Canelo Hills blog

Winter Red Wine Release - 2012

2012-01-25T18:53:00.000-08:00

I’ve been looking forward to the release of these wines for a long time. 2009 was a near perfect year in terms of the weather and growing season, near perfect that is in Southeastern Arizona grape growing terms. The fruit was not injured by any summer “weather events”, it was warm and dry at the end of the season and we could time the harvest around the ripeness of the fruit instead of a threatening hurricane from Mexico. We will be releasing the 2009 Estate Tempranillo, 2009 Sonoita Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 Estate Finalé (an intense port style dessert wine), and 2009 Estate Scavenger’s Blend (a Syrah based blend). Also for the first time the 2008 Sangiovese Select will be available. It is comprised of the Brunello Clone of the Sangiovese grape and was barrel aged for 36 months. These are big wines with very limited production. We will have all of them available for tasting the weekend of February 10 – 12. It will be the only time all these fabulous wines will be on the tasting table at the same time. Come pay us a visit; you’ll be glad you did.

Statewide & International medals for Canelo Hillls

2011-12-08T09:22:00.000-08:00

Canelo Hills wines recently won 4 awards in prestigious wine competitions. Read on for our news:

In this year's second annual Arizona Republic Wine Competition, we took home 3 prizes for Canelo Hills. Chosen from many entries of wines produced by winemakers throughout Arizona, the Canelo Hills 2010 Riesling and 2009 Finale dessert wine were awarded Bronze Medals.

We're especially proud of the 2010 Riesling; it was also selected as Judge's Favorite by Carlos Batista of Westin Kierland Resort and Spa. The competition took place October 24 and 25 in Scottsdale, and the 16-judge panel was made up of sommeliers and wine experts from some of the state's finest restaurants.

For a list of all winners, click here. The Riesling has very limited availability, for pruchase only in the Canelo Hills tasting room. Our Finale will be released in Spring 2012.

This was the third year we entered the International Women's Wine Competition, and for the third year in a row Canelo Hills won a Silver Medal. Up against wines from around the world, the 2008 Sangiovese Select was awarded the silver by an all-female panel of industry experts: winemakers, buyers, and chefs. To view all the competition results click here.

The 2008 Sangiovese Select is comprised of 100% Brunello Clone Sangiovese (also known as Sangiovese Grosso) and aged for nearly three years in a mixture of neutral and one year-old American and French Oak barrels. It has wonderful red fruit aromas and flavors and very smooth tannins. Look for it to be released in late Winter 2012.

Would you like a special email when the Sangiovese Select and Finale are released? Send us an email and we'll make sure you get advance notice.

The Medalists: Sangiovese Select, Finale, and Riesling

Harvest 2011

2011-10-27T19:06:00.000-07:00

Bringing 2011 to a close was a labor. The season started with a series of frosts that greatly reduced the crop but after that the season was rather gentle on Canelo Hills Vineyard. No major weather or pest events threatened the fruit and as usual Joan's farming resulted in fabulous fruit. I suppose the fact that we got any crop at all in 2011 after the devastating August 2010 hail storm is a miracle and a tribute to Farmer Joan.

We ended up with very little of anything but for the Tempranillo. Perhaps a ton and a half of Tempranillo got harvested on September 19, about two weeks later than is typical. The fruit was beautiful. Joan and the picking crew scoured the rest of the vineyard and came up with a few hundred pounds of mixed Syrah, Zinfandel, Riesling and Malvasia. It all got tossed in with the Tempranillo so techincally the 2011 Vintage of Tempranillo is a bit of a field blend.

Last weekend I finished off the major tasks of Harvest and initial winemaking. It is always a mixture of sadness and relief when I clean up the press and push it back into the winery for the winter, awaiting 2012. Such is the cycle of winemaking.

Four Year Anniversary Celebration

2011-10-05T09:01:00.000-07:00

This past week-end we celebrated Canelo Hills fourth anniversary. It's hard to believe the tasting room has been open that long. Marking time with anniversaries is a time of reflection. It is a time to think about the hard work that got us to this point and to appreciate all the people who have helped us. We had out new releases and Tim gave tours. However, the most enjoyable part of the week-end was talking to the friends we have made through the Canelo Hills tasting room and making new ones.

