Arizona Wine

I want to stake a claim—just like a gold rush—in this year 2011— of the emerging wineries of Arizona before they attain world fame. SugarToad recently had the honor of hosting winemaker Eric Glomski of Arizona Stronghold Vineyards to celebrate the wines of Arizona. The dinner was full of storytelling of local history including Indian tales of Geronimo. Mr. Glomski has great respect for the local culture and considers himself a steward of the land—a true pioneer.

The wines of Arizona?—It is like Tuscany had a kid with Rhone grape varietals and got caught up in a gold rush to the Wild West. This is my attempt to describe the terrior and feel of Arizona wines. They are paradoxically rustic and elegant. Fruity, yet not sweet with refreshing acidity, and are great food wines. They are growing grenache, syrah, sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon, mourvedre, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and my personal favorite malvasia. The vineyards are up in the mountains, sometimes at 5000 feet above sea level, and they don’t have heat problems, but frost problems!

I first came across Arizona wines from a couple years ago with the wines of Dos Cabezas and vigneron Todd Bostock. Skeptical at first, I tasted a Syrah called “La Montana” from the 2003 vintage and I was sold. Not only do these reds drink well young, but the concentration of fruit and acidity make them great aging candidates.

Mr. Glomski’s business party is Maynard James Keenan, front man for the bands Tool & A Perfect Circle. Together they recently filmed a documentary Blood Into Wine. It portrays the trials and tribulations of starting a winery in Arizona. With Mr. Keenan’s fame, they have obtained a lot of wine press, but, the movie definitively shows he is a vigneron. So if you have a Netflix subscription, check out Blood Into Wine. It’s entertaining, educational, and displays the pioneering spirit of vignerons.