#Willcox AVA

[lordelmelloi2]

You guys don't know how mad I am lowkey that I started this career while living all the way out in the fuckin desert. Fuck the Willcox AVA and Sonoita I want to go to this so fucking bad and get my somm certification

[rjhamster]

Introducing Seventeen Sixty-Four Vineyards 🍷

Events Olive Oil Vinegar Subscriptions The Queen Creek Olive Mill is excited to announce that we are adding two new wines from 1764 Vineyards to our repertoire! 1764 Vineyards is a family-owned and operated vineyard and winery located in the Pearce/Sunsites area of Cochise County, AZ just East of Cochise Stronghold. Their 30-acre property sits at 4,500 feet in the Willcox AVA, where the…

[thearizonawinemonk]

Sand-Reckoner: 2015 Estate Sagrantino

I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired the 2015 Estate Sagrantino from Sand-Reckoner Vineyards... Beautiful and terrible as the dawn, all shall love this wine and despair!

This is a wine I’ve been waiting on for a while. I first tasted this wine as a recently bottled sample in 2018 at the Arizona Vigneron’s Alliance Symposium, and I fell in love instantly with gripping, leathery tannins intermingled with dark fruit and spice. Tasting the 2015 Estate Sagrantino that day… it was kind of like being in love with an intimidating Goth woman who loved me back, and the…

[syrahqueen]

Tasting Desert Wines - Aridus Wine Company

Tasting Desert Wines – Aridus Wine Company

There is no typo in the title, I am referring to desert wines, not dessert wines. Aridus Wines are from the deserts of Willcox Arizona.  The name Aridus is a play on words, in Latin the word arid means dry, so the name is a fitting tribute to their desert setting.

The winery is founded by Scott and Joan Dahmer in a historic and picturesque area of the American Southwest.  Aridus Wines Company is…

[thearizonawinemonk]

Arizona Stronghold: 2017 Pinot Gris Orange Wine

Arizona Stronghold's first Orange Wine, the 2017 Pinot Gris, may have left the tasting room, but has it left our hearts? All signs point to no.

Last year, over Valentine’s Day weekend, Arizona Stronghold sponsored a speed dating event. As Arizona’s (arguably) most famous wine industry bachelor, I was invited to attend. I said I’d agree to go, but my price for attendance was going to be a bottle of their rumored new Orange wine, as yet unreleased, made of Pinot Gris. As it turned out, I was the only one who even showed up… but the 2017…

[thearizonawinemonk]

The 2014 Ann's Malvasia Bianca from Callaghan Vineyards is a splendid example of one of Arizona's finest varietals, from one of Arizona's finest winemakers. Sorry for the lack of posts the last month: it's harvest and crush season, so time is limited, and I've been spending A LOT of time in the vineyards harvesting this year.

[thearizonawinemonk]

The Oddity Wine Collective: 2016 Datura

Petit Verdot is a favorite varietal of mine, and the 2016 Datura from Oddity Wine Collective has been consistently stellar. Let's take a drink.

Petit Verdot is a quirky, fun grape that is among my favorites. It tends to be dark, and tannic, but with some really interesting aromatic and flavor notes that make vintages seem less broody overall than some other, high-tannin varietals. The 2016 Datura from Oddity Wine Collective has been, overall, one of my favorite easily-accessible vintages from back when I lived in the Verde Valley. I’ve…

[thearizonawinemonk]

Vermentino tends to make me think of ancient seas. The 2016 Vermentino from Chateau Tumbleweed, sourced from Dragoon Mountain Vineyard, is no different. I love Vermentino. Some grapes make me think of specific places, or people, or archetypes. But Vermentino is different.

[thearizonawinemonk]

Cellar 433/Bitter Creek Winery: Death

It is from Dragoon Vineyard where our current wine for our spooky Halloween wine review comes: the Death, from Cellar 433's Bitter Creek Winery label.

Montepulciano is a grape that, generally speaking, doesn’t get enough love. This is a shame because I rather enjoy Montepulciano d’Abruzzo as along my favorite Italian Reds. Yet in Arizona, only four vineyards I am aware of are growing this varietal at this time: Cimmaron Vineyard, Chiricahua Ranch Vineyard, Lightning Ridge Vineyard, and Dragoon Vineyard. It is from Dragoon Vineyard where our…

[thearizonawinemonk]

Winery 1912: 2014 Malvasia Bianca

Winery 1912 is winemaker John McLaughlin's latest wine label, this time featured in a Sedona-located tasting room. This tasting room's take on my favorite grape, Malvasia Bianca, reminds me a bit of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl...

Winery 1912 is the newest tasting room in Sedona, featuring the newest label by winemaker John McLaughlin.  It is one of the surprisingly few tasting rooms in Sedona and like sister Tasting Room Cellar 433, is known for incredible views.  Winery 1912 made its presence known originally at a few wine festivals, which is where I acquired this bottle of my usual favorite white grape, Malvasia Bianca.…

[thearizonawinemonk]

Rune Winery: 2014 Grenache

The 2014 Grenache from Rune Winery is the wine I paired with the Great American Eclipse.