Beginnings.9 (fin)- Fourth Anniversary Reflections

2011-09-28T21:01:00.000-07:00

Join us October 1 & 2 as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of opening our tasting room. We will be open from 11am-4pm each day, serve some cake and have lots of our wines available for tasting and purchase - including two new releases - 2009 Syrah and 2009 Zinfandel.

There are many ways to mark the passage of time. These days looking in a mirror seems to be the most frequent way. Minutes stretch into hours, hours in to days, days into years. Developing Canelo Hills Vineyard and Winery from uncultivated land 8 years ago and opening the tasting room 4 years ago has been a triumph. Fortunately Joan and I were able to make some young friends early on in the process. Perhaps reflecting back on them is the most sobering reminder of the ephemeral nature of our labors. Thanks to Kevin Buhl, Clare Callaghan, Caitlin Callaghan and Parker Bostock for the grounding they provide. Thanks also to sweet Emma Lou and good old Cassandra.

Beginnings.8 - Fourth Anniversary Reflections

2011-09-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

Join us October 1 & 2 as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of opening our tasting room.

Opening Day in 2007 was the culmination of many years of work and many more years of dreaming and scheming.

Kathryn and Nathan helped pour our new wines.

Joan sparkled (Sparkling wine would come in a few months, but not on opening day)

People visited, eventually revisiting and became loyal fans and friends.

We were happy.

Beginnings.7 - Fourth Anniversary Reflections

2011-09-27T20:35:00.001-07:00

Join us October 1 & 2 as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of opening our tasting room.

Let's make some wine.

Hauling Riesling from Dos Cabezas (now Arizona Stronghold)

Fooling around with fermenting wines in the universal small winery container - blue barrels.

Picking Syrah from our own Estate vineyard.

Scooping and pressing Syrah from Sweet Sunrise Vineyard (now Sand Reckoner).

Corking Malvasia.

Bottling Sangiovese. What a big empty building!

Beginnings.6 - Fourth Anniversary Reflections

2011-09-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

Join us October 1 & 2 as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of opening our tasting room.

Vineyard? - (check). Next up building. Nothing defines a space like a new concrete pad. It looked so small when the sky was the roof.

A Mueller metal building. Ironic no?

And it looked so big when the roof was the roof. How in the world would we ever fill it? It seemed like enough space to last forever.

A winery building awaiting some contents. Honestly it looked like a purple roofed tin can. Beautiful to Joan and me.

Beginnings.5 - Fourth Anniversary Reflections

2011-09-25T20:44:00.000-07:00

Join us October 1 & 2 as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of opening our tasting room.

The newly planted vines were very happy, as were we.

They took off, nourished by what only 5000 foot elevation Southern Arizona high desert can provide.

The plants "reached the wire" their first year, a milestone every wine grape farmer celebrates.

The backdrop as always was spectacular.

Beginnings.4 - Fourth Anniversary Reflections

2011-09-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

Join us October 1 & 2 as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of opening our tasting room.

Loved vineyards always do better, always show it, and always make better wine. We decided to keep our first planting small, just half an acre of Syrah, and relied on our family to provide the love and the labor.

A very humble beginning in retrospect. At the time it occupied a huge space in our imagination.

Beginnings.3 - Fourth Anniversary Reflections

2011-09-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Join us October 1 & 2 as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of opening our tasting room.

Grape vines don't plant themselves, at least not wine grape vines, and especially wine grape vines destined to make very fine wine. Help comes from unexpected quarters.

In the high desert at 5000 feet elevation, irrigation lines are necessary to nourish the plants.

Holes have to be dug. A backbreaking and repetitive process eased by a mechanical augur.

Planting rows need to be laid out.

A task always made easier if the focus of the transit is a pleasing sight.

Beginnings.2 - Fourth Anniversary Reflections

2011-09-21T19:48:00.000-07:00

Join us October 1 & 2 as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of opening our tasting room.

Raw land, never tilled, lying fallow for who knows how many millions of years needs a little coaxing. It takes BIG machines to do this work. Digging trenches for electrical power for one.

Loosen up the soil so it'll accept grape vines for another. Called "ripping the soil" in viticulture circles.

Ever the spectacular vistas to feed the soul.

