Sedona.

As a result, according to the NAU study, the Verde Valley is drawing younger visitors (average age 46 compared to 48 in the state overall) and wealthier ones, with 51 percent from households earning more than $150,000 per year compared to the other areas. These visitors spend an average of $84 per person on wine and 51 percent stay overnight, 9 percentage points higher than the state average.

“Wine is becoming interconnected with everything else,” said Woolsey, who uses the handle winewitch22 on her emails. “You can visit Out of Africa, then drink wine. You can ride the train and drink wine. You can take a kayaking trip and stop at a winery. Restaurants sell our local wines. We want everybody to get a piece of the pie.”

Ah, did you have to mention pie? We’ll get back to that later. In the meantime, you’re welcome to join us on the rest of our 48-hour wine adventure

Friday, May 10, 12:15 p.m.

We arrived at our favorite wine tasting room, Page Springs Cellars, after finally exiting I-17 and a short drive through Cornville. Full disclosure: We have been among the 1,800 members of the Page Springs Cellars wine club for five years, which means we get a discount on purchases, free tastings, and priority seating on a covered deck overlooking Oak Creek and shaded by majestic sycamore and cottonwood trees. We usually pick up our annual shipments on-site so we can take advantage of our free tastings at the same time.

Owner Eric Glomski is one of Arizona’s wine pioneers. He opened in 2004, when there were only three tasting rooms in the region, his and neighbors Javelina Leap and Oak Creek, and only a dozen wineries in the state.

Laws passed in Arizona in 2006 eased restrictions on selling directly to consumers, allowing small wineries to compete with the big boys, and the industry took root here.

Page Springs has served as sort of an incubator, helping many others get their start, including celebrity vintners Sam Pillsbury and Maynard James Keenan.

“One of the cool things has been to educate and support the new winemakers until they are ready to go out and fly on their own,” Glomski said.

He likes the camaraderie among most of the winemakers he sees in the Verde Valley. “There’s strength in numbers. We bounce ideas off each other. There are still some strong personalities, and we don’t always agree. But the competition is good. There is a lot of room for all of us to grow.”

Glomski, who also produces a lower-price label, Provisioner, says more inexpensive wines are the key to the expansion of the Arizona wine industry.

Woolsey believes that will come with critical mass, when the businesses that sell barrels, commercial grape vines, and vineyard equipment such as trellising, planting sleeves and stakes, etc., see enough potential revenue to set up shop in Arizona.

“Right now, we import all that stuff from California,” she said. “That adds a layer to the pricing.”

But Page Springs has enough price points and varietals to appeal to most wallets and palates. After tasting six wines each and a light lunch consisting of the popular vegetable tower (the New York Times writer had the same dish) and a small plate of bacon date pintxos, we bought six bottles of Page Springs Cellars wine in addition to our regular shipment, taking home nine bottles total. And this was just our first stop.

Friday, 2:15 p.m.

We think we’re so smart, but 1,000 years ago, the Southern Sinagua were building a massive condo complex high in the Verde Valley. Talk about rooms with a view.

The Tuzigoot National Monument includes the remains of a 110-room development that overlooked the fields where these Native Americans grew corn, beans, squash, and cotton using the same canal irrigation techniques that allowed Phoenix to rise from the desert centuries later. Apparently, they left the area around the start of the 14th century. No one is certain why, though drought is suspected. Can you say climate change?

The $10 admission is worth it, and it’s free if you have a national parks pass.

Friday, 3:30 p.m

A decade or so ago, we were told, much of what is now historic Old Town Cottonwood was boarded-up buildings. These days, Main Street bustles with shops, restaurants, two hotels, and six tasting rooms — Carlson Creek, Pillsbury, Burning Tree Cellars, Arizona Stronghold, Winery 101, and the Merkin Osteria.

“The wine industry, but more specifically the talented and passionate individuals that put skin in the game, helped pull Old Town Cottonwood from its sleepy state into the thriving and vibrant Main Street you find today,” 

Cottonwood Mayor Tim Elinski said in an email. “I tip my hat to the entrepreneurs and restaurateurs who believed Cottonwood could be the epicenter of Arizona wine, and I’m as pleased as they are that we have arrived.”

