New Retail Accounts supporting AZ wines
October has been a great month for new retail accounts supporting my AZ winery partners. Sibley’s West in Chandler just started carrying AZ wines in a big way. Sibley’s West only supports products made in Arizona and that includes wines. They now have 17 different wineries represented on their shelves. John & Michelle are two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and now have the most comprehensive AZ wine list in Chandler. I have another free wine tasting scheduled there on November 17th from 5-7 PM. If you don’t see your favorite AZ wine they will be happy to place a special order for you. Please support this fantastic store.
Also this month Greg Eccles over at Top’s Liquor in Tempe has now started to support some of my winery partners. They have on the shelves all the Dribble Creek wines but carry an extensive selection of AZ wines. We have an affordable wine tasting at Taste of Tops next door on the Dribble Creek wines on November 3rd starting at 6-8 PM, for only $5. If you purchase two bottles of your favorite DC wine your tasting fee will be applied to your purchase.
Also new this month is the Grand View Restaurant at Painted Mountain Golf Resort in Mesa. They also are supporting Dribble Creek wines which will be available by the glass and by the bottle to enjoy with a great meal after a round of golf.
Bobby at Havana Cigars AZ and Bill over at Hops & Tannins in Anthem are also supporting AZ wines so please pay them a visit if you are living in North Phoenix or Anthem.
All these retail locations know the benefit of supporting local AZ wines and if you are a retailer or restaurant that wants to support AZ wines contact me directly for a free consultation. If you are looking for events featuring AZ wines go to meetup.com/blue-tooth-wine-society/ for details and a calendar of events. We have lots of great, affordable events scheduled over the next couple of months.
Cheers,
Jim Wiskerchen
480 296-3571
Jim@MyWineHelper.com
Carrabba’s Italian Grill Hosts Dribble Creek Winemaker Dinner Series
A series of winemaker dinners with John McLoughlin, from Arizona’s very own Dribble Creek Winery, will be starting on June 28th at 6:30 PM at the Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Glendale location. Each Carrabba’s Italian Grill location in Arizona will host a winemaker dinner this summer with John. During these special winemaker dinner events we will be unveiling the new private label, hand-crafted red blend, Vino Rosso Di Carrabbas. This smooth, full bodied red is a perfect blend of Primativo, Montepulciano, Tinto Roiz with a splash of Petite Sirah. These dinners represent a masterful 4-course Arizona wine and food pairing for only $39.99++. Seating is limited to the first 60 people who RSVP. If you have been waiting for something spectacular to do this summer join us, relax and let Carrabba’s do the cooking.
You may RSVP at Meetup.com/blue-tooth-wine-society/ or contact the restaurant directly at the numbers listed below on the schedule.
Schudule:
June 28th, Tuesday 6:30-8:30PM Carrabba’s~Glendale. To RSVP call (602)863-6444.
June 30th, Thursday 6:30-8:30PM Carrabba’s~Gilbert. To RSVP call (480)726-7455.
July 13th, Wednesday 6:30-8:30PM Carrabba’s~ Mesa. To RSVP call (480)654-9099
July 14th, Thursday 6:30-8:30PM Carrabba’s~Surprise. To RSVP call (623)214-3299
July 21st, Thursday 6:30-8:30PM Carrabbas~Avondale. To RSVP call (623)936-0597
July 26th, Tuesday 6:30-8:30PM Carrabbas~Chandler. To RSVP call (480)785-8586
July 27th, Wednesday 6:30-8:30PM Carrabbas~Scottsdale. To RSVP call (480)948-8881
July 28th, Thursday 6:30-8:30PM Carrabbas~Tucson. To RSVP call (520)742-7442
Cheers,
Jim Wiskerchen
New Sales Representatives Join MyWineHelper.com
I’m excited to announce a new member to my sales & marketing team. Cory White will be assisting me with Northern Arizona accounts. I will continue to handle all East Valley accounts. Cory can be reached at Cory@mywinehelper.com or at 928 202-7009, Alfie at Alfie@mywinehelper.com or 510 280-4601. This experienced team member will add much value to not only my Arizona winery partners but the retail venues that support the Arizona wines we represent. If you are a restaurant or wine shop that is interested in supporting Arizona wines please contact either of us for a free consultation. We also organize and promote events featuring Arizona wines and a full calendar of events and details can be found at our Arizona wine only tasting group Meetup.com/blue-tooth-wine-society/. It is free to join this Arizona wine tasting group and we hope to see you at an event soon.
Cheers,
Jim Wiskerchen
My Wine Helper~Owner
Jim@mywinehelper.com
480 296-3571-Cell
Arizona Wineries That Provide A Great Setting for Weddings.
