Is Arizona Home to the next ‘Napa Valley’ ?

Is Arizona Home to the next ‘Napa Valley’ ?Wine Country in Arizona? Absolutely! The history of wine in Arizona dates back to the late 17th century when the first vineyardswere planted by Franciscan missionaries; though in recent history, wine grapevines were planted in Arizona in the 1970’s. Theindustry has recently started to blossom in the last couple of years and is poised to really take off. A recent change in law allowssmall wineries to sell directly to consumers and retailers, bypassing distributors. This change means it is much more profitable tooperate a ‘boutique’ winery and this is one of the reasons for the surge of new vineyards and wineries. Add to that the fact thatpremium land suitable for vineyards can be purchased for as little as $6,000/acre, you can see why there is so much activity.While you will find vineyards all over the state, there are three main areas: Sedona (Verde Valley), Sonoita/Elgin and Willcox(Sulpher Springs Valley). The Sedona area, of course, enjoys a steady flow of tourists which provides plenty of customers for theirwineries. Sonoita is close to Tucson (approximately a one hour drive) and weekend wine-country traffic is steadily increasing.This last Memorial Day weekend every tasting room was standing-room only. The Willcox area, while actually having the bestconditions in the state for growing grapes, is just getting started. There are many established vineyards as well as severalplanned / early stage vineyards emerging; and the first two tasting rooms both opened up within the last year… a sign of things tocome. In the future, Willcox is destined to have the most vineyard activity.There are even “Vineyard Subdivisions” under development in all threeareas. The concept is similar to a golf course subdivision, but instead of agolf course, you have a vineyard. The houses may be built within thevineyard or nearby. Concepts vary but usually the property owners hold aninterest in the vineyard. Their HOA dues are used for management andupkeep of the vineyards and they can also participate in the harvesting,wine making and may even be able to create their own private label.Arizona Vines & Wines is dedicated to promoting Arizona vineyards,wineries and corresponding businesses. This publication is distributed totasting rooms and wine bars all over the state. We’ve done our best toinclude everyone. Please feel free to contact us with updated informationand new projects. We will continuously update the website and subsequentissues of this publication. Please visit our website atwww.ArizonaVinesAndWines.com.Famous Winemaker Dick Erath has made the move to ArizonaDick Erath,