We continued to do our part for the good of the Cottonwood economy, purchasing bottles of green chile pepper-infused olive oil and grapefruit-flavored balsamic vinegar at the Verde Valley Olive Oil Traders, then stopping at Winery 101.

A young woman was wrestling with three infants, two of her own and another belong to one of the servers, as she sat on a couch in the center of the comfortable tasting room. As she fed a bottle to one of the kids, she took an occasional sip of white wine from her nearby glass.

“We didn’t have that in my day,” said another woman seated beside us at the bar. She identified herself as a grandmother of 12. “We didn’t drink wine while we were feeding babies. We could have used it.”

The grandma, Irlyn Gallifant, is the co-owner with her husband, Gavin, of Winery 101, where they serve their two labels, Gallifant Cellars and SouthPaw Cellars. (Both are left-handed.)

I thought Winery 101 meant it was for beginners, but the name originated from the location of their first tasting room, near Loop 101 in Peoria. They opened their second room in Cottonwood two years ago. They divide their time between the two cities.

“We love the pace of life here,” Irlyn Gallifant said. “So much quieter than the Phoenix area. But 15 years ago, you didn’t want to come downtown. They’ve done a great job of renovating.”

Wine has been the straw that stirred the drink of redevelopment.

“The city of Cottonwood is easier for businesses like us,” she said. “They were very accommodating. We had a place in Sonoita-Elgin for a while, but they really didn’t want things to change.”

Even though Winery 101 is the only tasting room in Maricopa County outside of Scottsdale, we had never tasted either of the Gallifants’ wines before. We were quite pleased after sampling a half-dozen or so.

We bought two Gallifant pinot gris and a Super Tuscan. But who’s keeping count?

Friday, 4:40 p.m.

I had searched for hotel reservations more than a month in advance of our trip, but found almost everything was sold out. I finally found a room in a Best Western in the strip mall part of Cottonwood, about two miles from Old Town, at about $150 a night. We had a great view of the Home Depot across the street.

Wine and tourism “are the biggest economic drivers in the region,” Woolsey, the winewitch22, said. “But we need more hotel rooms.”

Cottonwood only has 408 hotel rooms, according to its Chamber of Commerce, although there are probably also as many as 500 Airbnb rooms. I didn’t check for one of those because I still haven’t warmed to the idea of sleeping in a stranger’s house.

There are plenty of rooms in Sedona and in Camp Verde near the casino, but those are a half-hour drive or more from the bulk of the tasting rooms. Not what you want after a few hours of sipping wine.

Friday, 7:40 p.m.

I screwed up, thinking our reservation at the Up the Creek Bistro and Wine Bar, a restaurant that is getting a lot of buzz these days, was at 7 on Friday night. It was Saturday night. Friday was a private party. We drove back to Old Town Cottonwood and remembered a recommendation for a good place to eat late at night, the Three Kings Kasbar, a Middle Eastern restaurant just a couple of blocks off the main drag. Since quarter till 8 constitutes late-night dining in Arizona, we walked in and, sure enough, found that we had missed the dinner rush.

We shared lamb and spanakopita empanadas, which are made in house, a Caesar salad with white anchovies, and a bottle of Pillsbury Wild Child Red. The meal was light enough that we splurged on a piece of baklava for dessert.

Friday, 8:45 p.m.

Several people told us the hotspot for nightlife in Old Town Cottonwood is the State Bar near the end of Main Street. And for folks who are 60-somethings like we are, they’re right.

The bar serves only Arizona beers and wines on tap. I ordered an Arizona Angel White from 433 Cellars in Jerome, and my wife selected a Dos Cabezas Red from Sonoita, then we fortuitously found a couch while we sipped and waited for the night’s featured act, the Well Dressed Wolves (they weren’t) to take the stage.

They were surprisingly good for a local band, particularly the drummer, as they strummed through a playlist of ’60s hits from the Doors, the Rolling Stones, Creedence, etc.

The music prompted several silver-haired geezers to coax some younger women to the dance floor. It looked sort of sad.

We resisted until the band broke into the Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There” — a song I first danced to when I was 12.

It didn’t take long to remember I was 67. We called it a night and began our drive back to the hotel when the band took a break around 10 p.m.

Saturday, May 11, 8 a.m.

