After having to skip last year courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arizona Wine Growers Association is back in Oro Valley for its eighth annual Off the Vine Wine Festival at the historic Steam Pump Ranch.
More than 20 Arizona wineries including a couple whose names might not immediately ring a bell will be on hand to pour their latest vintages.
Tucson food trucks Sexy Grilled Cheese & Salad Company β owned by the popular East Grant Road restaurant Danteβs Fire β and Fork & Fire will be on site, and there will be live entertainment from the Pete Swan Quartet and jazz harmonica player Paul Green and Midnight Blue.
Off the Vine Wine Festival at Steam Pump Ranch in Oro Valley returns Saturday after skipping last year because of the pandemic.
βIt feels pretty interesting to be circling back around to it,β said association President Kris Pothier, one of the owners of Chateau Tumbleweed Winery & Tasting Room in Clarkdale.
Off the Vine is one of the associationβs largest events of the year, and itβs the only one on the books so far for 2022. The association also hosts the Grand Wine Festival in Phoenix in the fall to coincide with its annual wine contest.
βThis is actually my favorite festival. There is something really special about being at the base of the Catalina Mountain range,β Pothier said.
Off the Vine is the only event on the 2022 calendar so far for the Arizona Wine Growers Association.
The 23 Arizona wineries participating in Saturdayβs festival:
1764 Vineyards from Pearce, a family-owned vineyard that has been around since 2017.Β
Birds and Barrels Vineyards, which got its start in Willcox in 2015.Β
Caduceus Cellars of Jerome, owned by Grammy-winning rock star Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle, Pucifer), who also is the chief winemaker.Β
Callaghan Vineyards in Elgin is one of the stateβs oldest vineyards, dating back to 1990 when owner Kent Callaghan planted his first vines.Β
Carlson Creek Vineyard of Willcox is a family affair that has grown from a small venture in 2008 to one of the stateβs largest vineyards.Β
Chateau Tumbleweed out of Clarkdale in the Verde Valley is a couples affair β two couples with years of experience at other Arizona vineyards combined talents a decade ago to create their own wines from locally sourced fruit.Β
Cove Mesa Vineyard in Cottonwood is one of the newest Arizona wineries. Owners Emil and Cindy Molin and Dean Pefanis opened the premium winery in 2020, sourcing its fruit from Willcox, Elgin and the Verde Valley.Β
Deep Sky Vineyard of Willcox is a 20-acre boutique vineyard whose name was inspired by the billions of stars they see overhead when the sun goes down. They specialize in Malbec and most of the Rhone varietals to create their wines that take their names from the galaxy β Celestial, Constellation, Gravity and Black Hole among them.Β
Dos Cabezas WineWorks in Sonoita has been around since 1995 and has two vineyards β on Willcoxβs Kansas Settlement, where the winery got its start, and in Sonoita, where Todd Bostock moved it in 2006.Β
Golden Rule Vineyards of Willcox grows 11 varieties of wine grapes, from Sangiovese and Syrah to Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache and Petit Verdot.Β
High Lonesome Vineyards in the tiny Cochise County town of McNeal β population according to the 2020 census: 182 β was established in 2013, although husband-and-wife owners/operators Tom and Edie Gustason did not roll out their first vintage for public consumption until 2017.Β
Laramita Cellars in the foothills of the Dos Cabezas Mountains in Willcox makes Old World wines from locally sourced fruit.Β
Lighting Ridge Cellars in Elgin is a small family winery that focuses on Italian varietals β Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Montepulciano, Primitivo, Malvasia and Muscat Canelli.Β
Merkin Vineyards of Scottsdale has 110 acres of vineyards in Verde Valley and Willcox, which makes their wines truly statewide.Β
Old Pueblo Cellars has a small vineyard in a residential area just off Interstate 10 and Twin Peaks Road, where Roger Pelton has just shy of two acres under vine. He sold his first vintages in March 2021.Β
Oddity Wine Collective is a trio of former Yavapai College classmates who took what they learned in the collegeβs viticulture program to the real world. They have seven vintages including 100% Sangiovese and a Syrah and Mourvedre blend.Β
Page Springs Vineyards & Cellars wins the prize for most picturesque vineyard. Located in the small Verde Valley town of Page Springs not far from Sedona, the vineyard is operated by Eric Glomski, who was a partner with James Maynard Keenan before striking out on his own.Β
Bodega Pierce Wines is based in the Verde Valley, but it has its vineyards in Willcox and tasting rooms in Willcox and Clarkdale. Bodega Pierce got its start in 2011 when the owners bought an 80-acre estate on the Willcox Bench. They currently have 27 acres under vine.Β
Strive Vineyards in Willcox is proudly βoff the gridβ β relying on solar power and green sustainable farming practices on the husband-and-wife teamβs vineyard that they bought in 2014. They have a half dozen vintages including a 2019 Cabernet Franc and a tawny port-style dessert wine called FortΓ©. s
Su Vino Winery is Scottsdaleβs first winery, and itβs making the city proud. Its wines, from a handful of reds and whites to its popular infusion wines including Peachy Keen and Razzle Dazzle champagne punch have won some 40 awards.Β
Twisted Union Wine Company is set up in the former Kief Joshua vineyards in Elgin, where 14 wine-connected friends joined forces to take over the estate and make wines with a little wink-wink and nod. They rolled out their first vintages in 2020 and gave them cheeky little names including Alternate Route, Mood Swings, One Seven Seven and Roussanne. In March, they are hosting the Twisted Union Communion, a two-day festival featuring a dozen Arizona wineries, local vendors, food trucks and live music.
Vino Stache Winery in Elgin is Brooke Idaβs one-woman show, where she makes the wine, bottles it, sells it and runs the tasting room.Β
Winery 101 makes 20 vintages on two labels β Gallifant Cellars, which makes handcrafted single varietal wines the Old World way; and SouthPaw Cellars, which offers blended varietals. Winery 101 has tasting rooms in Cottonwood and Peoria.Β
If you go
What:Β Eighth annual Off the Vine Arizona Wine Festival
Presented by: Arizona Wine Growers Association
When: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19
Where:Β Historic Steam Pump Ranch, 10901 N. Oracle Road, Oro Valley
Cost:Β $30 in advance throughΒ offthevineaz.com, $35 day of. Admission includes a commemorative glass and eight wine tasting tickets.
Et cetera: No pets will be allowed per Town of Oro Valley regulations. There will be live entertainment and food trucks on site.
Fun facts about Arizona's wine industry
The Arizona Wine Growers Association released an economic impact analysis of Arizona's wine industry last October. Among the findings:
Arizona's wine production nearly tripled between 2012 and 2019.
The state now has 118 "farm wineries," defined as wineries that produce between 200 and 40,000 gallons of wine a year.
Wine tourism β which includes non-wine spending on hotels, restaurants, fuel and travel β created $33.7 million in annual business revenues.
The industry brought in $29.8 million in tax revenues (state, federal and local combined).
Wineries generated $42.8 million in revenues in 2019 through on-premise and direct-to-consumer sales.Β
Arizona has three designated American Viticultural Areas β the 526,000-acre Willcox AVA, the 208,000-acre Sonoita AVA (the state's first) and the newest, the 136-acre Verde Valley AVA.
Arizona's wine production in 2019 ranked 30th among states that produce wine with wineries producing 97,500 cases of wine.