Recently I participated in a local bridal show hosted at the salon and day spa, Vanity on Mill. It was promoted by my friends over at Local Lilly. Local Lilly by the way, is a great website that features all the local things that make Arizona great, you should check it out if you haven’t already. At this event the one thing that most of the brides did not have nailed down was the venue. Although I was promoting the idea of serving Arizona wine at weddings, it got me thinking that there are some Arizona wineries and vineyards that would make perfect settings for one’s wedding. Heck people are having weddings all the time in places like Napa, California why not have your wedding a little closer to home.
The Arizona winery that I would recommend first and foremost would be Alcantara Vineyards. They just built a beautiful chapel amongst their vines and the Tuscan style home and tasting room also provides a great facility for bride, groom and guests. Hey, the cherry on top is that their wines are really good as well. Bob and Barbara Predmore are the owners so make sure you give them a call and tell them I sent you.
Although I think Alcantara is the most suitable spot for a wedding they are not the only ones. Granite Creek Vineyard in Chino Valley, is a hundred year old homestead property that hosts many weddings already and they make the only certified organic wines in the state. They also do not add any sulfites to their wines. This location provides a beautiful rustic charm and they throw in the peacocks that meander the grounds, free of charge. I love their Cabernet Sauvignon, it is one of the best in the state.
Juniper Well Ranch out in Skull Valley provides a nice backdrop as well. They have cabins for rent and a brand new tasting room and winery. They make small batch, boutique wines and are worth checking out.
My friend Deb Wahl at Oak Creek Vineyards is another person you should get in touch with. She works with a wedding planner with decades of experience and can put together weddings for just about any budget. Page Springs Cellars is also a location to check out as well.
When considering locations for your wedding, think about having it at an Arizona Vineyard. Not only do you get some of the most beautiful backdrops in all of Arizona but also get some of the best tasting wines available in the state as a bonus.
Cheers,
Jim Wiskerchen
Arizona Winery Profile: Dribble Creek
Dribble Creek is the brain-child of winemaker, vineyard owner, and man about town, John McLoughlin. I thought I was the hardest worker in Arizona but this guy puts me to shame. John is also the winemaker for Jerome and Bitter Creek Winery out of Northern Arizona. The four current releases of Dribble Creek wine are all masterful blends. There is the white wine, Ladies in Waiting which is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Vermintino. Ode to Spring is a red blend of 50% Barbera, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Purr Maid is a red blend of 50% Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Last but not least we have the Sommelier, which is a red blend of 33% Dolcetto, Zinfandel and Syrah. The whimsical, magical labels for Dribble Creek were painted by the internationally known artist Robert Shields, who is one half of the Emmy winning team of Shields and Yarnell. The grapes for these wines were sourced from John’s 100 acre Dragoon Mountain Vineyard located just south of Willcox. I will be featuring these wines at events this fall and winter. I’m excited about these wines not only from a quality standpoint but also from an affordability one. You can get information about my events by joining my wine tasting group, Meetup.com/blue-tooth-wine-society/. Hope to see you soon.
P.S. If you are a wine retailer or restaurant interested in supporting Dribble Creek or any of the 12 wineries I represent please contact me at Jim@MyWineHelper.com.
Sonoita/Elgin Vineyards get hit hard by hail on 8/15
Hail storm rolling through Elgin
Crop damage at Canelo Hills Vineyard
I was driving home to Tempe from the Crop Circle tasting room in Willcox on Sunday, August 15th. The clouds looked ominous coming out of the Sonoita/Elgin area of Arizona and there was plenty of rain and lightning. The monsoons in Arizona can be unpredictable but in Southern Arizona there are usually pretty good storms every year. These storms come at a terrible time for the wineries and vineyards in the state because it is harvest time. Rain can delay picking of fruit because the grapes suck up the water and dilute the sugar content. One usually will have to wait to harvest for several days after a good rain. There is also then the threat of bunch rot, mold and mildews developing as a result of excess moisture in the vineyards and on the grape clusters. For the vineyard managers and winery owners this becomes a stressful time, anticipating harvest while playing chicken with mother nature. On August 15th mother nature won the game. In less than 30 minutes a hail storm unleashed golf ball sized hail that ripped through the vineyards on Elgin Road better known as Winery Row. Wilhelm Vineyards was also later hit on upper Elgin Road. The hail stripped the leaves from the vines and battered the grape cluster rendering them untenable. For the vineyards this was already a difficult vintage with a late frost on May 1st that had reduced the crops but the hail storm was the uppercut that K.O.’d most of the vineyards. It is sad to see my friends put in hundreds of hours of hard back-breaking work, not to mention the financial impact, to have it completely wiped out in 30 minutes. I like to be the optimist and look for the silver linning in these types of situations because really the strength of a person’s character can only be judged in times of difficulty. Let’s face it growing grapes and agriculture in general, always comes with this risk. Many of the new vineyards however have not had to deal with this type of loss. As bad as this pain must be for those that have lost so much, take comfort in knowing that it will pass and next year will be another chance at renewal and prosperity. I look to the long time growers like Kent Callaghan who stay so composed even though his vineyard was a complete loss. One positive result is the consumers that are getting behind the wineries, supporting them by purchasing their current vintage released wines and this type of love and outpouring will help to ease the pain.
