In our tasting room we get into some silly and some serious discussion about Arizona Wine. On the silly side let us say, we do not make cactus wine. There is no rattlesnake venom in the bottle. There are no vineyards in the Grand Canyon. Though tongue in check these silly statements go hand in hand with deep ideas. Being a small wine region, it is easy for a lot of people to have misconceptions about the Arizona wine Industry. Here are five myths we would like to put to rest.
It is too hot to grow high quality wine grapes in Arizona
This is the first and most pressing myth people believe about Arizona Wine. Most people in the world who have visited Arizona like to tell the horror story of being in Phoenix in July. An endeavor many of us try to avoid. It is true that in this century there are no commercial vineyards in the Valley of the Sun. See number 2 for more on this. But the modern Arizona Wine Industry does not farm there. The grape vines are either North or Southeast. The Verde Valley, Sonotia, and Willcox are all at higher elevations which accomplishes something wonderful, it is cooler. In these areas you get cool nights and warm days. The perfect environment for wine grapes. In fact they are similar elevations and distance from the equator as the major winemaking regions in Chile and Argentina. Which might explain our large blocks of Malbec.
It is a young industry
We often hear about the origins of the modern Arizona Wine industry starting in the 1980s with Dr. Gordon Dutt and Sonotia Vineyards. He was a soil scientist with the University of Arizona and determined that Arizona and Sonotia in particular would be excellent for growing wine grapes. He is the founder of the first modern commercial vineyard. Modern is the key word in that sentence. Arizona has had wine making at our Missions that predate California’s first plantings. The oldest Missions in Arizona were found over 70 years before Father Junipero Sera began building them in California. These Missions all made their own wine from what is colloquially called mission grapes from Spain, and before that with native grape varieties. There was a long tradition and a thriving industry in Arizona in the 19th century according to state agricultural records. The reason this myth exists is because of the Volstead Act. In fact Arizona had prohibition laws prior to its passage, so we in Arizona had a longer alcohol drought than most of the country. California survived Prohibition, Arizona and many other state wine industries did not.
It is just for tourists
The reputation for a tourist trap product like the tequila lollipop (which no one who lives here buys), comes from the early days of the industry when the easiest wine to sell was cheap sweet wine. It made for a good souvenir. That is not what the modern industry does. The current generation of winemakers is serious about their craft and work very hard to create world class wines. Not that there is no place for inexpensive sweet wine, we make a few ourselves, but they are made to an international standard of quality. Our wines have been served at James Beard award winning restaurants, Kent Callaghan’s wines have been served at the White House, Arizona wines have won double golds more times that we can count. All that said, if a tourist wants to buy our wines they are more than welcome, but so is everyone else.
Arizona wine is only Red
It is an easy thing to think, there is a lot of red wine out there. But appearance is not reality. We make Sauvignon Blanc, Fume Blanc, Chardonnay, Malvasia Bianca, Grenache Blanc, Riesling, and Muscat. We also sell these grapes to several wineries. The reason many people do not see these wines is because of the heat. It is hot in the Summer here and the white wines tend to sell out fast. The same goes for the Rosés from a variety of grapes. On top of this wineries push their red wines because they are more profitable. A Cabernet Sauvignon will sell for three times the price of a Sauvignon Blanc. If you want a white wine the best way is to order directly from the winery or join a wine club.
Maynard Kennan founded it. (Lead singer of Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer)
There is nothing quite like having a celebrity winemaker in your camp. The rock star whose fans tattoo the logos of his bands on their bodies farms just up the street from us. A trip to 48 Wineworks would definitely support the idea that he is a founder.The wall includes historical photographs that have been doctored to add his logo. He is one of the great assets of the industry, bringing a lot of recognition. On top of that he is a great winemaker who cares about the craft. He is not a celebrity winemaker who partners with a winery to use his name to sell bulk wine in a pretty bottle like a long list of actors we could name. No he did not found the industry, but he did come along at an inflection point when the industry saw rapid growth and played a big role in nurturing up and coming winemakers. Incidentally, Carlson Creek started around the same time as he did.
Now you know the truth to these myths. If you have any other Arizona Wine myths you would like debunked or confirmed, our friendly tasting room staff will be happy to chat about it in either Scottsdale or Willcox.
Cheers,
The Carlson Creek Team
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