By Monday, all of the family had settled into their accommodations. As our first joint family activity of the reunion, the sisters decided to take a Limo driven wine tasting tour of all of the Verde Valley's Four Wineries. ( A big "Thank you"goes to Laura McClellan, who volunteered to watch Jeannine' s two great grandchildren, so that Jeannie could join her other sister's on the tour).
Our limo driver picked us all up at our resort, and drove us to each of the four boutique wineries. Along the way to our tastings he educated us on wine growing in the area. He explained that while one doesn't normally associate vineyards and wine tasting with deserts landscapes, but as it turns out, Sedona - and surrounding areas Page Springs and Cornville - are the beating heart of Arizona's wine country. High altitude, rich volcanic soil and weather that swings from hot, dry summers to August monsoons to cool nights and mild winters make it ideal for growing big, jammy reds like Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet as well as Chardonnay that can compete with any Napa white. A huge Aquifer under the Verde Valley supplies the spring water to keep the vines lush and and fruit plump and succulent. One can even get a college degree in wine-making in the area.
Our first stop was at the family owned and run Alcantara Vineyards.
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Our Limo sits shaded between one of the vineyards and the tasting room. |
Situated on the confluence of the Verde River and Oak Creek, it was by far the largest of the four wineries we visited in terms of acreage and in terms of the size of its tasting room.
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| First toast |
Specializing in Appellation: Yavapai County (100% Alcantara Vineyard Grapes) they produced a wide range of award winning red and white varietals and blends. After each of us tried tasting five different varieties ( with quite a bit of sharing ) we settled on taking a bottle of their dessert Moscatto to share in the limo .
Of course, five tastings, and a bottle of Moscatto before lunch,
resulted in some pretty happy faced sisters,
by the time we got to our next stop we were all acting silly.
Our second stop, was Javelina Leap Winery.
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Javelina Leap Tasting Room |
This time we were sampling pure varietals
made from grapes grown in Arizona soil. While the winery produces both red and white varietals, their biggest award winners are their zinfandels. Bruce and I purchased a bottle of the Javelina Leap 2013 Estate Legacy Zinfandel to take home with us.
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Decision, decisions. |
While this tasting room was far less elegant that our first, the tour of the vineyards and cellars that followed the tastings was far more interesting.
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Javelina Leap vineyard |
The tour included an explanation of the unusual growing conditions and practices which give Javelina Leap wines their unique characteristics. The main vineyard is a 10 1/4 acre estate nestled 3,800 ft. above sea level. The Estate vineyards are located on the steep slopes of an extinct volcanic mountain, overlooking the lush greenbelt of Oak Creek. The Estate Vineyard uses native plants intermingled with their estate zinfandel vines. They believe these plants are a natural sustainable resource that benefits their vines. They also have chosen to avoid all chemical weed control and use a weed whip instead. While their wines are made from 100% Arizona grapes, not all of their grapes are grown in the vineyards around the tasting room. Some come from Prescott . All of their Northern Arizona Vineyards are pruned and harvested by hand to ensure the highest quality.
We also got a tour of their cellars. Boy did that feel good after being out of doors in the heat of the Arizona summer. (It was 105 F+ in the shade in the Verde Valley)
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Javelina Leap Cellar Tour |
Then it was back in the limo an on to our third tasting at:
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Oak Creek Vineyards tasting room |
This is another family owned and operated small winery. They currently have approximately 4,000 plants on just over ten acres. In the higher elevations of the property they grow Syrah, Merlot, Tempranillo and the lower portion is reserved for Zinfandel and Chardonnay. In addition to the red and white varietals, they also produce some high quality dessert wines.
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In the Oak Creek Vineyard tasting room |
Even though we had been sharing our tasting to cut down on the alcohol consumption, both Bruce and I were beginning to lose sensation in our taste buds. We opted to skip the dinner wines tastings and go straight to tasting their port and sherry. Both dessert wines were delicious, and we bought a bottle of each.
Oak Creek Vineyard also gets CC's vote for having the best Wine related Blogsite of the four. Be sure to check out their recipes and interesting wine anecdotes.:
Our final stop on the tour was
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Page Spring Cellars Tasting Room Entrance |
This family owned vineyard and winery crafts fine Arizona Wines from grapes grown in their own vineyards in the volcanic landscape overlooking pristine Oak Creek. Page Springs Cellars Vineyards offers Rhône style wines. (They work primarily with Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Mourvedre). They also collaborate with several other Arizona vineyards in varying locations and climates on a quest to secure quality fruit to make wines that are an expression of these places.
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PSC Vineyards |
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Do you think we've had enough samples? |
In addition to the usual wine sampling in the tasting room ( which is filled with wine arts and crafts), visitors to the winery can get a massage, or have an aromatherapy session, or have a picnic overlooking oak creek.
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We opted to follow the path through the grape arbor to the picnic area and some much needed lunch.
Overall, it was a great afternoon, and a wonderful start to the family reunion.
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