Beginnings - Fourth Anniversary Reflections

2011-09-20T21:02:00.000-07:00

Join us October 1 & 2 as we celebrate the fourth anniversary of opening our tasting room.

Eight years ago we started. The landscape was different in many ways - wild, seemingly untamed, full of endless possibilities.

Our vineyard was grasslands. The landscape was breathtakingly awesome. Joan and I were enriched by our dreams of the future.

The Tempranillo is Harvested!

2011-09-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we finished bringing in the Tempranillo with the help of some great volunteers.

This was Cheryl's first time picking grapes. She was a trooper and seemed to enjoy herself.

Therese is happy to think she found the biggest cluster.

Wayne is an old pro at harvesting and is always great to have around.

Nick and Sage are conducting quality control.

The happy crew at the end of harvest. It's always a great feeling to get the fruit off the vines!

Lizzie the Lizard Hunter

2011-09-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

This is Lizzie, one of our tasting room greeters. When she is not at work at the winery she is hard at work at home.

This is Lizzie's prey. This little lizard has spent its summer traveling around from window to window attaching itself to the screen.

This drives Lizzie crazy. She stalks, jumps and whines. My question is; do you think the lizard knows Lizzie can't get at it and is purposefully taunting my poor little Lizzie?

Bottle <---> Harvest

2011-09-05T19:57:00.000-07:00

Hand in hand they go. Wine from years past gets bottled to make room for the new wine that will result from the upcoming harvest. Today Eve, Juan, Mike, Stephanie and Ella helped bottle 2008 Sangiovese Select. These grapes (Brunello Clone of Sangiovese) were harvested from Sweet Sunrise Vineyard (now Sand Reckoner) in 2008 and have been resting for nearly three years in lovely French and American oak barrels. It is one of my favorites. Bottling that wine cleared out the barrels and the settling tanks it had been occupying so that those vessels can now accept the 2011 Tempranillo that we will harvest from our own vineyard this coming weekend. I love the cycles of wine making.

Vineyard Update

2011-08-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

Canelo Hills has its vineyard back! I am so excited and pleased with the health of the vines that survived last year's weather disasters. Here are some photos so you can share in the joy.

Even though there is no fruit on the Syrah, it is doing its usual unruly thing.

Oh, those Tempranillo! What a producer they have turned out to be.

The Tempranillo we planted this year is doing fabulously!

If I look closely enough, I can even find the occasional cluster of Cabernet grapes. I am looking forward to next year when we should have a good amount of vines fruiting again.

Harvest 2011

2011-08-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

It has begun. This past Saturday Viognier arrived from Sierra Vista Vineyard in Sasabe, AZ. Melissa Owen is the grower for this unique plot of earth just adjacent to the Mexican Border. Harvest always fills the winery with excitement and promise. White grapes ripen before red grapes and lead the vintage - a harbinger of the year to come. The 2010 Viognier from this same vineyard is a lovely white wine and is currently on the tasting table. This 2011 fruit will certainly make a wine every bit as delightful.

Barrel Tasting 2011

2011-08-03T19:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday night was our annual barrel tasting event. Every year it is a much anticipated event where we all get a preview of the coming red wines with comments by winemaker Tim. This year we made it even more exciting. Lisa Schoneman volunteered to create an enchanting setting, John and Joy from Canela Bistro worked magic with their food pairings and Scott Schoneman assisted with the evening and contributed the photos in this blog. The atmosphere, the wine, the food, the company of Canelo Hills friends all contributed to a night to be remembered. We'll do it again next summer.

Monsoon 2011

2011-07-29T16:26:00.000-07:00

Vegetarian Wine Maker Dinner

2011-07-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

Pavle Milic and Charleen Badman outdid themselves on Tuesday, July 19 at their celestial restaurant FnB. Pavle has taken his devotion to AZ wines to heart by arranging a series of wine maker dinners. This is our second such event. Joan and Kathryn and Ian and I are vegetarians and have long schemed about putting together a Cookbook that pairs wine with vegetarian recipes. I like to make food friendly wines. Food friendly wines tend to have subtle depth that is revealed best when closely linked to a mouthful of complementary food. Creative vegetarian cuisine has the same qualities.

