Arizona’s Wine Country

(Photo by David Tegtmeier)

Instead of traveling all the way to California, did you know you could simply travel down to Southern Arizona to visit wine country? If you are interested in a romantic getaway, then look no further. Elgin, Ariz. has a handful of wineries and vineyards to choose from.

Canelo Hills Vineyard and Winery was established in 2003 by Tim and Joan Mueller. Their family owns ten acres of grapes that gets turned into award-winning wine. Currently, Canelo Hills is already sold out of Malvasia 2008.

(Photo by Danielle Dugan)

This wine was given the best white wine award in 2009 in the Arizona Wine Growers Association Grower’s Cup category. This particular white wine has a peach and nectarine flavor with a hint of mint. Malvasia 2008 is just one of many award-winning wines produced at Canelo Hills.

Besides just simply producing and distributing wine, Canelo Hills also offers wine making and wine tasting classes.

The next class offered is March 13 from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tim Mueller will lead this workshop for all those who want to learn the winemaking process and even tour the winery. Afterwards, Joan Mueller will lead the wine tasting segment of the workshop. She will explain to everyone the five simple steps to wine-tasting.

And for all you dog lovers out there, Canelo Hills also has a dog-friendly vineyard party on April 24 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Your dog will eat treats, enjoy ball-tossing and kiddie pool splashing. At the same time you can tour the vineyard, participate in a wine tasting and even purchase your own wine at a discounted price.

Below is a video of the wine making process at the Canelo Hills Vineyard and Winery:

Callaghan Vineyards is also located in Elgin, with about twenty-five acres. This vineyard prides itself on its Spanish variety of wines. Some of their most famous wines are Tempranillo, Monastrell, Mourvedre and Garnacha/Grenache.

However, Callaghan Vineyards also offers a white wine, Lisa’s. This particular wine is a blend of Viognier and Riesling. With every wine produced, this vineyards primary concern is the complexity and depth of the wine’s flavor.

This coming Fall the vineyard will be holding wine tastings for the 2005 and 2006 vintage wines. These two years received high amounts of rainfall, so the wine taste is deep and full of flavor.

Kief-Joshua Vineyards has a couple events going on in the month of May. The New Arizona Wine Release Festival this year is happening May 1 and 2. This is a great chance to get a peek at some new Arizona wines including a 2008 Estate Viognier, 2008 Estate Tempranillo and a 2008 Arizona Chenin Blanc.

Interested in seeing more of what wine country has to offer? There are a few other cities in Arizona that have events this Spring and Summer.

• Tempe Wine and Art Festival, March 26-28
• Wilcox Wine and Art Festival, May 15 & 16
• Sierra Vista Historical Society, May 22
• Sierra Vista Habitat for Humanity, June 5

Here is a map of different restaurants and lodging located in Elgin:

Here a list of vineyards and wineries in Elgin: