Bud break–about 2 weeks ago in the Pillsbury Wine Co. Vineyards, and the vines are now sprouting leaves and beginning to grow. This week brought the threat of frost, but the babies survived!

Writing Pour Me Some Grapes for TucsonCitizen.com has led to a fantastic personal opportunity that will make me a wiser wine blogger. I have just moved 89 miles from my Tucson “roots” (okay, only 21 years)—to the Pillsbury Wine Company vineyard property in Willcox Wine Country. Soon I will be managing a new tasting room at this rustic working vineyard/farm in the Sulphur Springs Valley, just a couple miles from the Zarpara Vineyards tasting room, which opened a little over a year ago.

Why would any semi-respectable 60-some-year-old woman do such a crazy thing? If you’ve followed Pour Me Some Grapes at all, you know I am a champion for the wines produced in Arizona. Likewise, I have become captivated by the people who turn Arizona grapes into these palatable concoctions. I’ve said often that I’d really like to get more hands-on experience in the wine industry. Be careful what you wish for!

Who better to direct me into the Arizona wine business than famed New Zealand film and television director, Sam Pillsbury, who now gets red carpet reviews for the amazing wines he’s been creating with Arizona grapes since 2000.

Last December, Sam and I were musing on Facebook about the well-connected and supportive Willcox wine community. I mentioned I had considered moving to Willcox if I ever found suitable accommodations. Sam, who also operates a tasting room in Old Town Cottonwood, AZ, mentioned his charming cottage in the Pillsbury vineyard, which he’d like someone to open up as a tasting room.

Long story short, I now reside in that quaint vineyard cottage off Kansas Settlement Road, readying for my new life as a grapista*. I’ll continue blogging, writing, editing, and social marketing, which will be easy—with majestic mountain views all around, fruit and nut trees in bloom, birds galore, and, of course, vineyards everywhere, this is perhaps the most inspirational place I’ve ever lived and wrote.

A view of the Pillsbury Wine Co. vineyard estates. The plowed area is all prepped and ready for planting an organic vegetable garden. Tasting room is situated upper right side of photo.

The tasting experience here at the Pillsbury Wine Co. Vineyard Tasting Room will be as unique as its rustic locale. We plan to greet you with a complimentary taste of the Pillsbury Wild Child (red, white, or rose), making it well worth your time to seek out our distinctive setting and try our wines. The wide open spaces surrounding the tasting room beckon hanging out to enjoy the views and sharing a packed lunch and wine. Four days a week—Thurs.-Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m., I will share my digs with lively wine tasters, beginning sometime in mid-May.

Because I love my wine and respect where it comes from, I’ll also be pitching in—pruning, planting, harvesting, bottling, etc.—for the growing number of Willcox grape growers with vineyards nearby (22 vineyards at last count). I’m certain there is much joy to be discovered in the effort—and what a great balance to my many hours spent in front of the computer.

Cheers to my new life! Stay tuned as I continue to bring the Arizona wine news to you—from an insider’s perspective.

*DEFINITION—Grapista: One who pours wines (personally coined identity)

Just yesterday, on CBS This Morning, a bottle of Arizona Stronghold wine graced the news desk as well-known and respected wine expert Jancis Robinson discussed her new book–co-authored with Linda Murphy–American Wine: The Ultimate Companion to the Wines and Wineries of the United States. This beautiful large format book features dozens of Arizona wine growers and their wines receiving rave reviews, and the photos do the Arizona wine growing regions proud.

Check out Arizona wines firsthand, as the spring tasting season is revving up with new releases, festivals, and new tasting rooms–all within a scenic 1- to 2-hour drive from Tucson. Arizona winemakers have pruned their vines and are keeping a close watch on the weather, hoping for precious few frosts, as they look forward to sharing their wines with you at these public events.

Spring Tempe Festival of the Arts

Head to Tempe, Arizona the weekend of April 5-7, 2013, to sip, sample, and savor local Arizona wines. Fourteen wineries will showcase their wines and offer tastings along with sales by the glass, bottle, or case at this event sponsored by the Arizona Wine Growers Association. The wine festival admission of $15 includes six tastings and a commemorative wine glass. The festival will be located on 7th Street, just west of Mill Avenue in Tempe. Tickets available for purchase in advance.