When Pavle said it was time again for a Canelo Hills wine maker dinner at the restaurant, I suggested a vegetarian menu. Charleen can do magic with vegetables and recently quietly admitted to me, "I eat mostly vegetables anyway". We were on, and for the lucky restaurant full of patrons, it was magic.

What follows is definitely for wine and food geeks.

Course one was burrata perched on a big slice of heirloom tomato lying in a bed of Baba Ganoush, topped with preserved lemon relish. 2007 (disgorged in 2010) Sparkling Chardonnay was the wine pairing. Tart bubbles and lemon relish. Fruity Chardonnay and ripe tomato. Toasted eggplant and with the yeasty flavors of 3 years en tirage. Creamy burrata and the rich mouthfeel of Method Champanoise. Wow! I had never had burrata before. It is a soft fresh mozzarella with the texture of a perfectly poached egg and the mouth experience of a great kiss.

Segundo: A panoply of salad flavors and textures - padron peppers, sweet corn kernels, perfect fava beans, purple "green beans", purslane and baby bitter greens dressed with a romesco vinaigrette. A few cripsy peanut pieces were scattered about on the plate. Joining was the 2009 Malvasia. Malvasia in 2009 was beyond ripe and the intensely concentrated flowers and fruit of this wine resonated back and forth with the fresh vegetableness of the salad. Very ripe grapes make very high alcohol wine, 15.6% in this case, but the alcohol only served to soluble-ize the hidden fruit flavors in the salad. 100 mph fastball down the middle - smak, out of the park.

Troisieme: Fresh summer squash accompanied by fresh green peas simmered in a curry sauce was atop a freshly grilled naan and smeared with yoghurt. 2009 Sangiovese was the partner. Bing cherries + curry fruitiness. Spicy finish + curry heat. Tart mouth + creamy texture. I would have never thought of curry and Sangiovese. Now we've got another answer to "what would you pair this wine with?" A dream shot from beyond the half court line - swishhh, all net.

Quattro: Thinly sliced and grilled eggplant atop a bed of jasmine rice mixed with chickpeas and tiny lentils, topped with fresh cucumbers and a few leaves of mint. The eggplant was dressed in a sweet/sour, coriander sauce. 2009 Estate Tempranillo was up to the match. Dark, red, rich, perfectly balanced with notes of cedar, dark fruit, smoke and soft tannins. Penalty Shoot out, the Kick is Good - Team FnB wins.

Finale: Individual zucchini cakes with walnuts, marscapone, citrus, candied plums and plum sauce drizzle. NV Yummy Zin was just sweet enough, just caramelized enough, just fruity enough, just fabulous enough to reveal the flavors and textures of this dessert. SCORE!

I enjoyed visiting with old friends and meeting new ones. Seven patrons "came out" to me, quietly revealing they were vegetarians and were thrilled with this menu. Arizona wines made a good showing and I think there are some new converts. Thanks to Pavle and Charleen and the restaurant crew for putting together a fabulous dinner. Next time? Sometime after October. See you then.

Guest Blog: Creating a Barrel Tasting

2011-07-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

Our guest blogger this week is Lisa Schoneman. While I'm away singing at the Carmel Bach Festival, Lisa is taking the lead in planning our July 30 Barrel Tasting. Lisa and her husband Scott are friends and Canelo Hills regulars, and we're lucky to have Lisa involved for this special evening of wine and food. Here's her report on the preparations:

From a planner's perspective, there are so many fun details to think about when planning an event - seating, linens, place settings, flowers. But the most important detail is - what is the focus, the inspiration for the event? In the case of this month's barrel tasting, the focus and the inspiration are Tim's exciting new reds. Which leads to the very pleasant dilemma of what foods to pair with the wines to show them off and treat the guests to a memorable food and wine pairing experience.

To that end, we spent a fun few hours with Joy Varga and John Hall of Canela Bistro tasting the varied reds right out of the barrel, sharing the tastes and scents we found in the wines and the 'food dreams' inspired by them. I really can't wait to experience the wines and the food together, and see how each compliments the other!

photo credits: AWGA (1), Scott Schoneman (2)

Los Vinos en Arizona

2011-07-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

I wish I was much better at reading, writing and speaking Spanish, I really do, but I'm not. Fortunately however Kathryn is and she worked with editors at Tu Casa Neuva a popular lifestyle and travel magazine from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. The magazine has a regular "Arizona" section and featured in the May 2011 issue is a piece on Arizona Wineries with CHV&W prominently featured. Dust off your Spanish-English dictionaries or grab a Spanish speaking friend and enjoy the read.