I encourage everyone to go down to the wineries in their time of need and tell them in person how much you appreciate all they go through to make the wines you enjoy. I also am encouraging restaurants to support Arizona wines. Pavle Millic at FnB restaurant in Scottsdale has a 100% Arizona wine list. As genius as I think he is, he by no means has a monopoly on supporting local producers and our state’s wines. If anything he would tell you to support our local wines as a matter of good financial sense. If your customers support the wines you should give your customers what they want. For details on events featuring Arizona made wines join my wine tasting group at meetup.com/blue-tooth-wine-society/. For restaurants looking to support Arizona wines contact me at Jim@MyWineHelper.com. I hope to share a glass of Arizona wine with you soon.
Cheers,
Jim Wiskerchen-Owner
Willcox, Crop Circle Tasting Room Re-Opened
Jim at Crop Circle Winery tasting room in Willcox
When opportunity knocks I tend to swing the door open and invite her in. On Saturday, August 7th I re-opened the Crop Circle Winery tasting room in Willcox, Arizona. Crop Circle Vineyard and Winery is the brain-child of Jon Marcus. He owns not only 80 prime acres of vineyard land in Willcox with a tasting room, but also the Echo Canyon label and winery in Sedona. The Crop Circle tasting room provides me with the opportunity to not only showcase Jon’s Crop Circle and Echo Canyon wines but also a dozen of the top wineries from around Arizona. If you’ve never been to Willcox it is one of the best areas in Arizona for wine grapes and agriculture in general. In fact right down the street from the Crop Circle tasting room is Apple Annie’s famous U-Pick it farm. Two weekends ago I went down there and picked a bucket full of peaches which are now in season. There are three other tasting rooms in and around Willcox: Coronado Vineyards, Keeling Schaefer and also Carlson Creek wines. Willcox is still a very rustic, small town but makes for a delightful road trip and having a break from the heat of Phoenix is also a treat. The tasting room will be open Saturdays & Sundays from 10:00 AM till 5:00 PM. Come down and visit with me and taste some of the best wines Arizona has to offer. Located at 3052 N. Fort Grant Rd Willcox, Arizona. (520)384-3022
Arizona Vineyard Profile: Juniper Well Ranch
Linda Bonham and me at Juniper Well Ranch
My first exposure to Juniper Well Ranch wines came at the AZ Festival at the Farm in November 2009. Dave & Linda Bonham are the two behind these new wines. Their current 2008 releases which include a Chardonnay, Grenache, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon were produced and sourced from Eric Glomski at Page Springs Cellars and are all solid wines. The Grenache and Syrah are my favorites. The wine labels are pictures from prolific western author, Frank Bonham’s books. These labels are uniquely western and are a great representation and frame for Juniper Well Ranch wines.
Juniper Well Ranch has planted over two acres of vineyards featuring the Spanish Tempranillo grape (their heartiest vines). They are also growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Syrah, Grenache, Pino Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec, many which were first planted in 2004. Their first harvest was in the fall of 2008. Tough Country Winery has produced 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah and bottled Arizona Grenache and Chardonnay. 2009 Merlot, Tempranillo, Petite Syrah will be ready for sale summer of 2010.
This is a beautiful property that has rustic cabins for rent and there are also plans to build a tasting room on the property to be ready for a 4th of July party in 2011. I am excited to be able to help promote these wines and if you need a get away spot for some R&R this is the place to stay and while your there drink some of their estate produced wines.
Cheers,
Jim Wiskerchen
Arizona Vineyard Profile: Freitas Vineyards
I would like to introduce you to the newest member of the My Wine Helper family of Arizona wines, Freitas Vineyards. Located in a private location in Cottonwood, this five acre vineyard is cranking out some of the best wines in the state. Ray Frietas is the owner and in 2000 she and her husband Ray planted this property to several varietals including Petite Syrah, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc and her very popular and great tasting white wine, Malvasia Bianco.
