Winery

Coronado Vineyards – Willcox, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Southern Arizona, Vineyard, Willcox Wine Trail, Wine, Winery

2909 E Country Club Dr, Willcox, AZ 85643
Open Sun 10a-4p; Mon-Sat 9:30a-5:30p
http://www.coronadovineyards.com

Willcox

Willcox is an interesting town. In the early 20th century it was known for cattle production and to this day you can find references to it being the “Cattle Capital of the World.” I’m not sure how much cattle is still a part of its economy today but I do know that the town and its surrounding area is home to most of Arizona’s vineyards. Wineries all over the state grow their grapes in Willcox, even a couple that are all the way up in the town of Cottonwood which is over four hours away.

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Kief-Joshua Vineyards – Elgin, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Sonoita/Elgin Wine Trail, Southern Arizona, Vineyard, Wine, Winery

Located at 370 Elgin Rd, Elgin, AZ 85611
Open 7 days per week 11a-5p
http://kiefjoshuavineyards.com

FADE IN:

EXT. ELGIN, AZ – DAY

Today we’re heading back to WINE COUNTRY. We’re revisiting the southern Arizona town of ELGIN on our way to KIEF-JOSHUA VINEYARDS for another wine adventure. The sun shines brightly on this day but there’s enough of a summer breeze that it doesn’t feel miserably FUCKING HOT.

CLOSE ON an 89 GRAY HONDA ACCORD with BULLET HOLE STICKERS on the side and a WHITE BUMPER that is held on only by a CHAIN. The previous owners of the car clearly had a lot of SEX in it.

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Alcantara Vineyards – Cottonwood, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Mad Max, Northern Arizona, Verde Valley, Verde Valley Wine Trail, Vineyard, Wine, Winery

Located at 3445 S Grapevine Way, Cottonwood, AZ 86326
Open Daily 11a-5p
http://www.alcantaravineyard.com

Alcantara (2)

Today’s adventure takes us to wine country in the northern part of Arizona. Specifically, the town of Cottonwood. It’s about an hour south of Flagstaff and ninety minutes north of Phoenix. Downtown Cottonwood has several winery tasting rooms located down a single strip of road. But on my way out there I drove through a stretch of land with mountains, cacti and little else. I pulled over to pee and check my phone when I quickly realized that I had little-to-no reception in this area. Neither Facebook nor Instagram were loading and I was having trouble delivering the travel pictures that I was trying to send to my ex-girlfriends via text so as to make them jealous of all my awesome adventures and make them realize that I was infinitely more fun than the losers they were dating now. Look at me driving out to wine country, Darlene! Does your shitty boyfriend ever take you on awesome adventures like these?!?

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Charron Vineyards – Vail, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Sonoita/Elgin Wine Trail, Southern Arizona, Vail, Vineyard, Wine, Winery

Located at 1858 S Sonoita Highway, Vail, AZ 85641
Open Fri-Sun 10a-6p
http://www.charronvineyards.com

Charron (1)

Summer is coming. People who live in this state usually don’t have ambiguous feelings over that statement. They’re either incredibly relieved to be able to walk around in t-shirts and shorts and have longer stretches of sunlight in their days or they’re super pissed that it isn’t getting pitch black at 6PM anymore and that they can’t go outside in a suit without passing out from dehydration.

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Caduceus Cellars & Merkin Vineyards – Jerome, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic Beer, Jerome, Northern Arizona, Verde Valley, Verde Valley Wine Trail, Vineyard, Wine, Winery

Located at 158 Main Street, Jerome, AZ 86331
Open Sun-Thurs 11a-6p, Fri-Sat 11a-8p, 365 days a year
https://caduceus.org

Caduceus (1)

Northern Arizona is home to a region called Verde Valley, which itself is home to what’s known as a “Wine Trail.” I haven’t brought this up in any of my previous posts about vineyards so far because they were all preoccupied with some bullshit short story or whatever but a Wine Trail is a region that’s conducive to growing grapes for wine production due to its elevation. Arizona has three main Wine Trails and each one has its own handful of vineyards/wineries/tasting rooms.

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Arizona Hops and Vines – Sonoita, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic A Rainy Day in Sonoita & Elgin, Sonoita, Sonoita/Elgin Wine Trail, Southern Arizona, Vineyard, Wine, Winery

Located at 3450 Highway 82, Sonoita, AZ 85637
Open Thurs 10a-4p; Fri-Sun 10a-6p
http://azhopsandvines.com/

This is the 4th and final entry of my story, “A Rainy Day in Sonoita & Elgin.” Make sure to catch up on Part 1 here, Part 2 here and then Part 3 here. 

It was just after 4pm when I reached the Hops and Vines vineyard in Sonoita. The gray skies were getting darker and I knew that whatever passed for daylight on this day wasn’t gonna last much longer. The entrance to the place was marked by DIY-type signs that were vastly different from the polished looks of the other tasting rooms I had visited that day.

Hops & Vines (1)

I had heard Hops and Vines described as a cool, laid-back vineyard that organized fun, social events about once per month. They attract a pretty big crowd and they’re the young, hip vineyard on the block which is a nice complement to the older, more established places in town. It sounded exactly like the kind of place that Rosario would frequent. But none of the hip kids were out on this rainy day. The grounds were desolate and the tasting room was empty except for a handful of people.

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The Village of Elgin Winery – Elgin, AZ

The Classy Alcoholic A Rainy Day in Sonoita & Elgin, Elgin, Sonoita/Elgin Wine Trail, Southern Arizona, Vineyard, Wine, Winery

Located at 471 Elgin Rd, Elgin, AZ 85611
Open 7 days per week, 10a-4p.
http://elginwines.com

Part 3 of a 4-part story called “A Rainy Day in Sonoita & Elgin.” Make sure to read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

It was about 3pm when I reached The Village of Elgin Winery. I had hopped from Dos Cabezas Wineworks to Callaghan Vineyards meeting all manner of crazy characters in an attempt to track down my ex-girlfriend Rosario Vargas. Village of Elgin couldn’t have been more than five minutes east of Callaghan. The rain remained at a light, constant drizzle but the air kept getting chiller as the afternoon went on. I pulled up to a charming, rustic building. Village of Elgin has been around for 34 years, making it Arizona’s second-oldest winery.

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