I wonder if sometimes I’m the only one who decides to come up with weird wine pairings with life events or astronomical phenomena. Sometimes, though, you have to embrace that weirdness. On the day of the Great American Eclipse of 2017, I decided to park myself on a hillside near Jerome and review my bottle of the 2014 Grenache from Rune, while the sun underwent a dramatic occultation.

(In…

[thearizonawinemonk]

Sand-Reckoner: 2014 Malvasia Bianca

Let's take a brief break from rosé and partake of the 2014 Malvasia Bianca from Sand-Reckoner.

I still have a few rosé wines left to poke at for the summer, but since my bottle of the Sand-Reckoner rosé is earmarked for a Nebbiolo podcast to happen at a later date… I decided to drink something a little different. Besides, you all know me, I can’t say no to Malvasia. With that in mind, I decided to trek to the Verde River near Perkinsville and crack open my bottle of his 2014 Malvasia…

[thearizonawinemonk]

Carlson Creek Vineyard: 2015 Grenache Rosé

The Carlson Creek Vineyard 2015 Grenache Rosé is a great example of why Grenache should be considered a rosé grape in Arizona.

Most wineries in Arizona make at least one rosé wine, often from their first vintage. However, it took a while for Carlson Creek Vineyards to get on board. I grabbed this bottle of their 2015 Grenache rosé on release day down in the new Scottsdale tasting room, just down the road from Salvatore Vineyards and Aridus. (I don’t always make it for wine release days, and it was a lucky coincidence)…

[thearizonawinemonk]

2016 Tannat, Willcox AVA. Dark, brooding. Cooked meat, smoke, plum, iris, violet. Juicy character, more juicy than I expected--partial carbonic maceration? Blackberry, mulberry, cedar, frankincense. Lots of tannins, but well integrated. Give me a goat leg with this and I'll be a happy little barbarian petty king with this wine. #tannat #azwine #winesofwillcox #wine #winereview (at Bodega Pierce) https://www.instagram.com/p/Brdt24sl2tr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=70vm0hvcd240

[thearizonawinemonk]

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." What do we do with our time? What *should* we do with our time? This question, and the words of Gandalf run through my mind as I drink the 2012 vintage of the "2", from @sandreckonervineyard. I am pretty sure I bought this bottle the first time I met Rob in his Willcox winery facility, years ago. This bottle is one of the few "apocalypse bottles" in my stash here in Jerome, and with a world at the edge of... something, it seemed a fitting time to open it. The 2012 vintage of the 2 is a Super-Tuscan style blend of 70% Sangiovese and 30% Syrah, sourced from the high desert plains of what is now the Willcox AVA. Back in 2012, the Willcox AVA was just a dream, and everything had to be labeled as Cochise County. 9 years ago, I was hurtling myself back across country from Boston, back to the desert lands that grew my bones. What have I done in that time? Have I made a good use of it? I like to think so, though some could make a cromulent argument that the 2012 "2" has aged better than myself. This wine is, frankly, a voluptuous wonder. Rich, and savory, I feel this wine captures the hope and potential that the Arizona wine industry had back then, let alone now. On the nose, the "2" opens with savory aromas of cherry, plum, boysenberry and bilberry, intermingling with latakia tobacco, granite, anise, and candied iris. The palate, too, is a rich wonderland; a velvety mouthfeel kissed with just a bit of peppery tannins and the briny salinity of lost seas. The rich fruit flavors of cherry, plum, and boysenberry continue into the finish, with hints of sagebrush, anise, lavender, fig, and tobacco. That voluptuous finish lingers for minutes, like the sweet, fading memory of a satisfying kiss. If you happen to be blessed by either Dionysios or St. Vincent of Saragossa to have a bottle of the 2012 "2" in your stash, make the time to drink it now. Don't wait for the special occasion. While I feel this wine would hold up for another 5 years without issue... Why wait? Use the time that was given to you. #wine #redwine #azwine #winesofwillcox #winereviews #wineporn #sangiovese #syrah https://www.instagram.com/p/CA4GCUynnZw/?igshid=1gmh3bi4l0hwb

[thearizonawinemonk]

Arizona Sangiovese is one of our best styles... and this one has opened up and mellowed out quite nicely after a day or so. Drinking a good local Sangiovese is like hanging out with a long-time friend. The Satyr, from @odditywinecollective is made from 100% Sangiovese, sourced from Cimmaron Vineyard, located in the Willcox AVA. Bright cheery cherry and cranberry notes intermingle with earth, anise, and pipe tobacco on the Satyr. It isn't an overly complex wine, but as I've said before, complexity does not always equate to quality. Sometimes, all you want is a simple, food-friendly, or cigar-friendly wine. The Satyr definitely fits the bill. #sangiovese #azwine #azgrapes #odditywinecollective #redwine #wine #winereviews https://www.instagram.com/p/CA0TT6znH-I/?igshid=tyo3rtt0304j