I first heard about Ray Freitas through one of my other winery partners, Barbara Predmore of Alcantara Vineyards. Barbara is also another wonderful woman winery owner, who is always trying to help others and who is building quite a reputation for her wines as well. Alcantara BTW, is the largest of the Northern Arizona vineyard properties. I spoke with Ray by phone for the first time back in April of 2010. Ray works full time at a local hospital and has enlisted the help of winemaker Darin Evans and assistant Scott Waltz from Utah to help her not only in the vineyard but with her wine production as well.
Freitas Vineyards is not open to the public and with Ray’s busy work schedule I finally got to meet her, Darin and Scott in person at the winery in late May. Most of Ray’s 2007 red wines are sold out and the 2008 vintage is getting ready for bottling. Her current release of the stunning 2009 Malvasia Bianco is already sold out. She only produces about 30 cases a year but will be expanding her plantings of this varietal next year. I tasted many of the new vintage wines from barrel and the Petite Syrah is going to be great. The one and only wine she has left is the 2007 Ray’s Red which is a Bordeaux style wine which is predominately Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Until the other wines are bottled this wine will have to hold you over. Many of you most likely have never heard of Freitas Vineyards, let alone tasted the wine, that is all about to change.
Ray’s wines have only been available in select restaurants in Cottonwood and Sedona and at Sam Pillsbury’s tasting room in Cottonwood but now Ray’s Red will be available in a few select store’s in Phoenix metro and you will have the opportunity to taste and purchase 2007 Ray’s Red over the next few months only. Send me an email at Jim@MyWineHelper.com or call me at 480 296-3571, if you are retailer or consumer interested in getting some Frietas Vineyards.
My Wine Helper making Arizona Wines Available to Consumers
In February of 2010 I started a new program at MyWineHelper.com to help Arizona wineries to get their wines into restaurants and wine retailers. Almost all of the Arizona wineries with the exception of a few do not produce over 20,000 gallons of wine. In our state, if you are an out of state or in-state producer and under this limit you have the right to self distribute. Meaning you don’t need to use a wholesaler/distributor and you can sell your wines directly to the retailers. Our Arizona wineries fought hard for this right and at great expense.
In the very recent past, our state’s wholesalers did not give our Arizona wines much consideration. When they did they were treated like second class citizens, and to be quite frank with you most deserved this treatment because of quality issues. Over the last five years or so there has been a quiet renaissance with our Arizona wines. This has been led by two major factors: better varietal plantings and improvements in the vineyards and the increasing experience of our state’s winemakers.
In Arizona there are now over 40 bonded wineries and vineyards, whereas in 2006 there were just about 10. These wineries are all fighting over less than 700 acres of planted grapes in Arizona. With so little Arizona juice available is it any wonder why so many wineries source grapes from California to suppliment their production. Most of our states wineries own less than 10 acres of planted vineyards. Of these the majority are less than 10 years old. All of our state’s wineries would be considered very limited production. Many wineries have made the choice to only sell their wines through primitive looking tasting rooms/production facilities. More money in their pockets.
Making wine and owning and maintaining vineyards requires a boat load of cash. Many Arizona winery owners are still paying off initial capital investments on their properties. It is hard to explain or even to justify this to wine consumers who always ask me why Arizona wines are so expensive. It is mostly an economy of scale issue. In California and other major wine producing countries the average vineyard size is equal to our entire state’s vineyards combined.
Lately, there has been plenty of attention and press about our little wine industry in Arizona. With the likes of Maynard Keenan, the lead singer of the rock band Tool making wine in the state and restaurants like FnB with their all Arizona wine list and blind competitions highlighting how far our wines have come against the world, many of the wineries have decided it is in their best interest to make some wine available to customers outside of just their tasting rooms. For them it is a trade off however, they have to reduce the money they get for the wines to allow a retailer or restaurant to make money on that same bottle. The problem is that the amount of wine released for the retail market is very small. In fact, some wineries I currently work with give me an allocation of 40 cases of all varietal wines combined per year. With such little wine available I choose very carefully the restaurants and retailers I work with.
I have a wine tasting group at Meetup.com/blue-tooth-wine-society/. It has become a tasting group that features almost exclusively events based on the 9 Arizona wineries that I currently represent. These events help me to educate wine consumers on not only the quality of our state’s wines but also where you can now purchase them. I encourage you to join my tasting group and join us at an event. Support your local wine producers and support the businesses that carry their wines. This way they can plant more vineyards, make more wine, and bring down the cost to all of us.
Cheers,
Jim Wiskerchen