If you want a quick getaway from the bustle and bright lights of Old Town Cottonwood, you don’t have to go any farther than the end of Main Street.

We parked in one of the city’s several free municipal lots (did you read that, Phoenix?) then started hiking the two-mile Jail Trail, which begins at the city’s old jail house, into the riparian ecosystem.

The walk is shaded by massive sycamore, willow and cottonwood trees. It’s popular among birders, who, we learned, find summer tanagers, western tanagers, Bullock’s orioles, Lazuli buntings, great horned owls, rufuous hummingbirds, and black hawks in abundance, especially during the spring.

Some hikers, we were also told, bring along wine for the journey. It was a little too early in the morning for us, but the walk did work up an appetite for breakfast.

Saturday, 9 a.m.

The Crema Craft Kitchen & Bar seems to be the most popular breakfast spot in town, partially because you get a discount if you stay across the street at the Tavern Hotel, which is owned by Eric and Michelle Jurisin, who have made a significant investment in Old Town Cottonwood, practically rebuilding Main Street themselves. They also own the Tavern Grille, Pizzeria Bocce, and Nic’s Steak & Crab House in Old Town, and have two restaurants up the hill in Jerome as well, the Haunted Hamburger and Grapes Restaurant & Bar.

Since we’d eaten at Crema once before, we opted for a less crowded venue, the Old Town Café, which seemed to be popular with locals as the hostess greeted several folks by their first names. The menu is slight, just a few breakfast burritos, the quiche of the day, a fruit plate, and a glass case of killer pastries.

It was tough to ignore the desserts, especially as one local dressed in a white hat and dragon shirt walked away with one so large they couldn’t fit it in a box. We stuck with the basic burrito, which came with a house-made salsa that was almost as good as a cream stick.

Saturday, 10:15 a.m.

We didn’t have much time for shopping, but we could resist taking a few minutes to tour Larry’s Antiques & Things on the eastern edge of Old Town. It promises and delivers two acres of antiques and things, mostly things. But if you’re in need of a rusted Chevrolet truck ($7,500), a stuffed blue marlin to hang over your oversized mantle, or a Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme LP, this is heaven.

Saturday, 11 a.m.

The Verde Valley Wine Festival in Clarkdale didn’t open its gates until noon, so we had a little time to kill. That’s where we made perhaps the most pleasant discovery of our journey.

Clarkdale is named for the man who built the city, one of the most corrupt politicians in history, William Clark.

Clark was denied a seat in the U.S. Senate representing Montana after it was discovered he had bribed the legislators who sent him there in 1899. “He is as rotten a human being as can be found anywhere under the flag,” wrote Mark Twain, a friend of one of Clark’s political rivals.

Nevertheless, Clark built an exquisite town for his employees, many of whom ruined their lungs working in his United Copper Mine in Jerome. Clarkdale’s original high school closed in 1960, until it was purchased to be a museum in 2002. The Meinke family of Minnesota, who had been collecting copper art for decades, donated the resources for the project. The high school was renovated and the Copper Art Museum opened in 2012, quickly becoming one of Arizona’s top tourist attractions.

Several former classrooms house the collections, which include everything from cookware to ornate ceilings. Most fascinating was the room dedicated to trench art — collectibles fashioned by World War I soldiers from the copper shells that were ejected after they fired their cannons at the enemy. Some are quite intricate.

Admission to the museum is $10, or $8 for seniors like us.

Saturday, 12:15 p.m.

The wait was 15 minutes to get into the Verde Valley Wine Festival (full disclosure, Phoenix New Times was a sponsor, so our admission was free). Frankly, $45 a ticket for only eight tiny tastes plus some music seemed a little steep, but obviously the price didn’t deter the crowd.

The festival gave us a chance to meet Michael Pierce, a Verde Valley winemaker who is also the viticulture and oenology director at Yavapai College.

Yavapai offers one-year and two-year courses in winemaking. Those who opt for the two-year associate’s degree will experience the full Montepulciano of winemaking process: planting the grapes on the school’s 13 acres of vineyards, harvesting them, making the wine, bottling it, and ultimately marketing it under the school’s Southwest Wine Center label. Pierce said the program currently has 104 students, but these aren’t typical college kids: Their average age is over 48.

The interest is reflective of the industry’s growing value in the Verde Valley.