What would you do?

2011-07-02T17:20:00.000-07:00

Shirley Williams was in the tasting room with some friends and naturally talk turned to the Monument Fire in Sierra Vista. A couple of Sundays ago the fire just seemed to blow up. From Sonoita the view was as if a volcano erupted. Shirley lives in Sierra Vista and this is what she saw from her home. She got out, safely thankfully, and no damage to her or Alan's home or neighborhood, other then a serious smokey smell to everything. The fire is nearly out, at least not spreading, and the monsoons are starting to get going but many areas in the western US are still at risk. Our thanks go out to all the fire fighters who work miracles against incredible and unpredictable threats.

Zinfandel - Yummy!

2011-06-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

Arizona Zinfandel is fabulous, the problem is that it's a bugger to grow it in this state. Oddly for an arid part of the world, the summer rains (monsoons and hurricanes from Mexico) come at exactly the wrong time - harvest, when the thin skinned and tightly packed Zinfandel just plain old rots before it ripens. "Once in every 8 years", that's the local lore about Zinfandel Harvests. 2009 was a dry year and one of those once in 8 years. Peter Lechtenbohmer of what was then Sweet Sunrise Vineyards (now Sand Reckoner) delivered a load of Zinfandel that has become absolutely delicious. It got bottled this past weekend by one of our experienced bunch of volunteers.

Brian perfects the role of "Philip"- the bottle filler.

Laura and Amber are "Corkey" and "Topper" - operating the corking machine and the heat shrinker for the capsules respectively.

Amber steps in as "Topper" and Kaitlyn has mastered "Sticky" - applying labels at the new labeling machine.

Casey excels as "Crew Boss" and Joan loads the finished product.

It was a very successful day. A human bottling line rivaling the reputation of any respectable monoblock (the name of a fully automatic, industrial bottling line). The wine needs to rest for a bit and will ready around New Year 2012.

Business + Pleasure

2011-06-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

I was in Phoenix on Business this week, but ended up at FnB in Scottsdale for Pleasure. It's always a treat to experience chef Charleen's latest creations. Pavle and Emily were gracious and the dining experience was superb. Fried Ricotta Stufffed Squash Blossoms, Cold Cucumber Soup, Shishitos (flash pan fried small green chilis) and Grilled Spicy Broccoli. Notice a theme?

According to Pavle, the Vegetarian Wine Maker's Dinner at FnB with Joan and me on July 19 is a popular item. It might be too early to make a reservation, but perhaps not - 480-425-9463.

Tempranillo!

2011-06-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

The upper Tempranillo vineyard has survived the August hail, the winter with its single digit temperatures and the several late frosts this spring. There is even fruit set. I don't know if this was its second or third attempt, but fruit is there. I think because of all the weather, the season is late by about a month. I don't think it will be a problem unless we get an exceptionally early frost this fall. Who knows? We can only wait and see.

Summer Reigns

2011-05-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

What we really need are summer rains, but until then the hot dry weather cries out for cool white wines and that's what brought all these folks to Elgin/Sonoita this weekend to try our beautiful and delicious White Wines.

Joan explains how to say Gewurztraminer.

The tasting room was lively.

Megan Haller of AZ Hops and Vines gets a sample of a dry Riesling.

Joel Blumenthal does a brisk business in hand crafted goods.

Rigley takes a break from greeting everyone.

Summer White Wines

2011-05-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend 2011 will again mark the release date of CHV&W's new white wines. Just in time for summer I might add. HOT Arizona Summer and COOL Arizona White Wine. What an epic pairing.

I am excited about these wines, all from Arizona fruit, all fragrant and fruity and dry with no residual sugar. These wines explode in a tantalizing range aromas and flavors. Lychee? Got it. Lemon-lime? Got it. Fresh rose petals? Got it. Pineapple? Got it. Get the picture. Where in the world does this variety of tastes and flavors come from? Why is the wine grape so richly endowed? Come feast your senses. The official release dates will be Saturday and Sunday, May 28 and 29 when Joel Blumenthal will join us with her hand made personal and food items, but these four wines will also be available for tasting and purchase on Friday and Monday, Memorial Day.

