Heading east on I-10 a windy Sunday, our target was to explore Willcox, Arizona wine region wines.

Mark Jorve showcases Zarpara Vineyards 2007 Origen in their new tasting room in Willcox, AZ

First stop, the newly opened Zarpara Vineyard’s tasting room, located on the Willcox Bench off Kansas Settlement Road, nestled in Arizona’s largest grape growing region. The directions claimed it was a few minutes south of historic downtown, but I found myself thinking they possibly could paint the road yellow to make it a bit easier to find. Once arrived, I discovered that Zarpara’s tasting room was well worth the search.

Friendly Mark Jorve (owner) explained the selection we were about to taste: “We feature carefully selected, hand-crafted, and hard-to-find wines from our Willcox Wine Country neighbors.” Pourings included wines from Sand-Reckoner (a sweet, herb-y Malvasia and 2, a red blend), Sierra Bonita (Syrah), Golden Rule (Sangiovese), and Lawrence Dunham Vineyards. All were delightful ‘finds’ among Arizona wine offerings.

I discovered that the 2009 Lawrence Dunham Vineyards Petite Sirah, 100% Cochise County grown grapes, particularly pleasing to my palate. A beautiful nose, the mouth-feel and finish was peppery and spicy with big tannins—just as expected from a classic Petite Sirah. This wine would be perfect with pizza or spaghetti and meatballs, or to share with a romantic steak dinner.

While Zarpara hopes for its first harvest this year, Mark proudly pours us a sampling of their first offering, 2007 Zarpara Origen, a blend of Cochise County Grenache and Syrah grapes. This wine is complex and mature—having aged for 3 years in neutral oak and a year in the bottle. Fabulous just for sipping, I enjoyed it with a salmon salad this week. The tasting notes suggest pairing it with lamb, thin sliced flat-iron steak, or pork tenderloin. Look for great things to come from this new vineyard.

On to Coronado Vineyards, I once again enjoyed the winery’s 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon and Two Heads Red (two of my all-time everyday favorite affordable Arizona wines). I finally took the challenge to try the Coronado Vineyards Conquistador Red, a dessert wine (well out of my comfort zone). Amazingly, it was not too sweet—instead, it was full of berries and cherries with sort of a green tea finish. Big, sweet, smooth, and easy-drinking. I bought a bottle to take home, knowing I will enjoy this some evening soon with a great chocolate-inspired dessert.

We headed about 25 miles east of Willcox to the Fort Bowie Vineyards. The modest tasting room is located behind this little town’s post office (don’t blink!) but it offers about a dozen of some of the most surprising Arizona wines you’ll find—at amazingly affordable prices—from Sweet Water (white) to Syrah and everything in between. The Fort Bowie Pecan Delight is a distinctive sparkling wine with the essence of pecan for only $9/bottle.

Fort Bowie Vineyards is a family-owned and operated farm in Bowie, Arizona. In addition to the vineyards, they grow pecans, walnuts, peaches, and cherries.

Southeast AZ Wine Growers Festival Features 17 Wineries at Kief-Joshua

Looking forward to tasting even more Arizona wines on April 14 and 15, at the Southeast Arizona Wine Growers Festival at the Kief-Joshua Vineyards, 370 Elgin Road. Tickets ($15/person) are on sale now or can be purchased the day of the event. Ticket covers wine tasting and a souvenir glass.

Here is your chance to learn more about the wines grown throughout Arizona by 17 Arizona wineries, including:

Sedona/Verde Valley/Cottonwood Region: Arizona Stronghold, Page Spring Cellars, Jerome Winery, Dribble Creek

Urban Wine Region: Kokopelli, Su Vino Wineries

Willcox Region: Keeling Schaefer Vineyards, Golden Rule Vineyards, Coronado Vineyards, Carlson Creek Vineyards, Zarpara Vineyards, Gallifant Vineyards

Sonoita/Elgin Region: Charron Vineyards, Wilhelm Family Vineyards, Kief-Joshua Vineyards

In addition to wine tasting (11am to 5pm), the expanded festival will include sensory wine-tasting and wine-pairing seminars. Buzz and the Soulsenders will be singing the blues from noon to 5 pm. Locally Arizona and Sonoita’s very popular Steak-Out Restaurant will be on site selling chicken wings, pulled pork sandwiches, sirloin steaks, and much more for your enjoyment.

Only about an hour from downtown Tucson, this will be a most gratifying way to spend a day outside the hub-bub of Tucson.

Cheers!

The Sonoita Arizona wine trail  features 10 different wineries to explore, just a short jaunt from Tucson. Jim Seder of Wine Inquirer took a few minutes to discuss some new wines and some old favorites with winemaker Kief Manning, the namesake of Kief Joshua Vineyards in Elgin, Arizona.

The weather is going to be great this weekend, so carve out a little time to check out some of these awesome Arizona wine offerings firsthand. 

Cheers!

Sunday night, August 15, proved devastating for our Elgin/Sonoita region grape-growers. For many, a horrible hail storm took out the majority of the 2010 crop.
First post on Facebook by Ann Roncone, Lightning Ridge Cellars: “Coming up on 11:30 Sunday night and the rain/storm coming up from the south is hitting us aplenty in Vail, AZ. Why are my weeds so much healthier than my plants?”
Kief Manning of Kief Joshua Vineyards chimed in, “Farming grrrrr! Life would be great if it weren’t for the weather.”
The reports began pouring in. Joan Mueller, Canelo Hills Vineyard posted, “3-inches in the gauge. Massive destruction of the vineyard.”
Kent Callaghan of Callaghan Vineyards defined the damage. “95% of leaf area is gone and most fruit sliced and diced … At least the ravens love it.”
Manning reacts, “… madder than a dog poopin’ peach seeds. Most of our fruit and leaves are now laying in piles on the ground, after the golf ball size hail and gale force winds … GRRRRR!”
Mother Nature can be so fickle. Rancone tells me, “As it happens, we didn’t take on the damage that Kent and others did Sunday night. Talk about monsoon ‘devastation’ taking on a finite/defined area-of-damage. We’re about a mile-and-a-half west of Kent and didn’t get anywhere near the damage that he and others got.”
Prayers and support have poured in from wine lovers all over. Perhaps Arizona Grape Escapes said it best, “Thoughts and prayers go out to all the vineyard managers in the Sonoita/Elgin area. Please help us support these folks by buying local wines from Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Kief-Joshua Vineyards, Kent Callaghan, Canelo Hills, Lightning Ridge Cellars, Rancho Rossa, Wilhelm Family, Charron, The Village of Elgin, and Sonoita Vineyards.”
Only last week, the same wineries were counting the days to harvesting their crops. Now it’s a massive clean-up in the vineyards. Would be a great time to be a raven?

Have a wine-related question, event, suggestion, or comment? Email me at pourmesomegrapes@gmail.com.