Thanks for the note Serge. Todd at Dos Cabezas is making some good wines and Kent Callaghan at Callaghan has been doing it for quite a while in the Sonoita area. High altitude area (5000ft ish) an hour southeast of Tucson. I don’t have much experience with the Caduceus wines from up north, but I have heard some good stuff from people whose palates I respect. There is quite a bit of progress being made, especially with them learning the correct varieties to grow and vine age increasing. Kent and Todd, and I speak mostly for them as I don’t really know the other places, and I know both of them pretty well. These guys are smart, honest, constantly growing people who deserve respect and make wines that would surprise a lot of people. Thanks for the note again.
Was in the Sonoita area a couple years ago. Remember liking Callaghan best and Canelo Hills was decent also. A couple others I didn’t care for, but I expect they’re still learning in that area.
Only weird thing was being stopped by the Border Patrol on the way back to Tucson. That doesn’t happen much in Napa. lol
What Todd said. Cochise County can make some good whites.
I think AZ has a bright future. The east highlands of the state could be the next Columbia Valley.
Dos Cabezas poured a few wines at Hospice du Rhone again this year, and were very well received. Some of the French winemakers/consultants were especially intrigued. I think that the better winemakers are really starting to get dialed in to their land, climate and what grapes have the most potential. If you get a chance, the Dos Cabezas whites and Rose are excellent.
There are cool soils around the state and elevation can provide some interesting climates. Everything I’ve tried so far though has been pretty much slathered in oak. I remain intrigued though.
Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico all have bright futures…
Arizona has a budding wine tourism business. Give them 10 years, they’ll get it dialed in.
I worked harvest there in '06, and although they were still getting grapes mostly from CA at the time, one of the estate vineyards was just coming online, and the fruit quality was very good. Maynard had a Cab vineyard planted at his home in Jerome, at about 5100 ft elevation. It wasn’t producing yet when I was there. There were also some very good whites coming out of the south (the Malvasia was excellent). I think all or most of there stuff is now AZ fruit.
I worked for a rock star. What can I say. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
+1 on the Malvasia. I recently bought a bottle of AZ Stronghold Tazi, a Malvasia based blend out of the Cochise area. Really bright and aromatic- an excellent white.
Although AZ price points are a bit high, there are definitely wines with great character. In addition to Callaghan, I especially enjoyed Erath’s new venture Cimarron.
I found the wines to be WAY over priced.
While I haven’t had Arizona Stronghold yet, I’m a huge fan of Eric Glomski and Page Spring Cellars. Eric makes really nice Rhone style wines. Prices are on the average in the mid $20s to low $30s. There hasn’t been anything over the past 5 vintages that I haven’t enjoyed.
I agree about Page Spring Cellars - I actually would like to see more AZ producers working with Rhone varietals as I think they have a good future here. I’ve quite enjoyed the AZ Stronghold wines as well although I do agree that they are overpriced.
I’m glad to see some positive discussion of AZ wines. I do think the future is bright.
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I’ve tried a number of Maynard’s different labels and wines, and they’ve all been pretty good and interesting. They are all priced at probably 2X of what they should be, but at least they demonstrate the potential for quality wines from Arizona.
I recently watched Maynard’s (Cadeceus) movie (blood into wine) on his vineyard. Not much about wine at all, and Suckling really puts in a turd of a cameo, but he is an interesting guy and it is a very interesting vineyard. Never had the wine but wouldn’t mind trying it.
Thanks folks… I appreciate the interest in our little part of the wine growing world. I’d like to think there are more than a few of us growing grapes & making wines that faithfully tell the story of our distinct place & time. I’d also like to think that we all get a little better at it each year.
Pleased that you enjoyed the wine Serge.
Cheers.
Did he turn to the camera and say, “so, I live in Tuscany.”
Most of the movie was pretty tongue in cheek and I think Suckling, on this particular day, acted more over the top on purpose to be humorous. From what I know, Maynard has a pretty dry, sarcastic style and he definitely went for that in this movie. I think a lot of people miss it though (and he likes it that way).
The outtakes on the film were pretty good. The Eric Glomski 22 min epilogue about wine making in while standing buy a creek sounded like the kind of stoned, hippy tirade you’d expect to hear on Haight-Ashbury though.