2010 Gewurztraminer - I can't get an umlaut in this mail program. It doesn't matter because this is a special wine even without it. Compared to 2009 which was all apple pie spices, this one is roses, roses and more roses. Throw in some lilac, orange blossom and lychee fruit. The mouth feel is thirst quenching and bright with an acidic sweetness. No residual sugar here, just fruit.

2010 Riesling - The glass glows as the sun shines through this wine. Riesling is arguably the best white wine in the world and when made well can last many decades, evolving in fruit and complexity in the bottle. This Riesling is richer than the 2009 vintage, thicker in the mouth, more complex acids with smells and tastes of pineapple, lemon-lime, and baked Gravenstein apple complemented by a minerally-slate mouth feel and lingering sense of sweetness.

2010 Pinot Grigio - There is another version Pinot Grigio which is rather different from the light and easy drinking Italian expression of the Pinot Gris grape. A throw off clone of Pinot Noir, the Pinot Gris grape is grey or light blue in color. This wine is sparkling clear and throws off smells of honeysuckle, citrus and spice. The mouth is filled with a buttery, mango flinty-ness. Yum.

2010 Viognier - Way back when, Viognier was the first white wine I tasted that opened my mind to white wines other than the Chardonnay to which I had become accustomed. This very limited production wine comes from the second fruitful harvest of Sierra Vista Vineyards in Sasabe. It is tantalizing in its Viognier nose - apricot and Acacia blossom and very satisfying with a hint of spice in the finish. The mouthfeel is something I have only experienced with Viognier - a very light cream texture. This wine is a youthful expression of the great things that will come from this vineyard.

Spring 2011 Chapter 3

2011-05-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

I said I'd write about the Tempranillo next so here it is. I had to postpone it a week as we had another freeze after my last post. They are a little behind schedule but the Tempranillo vines are doing their spring thing. The shoots are growing and there are little grape flower buds pushing up and out. Have you ever heard me say they are my favorite? I just love this grape vine!

Spring 2011 - 2nd Chapter

2011-04-27T19:32:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a short chapter. I am getting the telling of the worst news over with as quickly as I can. This is the Grenache block. Can't see anything? Well, that is because there is nothing to see. Not one alive Grenache vine. No heroic tales of survival here. We will be planting the Grenache block over to Tempranillo. I suppose you want to know how the Tempranillo is doing this spring. That will be the next chapter in the Saga of the Hail Storm.

Spring 2011

2011-04-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog about the vineyard in a while. After last August's hail storm that severely damaged the vines, I haven't known what to say. Now that spring is here, the truth of what did and what did not survive is unfolding. What I am learning about farming is that it is not romantic and only sometimes fun. But it is life which at its best is beautiful and awesome. At its worse, heart breaking. Like all disasters, there is bad news in the vineyard. And, like all disasters, there are some miracles of survival. I will share with you the good and the bad as the truth of it becomes apparent. I am choosing to start with the miracle of life.

There will be no Malvasia this year. Every trunk and cordon is dead. However, since these vines were own-rooted, the roots are sending up new shoots, not every plant, but some. I will be able to train these for future fruit. I find that miraculous.

Welcome to our new website

2011-04-20T14:55:00.001-07:00

Hot off the presses--er, server--is our fresh, redesigned website.

Click here to check it out. The idea was to keep it familiar and easy to navigate, but to give it a cleaner, more modern look.

What do you think? I'm curious for feedback. I've viewed it in different browsers and on the iPhone, but if anything looks funny to you let me know, and please tell me what browser/smartphone you're using. You can comment here or send me an email at kathryn@canelohillswinery.com. Thanks!

Wine Spectator - May 2011

2011-04-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

The latest issue of Wine Spectator carries a nice travel article on Tucson, Arizona. Those of us who call this area home, know the geographic and climactic beauty of the area. We also love the southwestern cultural variety and the food and wine culture of our upscale cowboy town. Of course no trip to Tucson would be complete without a visit to the Sonoita/Elgin wine region. Wine Spectator reporter Tim Fish made a very quiet visit to the area a few months back. Subsequent rumors suggested that something might show up in the May 2011 issue. Would he would choose CHV&W as one of the featured wineries?

