Off The Vine Media

The view from Sonoita Vineyards

Do you ever find yourself in places that you don’t expect there to be vineyards and wineries ? I do, from time to time and one of these happened just recently when my family went on a vacation to just south of Tucson Arizona.  As you travel through this area two things will pop out at you.  The first is there is desert as far as the eye can see.  The second is that there seems to be mountains that have sprouted up off the ocean floor all around you.  This did not seem like a place to find wineries, vineyards, or an AVA.  However,  I was wrong all of these could be found here.  Fifty miles from the border of Mexico and south east of Tucson lies the Sonoita AVA which contains about 10-15 wineries and vineyards.

My question was how can this be ?  What I found out was the reason for this was that the area is approximately 5,000 feet above sea level in elevation.  This gives it a much more favorable growing area for grapes than the desert floor.  Once you arrive in the heart of wine country after traveling about 45 minutes from Tucson you will quickly notice the familar surroundings of vineyards and wineries.  The operations in this area are not large commerical ones but smaller boutique and family run operations.  We had the pleasure to check out three of these wineries while visiting.  The first was Whilhelm Family vineyards.  This family operation has been around since 2003 and has seven varietals planted on site.  They offer a nice selection of reds and whites crafted by their female wine maker Karyl who was trained in California.  The second we ventured to was Kief-Joshua Vineyards on “Winery Row”.  This winery has two different vineyard sites and a winemaker who was trained in Australia.  Finally, we stopped at Sonoita Vineyards.  This is the oldest vineyard in the area dating back to 1979 where currently there are 10 varietals grown on site.  The founders granddaughter is currently the head winemaker.  This winery is situated on a hill with beautiful views of the rolling hills.

This isn’t the only wine region in Arizona, however it was the only one we were able to visit.   The other two areas are the Verde Valley which is south of Flagstaff and the Wilcox area which is northwest of the Sonoita/Elgin area we visited.  So next time you are on vacation in Arizona try some of the wines you may be pleasantly surprised.

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Renovated 1915 school house winery of L'Ecole No 41

After returning from Walla Walla Washington recently from a relaxing wine vacation I am compelled to share about some of the amazing wineries I had the pleasure to visit and enjoy.

Walla Walla is split into four areas.  There is the westside, southside, downtown, and the eastside.  Each of these areas is unique and showcases Walla Walla in a different way.  The westside of town has some of the oldest wineries in it along with some bigger name wineries.  The southside has some of the most beautiful vineyards and views of the blue mountains.  The downtown district has a wide variety of tasting rooms from many wineries along with different restaurants and shops to visit.  The eastside of town has a few wineries with surrounding vineyards but also a unique area by the airport where many old military buildings have been turned into wineries.  Also, in this area is a wine incubator where  there are five buildings that house new wineries and allows them five years in the building to get up and running before they have to leave and allow a new winery to enter.  Each of these areas houses many amazing wineries.  Below are some of the ones we had the pleasure of visiting and enjoying.

To the West of town we enjoyed a number of wineries but two that stood out to me was Reininger and L’Ecole No 41.  The first winery of the trip we visited was Reininger and it was a great one to start with as the tasting room staff was incredibly kind and knowledgeable.  The winery also has a great line up of moderately priced wines along with a higher end line up.  There line up on wine variatels was great and we are looking forward to popping open the 08 Reininger Syrah.  The second winery of note is L’Ecole No 41.  This winery is housed in a renovated school house from 1915.  This is the third oldest winery in Walla Walla and they are consistent on producing great wines.

To the South is where you will find some of the most scenic views of the blue mountains and the surrounding vineyards.  Three wineries that stood out in this region were Saviah Cellars, Morrison Lane, and Gifford Hirlinger.  Each of these presented a different feel and breadth of Walla Walla valley wines.  At Saviah Cellars they had a great selection of wines at many price points.  We are looking forward to enjoying there 09 Big Sky Cuvee.  At Morrison Lane you get to see a winery using many unique grape varietals that you don’t see everyday from a Cinsault to a Counoise.  The view of the blue mountains from the wineries front doors are stellar.  The third winery to check out is Gifford Hirlinger.  This winery has a simple and modern feel with very approachable wine.  This place sits on the boarder of Washington and Oregon.

The view from Morrison Lane's from Door

Next we head to the east where many of the wineries are located in in the airport district with a few dotted outside that area.  Two places to check out here include A’Maurice Cellars and Dunham Cellars.  At A’Maurice Cellars you will travel to the edge of the vineyard.  The tasting room staff is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about wine.  All the wines on there list are fantastic but I am excited to try there 09 Malbec.  The other winery to check out is located in the airport district.  This is Dunham Cellars.  Here you will enjoy a large tasting area to experience your wine and just relax with friends.  Through out the year Dunham hosts a number of winemaker dinners as well. Also, enjoy some of the artwork on the bottles as this comes from one of the owners.

Finally is the downtown district.  We didn’t have the opportunity to fully experience the downtown tasting rooms.  However, if you are looking for a place to leisurely walk from tasting to tasting this is the place to do just that.  Not to mention the great food and beautiful downtown.  Some suggestions we were given by other wineries to check out down town include Cadaretta and Fort Walla Walla cellars  ( if you have tried either of these or others in the downtown area let us know).

As you can see there are many places to try and enjoy.  This is only a small cross section of the wineries you will find.  Walla Walla does a great job of delivering a relaxing wine experience and great wine.  So hop in your car or grab a flight to Walla Walla wine country you won’t be disappointed by the wineries you discover and experience.

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