“The rate of growth has been double hockey sticks since 2010,” said Pierce, whose family produces two labels, Bodega Pierce and Saeculum Cellars, sold at tasting rooms in Clarkdale and Willcox. “We’ve seen new hotels, restaurants … additional Airbnbs … home values have gone up.”

But with growth, comes some headaches, and not just the morning after consuming too much chardonnay.

“We need more affordable housing,” Pierce said, echoing a cry that can be heard around the country these days. 

“It’s getting too expensive for many of our students to rent here.”

Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

The best-known among Verde Valley’s winemakers is probably Maynard James Keenan, the lead singer of the alt-metal band Tool. Keenan began growing grapes in 2002 and now sells wines under the Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyard labels.

Woolsey said she worked for Keenan several years ago. She helped him market his wine nationally, getting it into stores in 40 states, she said, but the effort was a struggle. “We were selling to fans of Tool. That’s not a sustainable business model.”

Keenan has since ventured into food, opening a Merkin Vineyard Tasting Room and Osteria in Cottonwood (and more recently in Scottsdale).

Everything in the Osteria is locally sourced, including the wine, of course, our servers told us. You can watch the pasta being made in-house. Keenan’s father even grows the vegetables here in Arizona.

My wife ordered one of the locally grown salads for lunch. I was going to try something equally light, anticipating a big meal later in the evening at Up the Creek. But I couldn’t resist the pasta of the day, a chicken and sausage ragout over the homemade spaghetti noodles. And it came with a side of house-made bread, perfection paired with a glass of Merkin’s Tarzan Red.

After the New York Times article, a commenter complained that Keenan’s culinary interests were the reason Tool hasn’t released an album in more than a decade. (Their first album since 2006’s 10,000 Days is due out in August.)

Personally, I hope he sticks to the food and wine.

Saturday, 2:45 p.m.

As we sat at the bar at the Pillsbury Wine tasting room, a man walked in from Main Street and struck up a conversation with one of the servers.

The server began to regale him with the story of Sam Pillsbury, the movie writer and director and Arizona’s other celebrity winemaker. Pillsbury also used to write a food blog for New Times.

Pillsbury started making movies for the government of New Zealand, where he grew up, the server said, then moved to Hollywood.

He rattled of some of Pillsbury’s top films — The Quiet Earth, Starlight Hotel, Where the Red Fern Grows, etc. — then mentioned how impressed Pillsbury was with an Arizona wine he tasted when he came here around the turn of the century to film a pilot for a TV series.

Pillsbury eventually decided to jump into the grape business with both feet, even though, he said “I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing,” according to the server. He obviously does now.

The server pointed out the row of medal-winning wines over the bar. “We entered 14 wines in the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition this year,” the server said. “And we won 14 medals.” (Including Best in Class for its 2017 malvasia).

The visitor seemed fascinated.

“Would you like to try a tasting, or maybe buy a bottle?” server asked.

The man shook his head. “No, I was just curious about what this place was. I saw the Pillsbury name.” And he left.

He is the exception. According to the NAU study, about 70 percent of visitors to the tasting rooms leave with at least one bottle.

We bought six: two bottles of the Pillsbury 2018 One-Night Stand rosé (my wife’s favorite), three bottles of the 2014 Symphony/Inappropriate white (my favorite), and a bottle of the 2016 petite sirah.

And we weren’t done collecting yet.

Saturday, 5:15 p.m.

I double-checked to make sure our reservation at Up the Creek was indeed for 7 tonight. The hostess assured me that it was. I asked if we could make it for 6. Nope, we’re full then, she said.

That left us time for one more tasting room. Our server at Page Springs Cellars had suggested a newer place, Chateau Tumbleweed, in Clarkdale. “All four of their owners used to work here,” she said.

That meant a drive through the interminable roundabouts on State Route 260 (do these things really make roads safer?) but it was worth the drive. Chateau Tumbleweed won best in class for in the San Francisco competition for its 2016 Viognier. We left with three more bottles, a Sandy Jones white blend, a sangiovese, and another white blend, The Descendants. We also sampled a small plate of cheese and crackers even though our dinner reservation was close at hand.

It turned out to be a fortuitous decision.

Saturday, 7 p.m.

