Pour Me Some Grapes » Sonoita Vineyards

Arizona Wining Opportunities

Bonnie Lewis — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:34:40 +0000

Are you one of those who scrunches your face and says, “Arizona wines? They can’t be good.” Then this weekend is out to prove you wrong. Head down the Sonoita Wine Trail, Arizona’s original and oldest wine-growing region, for the Southeast Arizona Wine Festival at Kief-Joshua Vineyards this Saturday and Sunday, 11:00am-5:00pm . The festival is a perfect and affordable event for the entire family–and a great way to check out the wines of 17 wineries from throughout the state–from the Verde Valley to Willcox. I could guarantee that you’ll not leave there without more than one new favorite wine, made right here in Arizona. Check out my earlier posting for more details. See you at the festival!

Wine Tasting Sunday Benefits NOCC

Here in Tucson, a Sunday afternoon tasting (April 15, 4:00pm-6:00pm) at CataVinos Wine Shoppe & Tasting Room, 3063 N Alvernon Way. Your $20 tasting ticket is good for six wines and heavy appetizers. Proceeds will be donated to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition (NOCC).

Vertical Syrah Tasting at Keeling Schaefer Vineyards

The wine tasting fun continues. Next Saturday, April 21, from 1:00pm-5:00pm at the Keeling Schaefer Vineyards in Pearce, Arizona in the Willcox Wine Region, Jan and Rod will be opening the Keeling Schaefer wine library for a retrospective of their six Syrah vintages. The $50 tasting ($35 for KSV club members) will include Keeling Schaefer Three Sisters Syrahs, Home Place Reserve, and Keeling Brothers Shiraz. Special hors d’oeuvres and tapas by Chef Rod Kass of Cafe Roka in Bisbee will round out the fare. Wine sales will begin at 3:00pm, featuring special pricing for participants. RSVP by Monday, April 16 to Jan, 520-824-2500 or email jan@keelingschaefervineyards.com. Space is limited.

Carlson Creek Vineyard Vine Planting

Planting vines is the perfect way to get involved in the Arizona wine scene–the vines you plant will be around for generations and a plaque with your name on it will be placed at the end of any full row that you plant at the Carlson Creek Vineyard. The holes are already dug…all you need to do is bury a baby vine in each one. Plantings are scheduled for April 14, 15, 21, and 22, starting at 7:00am. Breakfast and non-alcoholic drinks will be provided, and lunch will be catered by Taste of Coronado for $15. Contact Robert Carlson for more information and to sign yourself up!

Blessing of the Vineyards

The 34th Blessing of Sonoita Vineyards will take place April 28, 2012 from 10:00am-4:00pm in Elgin, AZ. Admission of $15 includes a souvenir glass, wine and food pairings, wine tasting, horse-drawn wagon rides through the vineyard, and winery tour. Lunch and horseback rides may be purchased separately. Reservations not required.

Celebrate Harvestfest 2011 at Sonoita Vineyards

Bonnie Lewis — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:36:09 +0000

Sonoita Vineyards welcomes Arizona wine lovers to its Harvestfest 2011, this weekend, July 30 and 31, 10:00am to 4:00pm. For $15, visitors receive a souvenir wine glass and cork keychain, and enjoy tasting current releases, wine and food pairings, winery tour by the winemaker, and vineyard tour by horse-drawn wagon or tractor-drawn trailer.

Let you hair down and have fun stomping grapes at 1:30pm either day. Sonoita Vineyards is located at 290 Elgin-Canelo Road, just 3 miles south of Elgin (about an hour and 15 minutes from Tucson).

Great Arizona Grape Stomp 5Ks return

Running through the Keeling Schaefer Vineyards in the 2010 Grape Stomp 5K

The Great Arizona Grape Stomp, a series of four different 5K Fun Runs, is back for round two. This is a fun way to make a tour across Arizona enjoying the fresh air, beautiful unique landscape, and tasting some fabulous wines. Liberate your Juice is this year’s theme.

I enjoyed participating in the inaugural Grape Stomp race series in 2010, so I’m putting on my training gear to get in shape for this. I particularly enjoy running in the high desert where Arizona’s vineyards and wineries are located—it’s always a few degrees cooler than here in Tucson. Mostly, I love tasting the amazing wines and meeting the wonderful wine people throughout the state.

The Grape Stomp 5K series kicks off with a run through the vineyard in Willcox, AZ, on September 10, 2011. On October 1, 2011, participants will run through historic Old Town Cottonwood in the Verde Valley region. We’ll head to Sonoita on October 22, 2011, to run through the scenic vineyards of Elgin. The final leg will be held to kick off Arizona Wine Week on November 1, 2011 with a run around the fountain in Fountain Hills, AZ.

Participants will receive a Grape Stomp t-shirt, a logo wine glass with which you can taste local wines for a discount following the race, and a goody bag. Proceeds from The Great Arizona Grape Stomp 5K Fun Runs benefit the Arizona Wine Growers Association, which serves grape growers and winemakers in Arizona, allying its members for representation, promotion, and education. The association strives to advance the sustainable growth and production of authentic Arizona-grown wines. Registration is $35 per person per race.

Time to heal throughout District 8

Bonnie Lewis — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 02:40:11 +0000

left to right: Todd Bostock of Dos Cabezas WineWorks, Representative Gabrielle Giffords, Tim Mueller of Canelo Hills Vineyard & Winery, Fran Lightly of Sonoita Vineyards

After the tragic shootings that critically wounded Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, killed six others, and wounded a dozen more citizens in Tucson on January 8, I hesitated taking a typically joyful trip through the Sonoita/Elgin wine region the next day; but I’m glad I did. It proved comforting to share the grief with our neighbors—I hadn’t yet made the connection that they too are constituents within AZ District 8.

At the Kief Joshua Vineyards, one of the first question we were asked was how we were dealing with the tragedy “up in Tucson.”

Winemaker Kief Manning said, “Giffords and her staff have been strong supporters and good friends of the Arizona wine industry for a long time, supporting us in many of the trials and tribulations that occasionally arise. Our family is extremely devastated by the recent tragedy, and holds all the victims dear to our hearts.”

Tim Mueller, winemaker at the Canelo Hills Vineyard and Winery explained the connection, “In August, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her chief of staff Ron Barber visited the Sonoita region to learn more about the grape farming and wine business in this little corner of her district. It was seemingly a casual swing through our area on the way to a Democratic Party fundraiser, so I was prepared for the usual self-serving political photo-op type of visit. Quite the opposite. The Congresswoman—‘call me Gabby’—was gracious, interested, engaging, completely present, and full of ideas about how to promote the region and bring some distinction to our toils.

“One week later, after the hail storm that destroyed the 2010 crop, Barber called to see how he could help, and subsequently mobilized the resources of Gabby’s office to eventually rally the regional USDA to our aid, and with the help of the Governor’s office, have the area declared a federal disaster area.

“These are good people, the kind of people I want in my government…I hope first for their speedy and full recovery, and secondly, that we engage in more civilized political discourse.”

Milton Craig, owner of Charron Vineyards, said, “Bottom line—no matter your political persuasion, you should want to see Gabby back on the floor of Congress representing AZ District 8 – an honor she earned again just a few weeks ago.”

The good people in the vineyards and wineries are pulling for you, Gabby.

Hail storm claims grape crops in Sonoita/Elgin

Bonnie Lewis — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:29:05 +0000

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.