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All the notes on Arizona wine, listed by date.
Each piece shows the date it was finished and describes things as they were on that day. A winery may since have moved, changed hands or raised what it charges for a flight, so check anything time sensitive with the business before setting out. The oldest entry is a 2024 guide to the tasting rooms of the Verde Valley; the rest came later.
To read by subject instead, start from Wine country, Grapes and growing or Visiting.
2026 7 notes
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Spain's grapes in Arizona, and the price of the second loan
Four grapes from Spain's hot, dry country now ripen at four and five thousand feet in Arizona. In Spain the same grapes bring a harvest season whose first wage comes weeks after the work begins.
Grapes and growing
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How the Verde Valley became an American Viticultural Area
A wine region in the United States is a line on a federal map, drawn after growers prove that the ground inside it differs from the ground outside. For the Verde Valley that took a petition, nearly two years of rulemaking and a boundary traced for much of its length along a single contour line.
Wine country
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Sonoita, Willcox and the Verde Valley compared
Arizona has three federally recognized wine regions, and they share almost nothing except altitude and a dry climate. One is a high grassland near the border, one a flat basin around a dry lake, one a river valley below the Mogollon Rim.
Wine country
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Water and the high-desert vineyard
No Arizona vineyard lives on rain. The water under the vines comes from wells, and since January 2025 the Willcox basin, where much of the state's fruit grows, has been under state groundwater management.
Wine country
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How a Verde Valley tasting-room visit works, and what it costs
A tasting here is a paid flight of small pours, usually without a booking. The part that needs planning is the driving.
Visiting
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Harvest in monsoon season: how Arizona picks between storms
Most wine regions hope for a dry harvest. Arizona's arrives in the middle of its rainy season, and growers plan the whole vineyard around that.
Grapes and growing
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Which grapes suit Arizona's high desert, and why
Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon cover the most ground, yet the long list behind them says more. Arizona growers are still finding out what a desert summer allows.
Grapes and growing
2024 1 note
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Verde Valley wineries and tasting rooms, town by town
The Verde Valley's wine is poured in two kinds of place: estates beside the creeks where the grapes grow, and tasting rooms on the main streets of old mining and ranching towns. This is where each one stood in September 2024.
Wine country