arizona vineyards

In 2010, we had stopped in on a whim to explore this odd building with some friends after a day trip in southern AZ. The rough exterior decor of the winery belied its inside cozyiness with unexpected warmth and friendliness of the owner / bartender / story teller. The inside was dark and cavernlike filled with a hodgepodge of dusty antiques that gave one the sense of a long lost ruin just discovered by our litle troup. As we rounded the interior path like corridor piled high with items of every discription we found a couple snuggled around a fireplace in the corner of the room and the owner already pouring glasses for each of us in our party with samples from a case at the bar. We waved us in with a greeting like that of a friend we hadn't seen in years and he passed us wine glasses as we made it to the barstools. The samples flowed freely as did questions and answers of himself and his winerie's history. Spent our time and money there with almost 2 full cases leaving with us and a invitation to return anytime. He was truly proud of his wines and his colorful personality and gernerous prices made our end of day a memory will tell all our friends about that they should stop by and visit this really unique spot that is not a typical expected winery setting. Its not all shine and gloss, it's more like visiting the family's favorite eccentric uncle's home secret basement and all the stuff he ever collected. Unfortunately, we heard it had burned down but has been rebuilt so the place may now be different, but I am sure the wines are just as fantastic as I remember. I held onto the last bottle of wine from our case when I heard of the fire just in case it was to be may last taste of those wines. I am axiously planning our next trip as I know I can now finally enjoy my last bottle. His wines are only available at that location and are not even shipped. The couple in the corner near the fire had driven from Phoenix to restock themselves with several cases and were enjoying some of theirs before their return trip which I also believe is well worth the time.

I went to this place between 2003-2005. It has a real feel of the old west. it is pretty and not only do they have wines for tasting, they have their own pistachio groves and they roast and flavour them and they are a hidden treasure in this part of your journey. It has a great atmosphere.