Page 58 - DreamScapes Magazine | Spring/Summer 2023

WINE COUNTRY FEATURE
GRAPE ESCAPES
The New Wild West Wine Frontier is in Arizona
BY LISA KADANE
Seated at the bar inside Pillsbury Wine’s tasting room in Cottonwood, Arizona, the server pours two glasses of the award-winning 2019 Malvasía Bianca. With a crisp acidity and hints of winter spice and stone fruit, it’s a solid patio sipper. It’s also my first taste of Arizona wine, and it’s delicious.
“We’ve got something really spe- cial here,” he says, serving
samples of rosé, Grenache and a robust blend called WildChild Red. “I think
the wine industry is going to blow up, but hopefully not too much.”
Thankfully, the six other tasting rooms located along the town’s historic main street are a long way from being overrun. My friend Hilary agrees, before confessing, “I didn’t even know Arizona made wine.”
So begins our girls’ trip exploring the Verde Valley, one of the state’s three wine regions and arguably its best. Here, 160 kilo- metres north of Phoenix in the high-altitude desert between Cottonwood and Sedona, the varietals that grow so well in the surround- ing volcanic soil—from Merlot and Mourvèdre, to Pinot Gris and Viognier—are making waves on drinkers’ palates. We’ve come to see what the buzz is all about.
ADVENTURE WITH
A SIDE OF WINE
Want to earn your sips of Chardonnay and Syrah? Join an activity in the Verde Valley that ends with a wine tasting. The Water to Wine tour launches kayakers down the Verde River and is followed by a tasting at Alcantara Vineyards. sedonaadventuretours.com
Warrior One your way to wine at Page Springs Cellars, which offers creekside outdoor yoga for private groups. After, sip your way to self-actualization with a wine flight. pagespringscellars.com
58 DREAMSCAPES SPRING/SUMMER 2023