Right on time. I was excited. Up the Creek Bistro and Wine Bar was a favorite of the late Senator John McCain, who had a home nearby. Chef and co-owner Jim O’Meally often came out and played the piano for him. The Washington Post wrote a touching story about O'Meally and McCain.  Locals highly recommended the restaurant.

“Warner for two,” I told the hostess.

She looked around, conferred with the manager.

“Your table isn’t quite ready yet,” she said. “You can have a seat at the bar while you wait.”

We saddled up to the front of the bar.

“Not those two seats,” the bartender said. “They’re reserved.” She pointed to two seats at the far corner. “You can sit there,” she said.

Yes, right by the door that led to the kitchen.

Saturday, 7:15 p.m.

This time, the manager approached us. “We’re sorry, people are lingering at their table longer than we expected,” he said. “It will be just a little longer.”

Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

“They still haven’t left,” the manager said. “Let us comp your drinks.”

Thanks, I guess.

Glad we had those cheese and crackers.

Saturday, 7:44 p.m.

The hostess cheerfully approached us.

“Your table is ready,” she said.

I looked around. People who had come in without a reservation were also getting seated. Of course, it’s Arizona. Almost every restaurant clears out before 8 p.m.

She sat us at a window table, where we would have had a great view of Oak Creek, but by now it was too dark to appreciate the scenery.

Saturday, 7:57 p.m.

I’m marking the time closely now. The waitress finally takes our drink order. Up the Creek offers more than 20 Arizona wines. We selected a Gallifant Super Tuscan that we had tasted the day before at Winery 101.

Several minutes later, she returned again. “We’re out of that wine,” she said.

Hmm. We ordered two glasses of another red, and the manager offered us another glass of a more expensive French red on the house. Whatever.

Saturday, 8:33 p.m.

Our dinners arrive, and, in fairness, the food was as good as advertised. My venison medallions, served in a blueberry gastrique with soubise rice, were tender and flavorful without tasting gamey. My wife’s lavender chicken in a pomegranate beurre rouge with savory bread pudding, a local favorite, was also outstanding.

But, as I preach to my food editors and critics, the quality of the meal is only part of the dining experience.

We’ll rate Up the Creek three paddles out of five. Maybe three and a half since the chef came out of the kitchen and played a mean piano for the diners. Of course, he also regularly gives mean retorts as Jim O. on Yelp to critical reviews. I’ll be waiting to see what he thinks of this.

Saturday, 9:45 p.m.

We drive by the Main Stage in Old Town Cottonwood. It was rockabilly night. Tempting, but we turned left toward the Best Western.

Sunday, May 12, 9:30 a.m.

We’d spent a lot of money by this point, so we took advantage of the free breakfast at the hotel. You get what you pay for. I didn’t want much anyway. I was saving up for a slice of pie at the Rock Springs Café.

We drove back to I-17 and exited on the east side toward Montezuma’s Castle, another national monument, where the Sinagua people built homes in the massive cliffs. Nobody seems quite sure why they were called Sinagua or why they left. But it does seem certain that Montezuma, the last independent ruler of the Aztec empire, was never in the Verde Valley.

The national monument is near Cliff Castle Casino — I always wondered why “Cliff” had a castle before I saw the cave dwellings. The light bulb switched on. We drove around the casino looking for a parking place, then realized that we didn’t want to shoot craps at 10 on a Sunday morning. So, we got back on I-17, where this story began.

Sunday, 11:15 a.m.

There it was again. Exit 262. Rock Springs Café. On Warner Road, no less. We pulled off this time and headed toward the restaurant. The parking lot was saturated. Must be a lot of pie lovers on the road today.

We drove to the auxiliary parking area. Same situation.

We returned to the restaurant again. The line was way out the door. At 11:15 a.m.?

Oh, yeah, it was Mother’s Day. And who doesn’t want to treat their mother to a perfect slice of pie on her special day? The wait looked like at least an hour.

Mother fudge. No pie for us, I guess.

Then I looked in our backseat. We had collected 21 bottles of wine. Not a bad consolation prize. We headed for Phoenix. Our adventure was done. Or maybe just beginning.

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

ARTICLE LINK

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 
ARTICLE LINK
 

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
ARTICLE LINK

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 
ARTICLE LINK

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)

ARTICLE LINK

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.