Celebrate in Sonoita

Saturday and Sunday, April 20 and 21, 2013, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., head to the Kief Joshua Vineyards on Elgin Road for the second Southeast AZ Wine Growers Festival. There will be more than a dozen winemakers and live music, fabulous food vendors, and many wineries will be releasing new wines. The lovely Jeordie (daughter of ’60s musical artist Melanie; remember her?) is the featured musician. Plan to stay for the day (or the weekend). This is a laid-back, simply enjoyable weekend to hang out in the KJV vineyards.

Second Annual Bacchanal Festival

Looking for nothing but fun? There’s always something hopp’ning at Arizona Hops & Vines. Megan and Shannon are prepping for their Second Annual Bachannal Festival, Saturday, May 11, 2013. This all-day, all-out festival includes wine and beer tastings, homemade root beer, great food from local restaurant and food truck delectables paired with wines from Arizona’s best vineyards, family crafts, a petting zoo, and plenty of fun and debauchery for all ages. Located on Hwy 82, about 5 miles east of Hwy 83, this gorgeous vineyard enjoys some of the best valley views.

Willcox hosts AZ Winemakers

Downtown Willcox in Historic Railroad Park is the scene of one of the most peaceful, easy-feeling wine festivals in the area. Well, that’s until a train flies by about every 9 minutes; but that just adds to the ambiance.

The Willcox Wine Country Spring Wine Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and May 19, 2013, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Your $15 tasting fee includes 8 tastings, commemorative glass, and some of the best live entertainment in all of Southeast AZ.

Following the festival on Saturday, at 6:00 p.m., will be a special showing of Free Willy III at the historic Willcox movie theater, immediately across the street. This movie is one of dozens directed by film director-turned-winemaker, Sam Pillsbury of Pillsbury Wines. The movie viewing is free for one and all, but donations are welcome to help support the theater.

Rumor has it there will be at least two new tasting rooms opening up in the Willcox area by then as well. Well worth the drive (about 1.5 hours from Tucson); lots of places to spend the night.

Alice Feiring Recap

The presentation of Naked Wine at the Tucson Festival of Books earlier this month featured well-known author and wine critic Alice Feiring. The wines tasted and discussed by the panel of experts and audience participants were:

• Tournelle Fleurs Savagnin 2007
• Pitancier Sauvignon Blanc 2011
• Matariki Sauvignon Blanc 2009
• Coturri Carignane 2009
• Olivier Cousin Pur Breton 2011 (my personal favorite)

Cheers!

Alice Feiring, leading advocate for natural wines, will present her book, NAKED WINE: Letting Grapes Do What Comes Naturally, at the Tucson Festival of Books culinary stage, 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 10. I will be moderating a cast of local wine experts gathering to discuss her challenge for winemakers to produce wines without over-processing.

Naked wine is defined as stripped down to the basics—wine that represents the terroir, as it was meant to be. Feiring calls naked wines wholesome, exciting, provocative, living, sensual, and pure. This is quite the opposite of many of today’s new world-style wines being produced—which she describes as “over-ripe, over-manipulated, and over-blown.”

In this book, described as her “personal journey into the new (but centuries old) world of natural wine,” Feiring takes the dare to try her hand (and feet) at natural winemaking—making wine with nothing more than crushed grapes. She learns that it isn’t all that easy, but she remains steadfast in her belief that additives and chemicals used in the process should be used only when necessary. This includes the addition of yeasts, enzymes, and processes that use machines to alter alcohol level, flavor, or texture, or that promote premature aging.

Meet Alice Feiring, Author of “Naked Wine” at Tucson Festival of Books, Sunday, March 10, 2:30 p.m.

In her first book, THE BATTLE FOR WINE AND LOVE or How I Saved the World from Parkerization, Feiring fearlessly takes on Robert Parker, whose rating system she believes set the stage to tempt winemakers into produce fruit-bomb, over-processed wines to score his approval. Both of Feiring’s books are fascinating fodder for anyone interested in wines.

Alice Feiring is a James Beard Foundation Award-winning journalist whose blog, alicefeiring.com, was named one of the seven best by Food & Wine. Formerly the wine/travel columnist for Time, she has written for the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Town & Country, Wall Street Journal, and Los Angeles Times Magazine. She lives in New York City.

She will be on-hand to sign her books immediately following the presentation.

Cheers to Tucson Festival of Books!