"Tim makes the wine from grapes grown by his wife, Joan" (p78).

Very cool and very exciting. Nice photo of the building too. If you are a member of winespectator.com you can read the entire article by following this link. Otherwise go fetch a copy from your favorite news stand.

What ever will be, will be. The future's not ours to see. . .

2011-04-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

As we hummed our way through verses of "1399 bottles of wine on the wall", "the song that never ends" and other notables Adele, Nicole, Matt, Stef, Mike and Eve came together to form a human bottling line. 1007 L (plus/minus) of 2009 Syrah from the Willcox vineyard formerly known as Sweet Sunrise Vineyard were neatly packaged into familiar Canelo Hills wine bottles.

Nicole and Adele supervise quality control

Stef wrastles with the filler

Matt and Mike Shrink-em and label-em

Eve accepts the funnel challenge

This is a great Syrah, that will be ready for our Labor Day Red Wine release.

Come and get it!

Website Launch next week

2011-04-11T13:58:00.001-07:00

It's finally (almost) here! Our shiny new Canelo Hills website is all built, and after some further testing it will be online next week. Here's a preview of what it will look like:

I've had a lot of fun re-designing and building it again from scratch. It's hard to believe it's time to let my creation, which has been living on my computer for months, out into the world.

We'll send out an email next week announcing the launch of the site. Not on our email list? Click here to join.

Merlot Bottling

2011-04-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hal Deb, Scott and Lisa were the bottling crew for our first ever bottling of our Merlot. The fruit is from the 09 harvest from Rancho Rossa Vineyards. They all took a Friday off to drive down from Phoenix and Tucson to help. They got the job done early and had time to enjoy the results. They all agree it will be a great wine when we release it this summer. Thanks to you all.

Wine Barrels

2011-03-30T19:57:00.000-07:00

"How long do those barrels last? . . . . So what do you do with those barrels when you are done with them? . . . . Could I get one?" These, among others, are commonly asked questions in the tasting room. For me the most curious thought is what will you do with it when you are done? Flower pot? Fire wood? Special fuel for some smoke cured meat? Brew a lambic beer in it (yes a real possibility)? Damian Hattrup applied his creative talents to one of the exhausted French Oak barrels and came up with a glass topped table. Originally destined for the back patio, it turned out so nicely that it now has a favored spot in his living room. Naturally it works best as a staging area for Canelo Hills Wine. Great job Damian!

March is the cruelest month

2011-03-24T21:57:00.001-07:00

Will the plants bud out? Will it frost? Will it warm up and stay warm? Will the rains ever come? Will Joan get the pruning done in time? How much should I irrigate? Will we get another hard freeze? Is the electric fence going to keep the deer out this year? Did I order enough replacement plants? How many plants survived this winter? And on and on and on. It's enough to drive you MAD. But wait. Who cares?

ARIZONA 93 - DUKE 77

Arizona advances to the Elite Eight!

Go CATS!!!

2000 bottles of wine on the wall . . . .

2011-03-15T20:37:00.000-07:00

For all of you whose minds were teased by the Fun Wine Facts item, here is the official answer. The largest stainless steel tank in our winery holds 1500 liters. A mere pittance compared to the commercial winery giants whose tanks measure in the 10's of thousands of gallons. (How many liters in a gallon? Wait this is the answer not another quiz.) A standard bottle of table wine holds 750 milliliters or 0.75 liters. 1500 liters per tank divided by 0.75 liters per bottle equals 2000 bottles. Rick Tagg (aka Cellar Rat) ventured a guess down to two decimal points of accuracy - 1998.15 bottles. That's close enough for me and for his efforts he is the proud winner of a tasting flight at CHV&W.

Wine Fact of the Month

2011-03-09T12:51:00.001-08:00

In each issue of our e-newsletter (to read this month's click here or to subscribe click here) we publish a Wine Fact so you can learn more about winemaking and about what we do at Canelo Hills.

This month's fact was about those steel tanks we use for aging our white wines. Do you know how much wine they hold?

The largest of those tanks holds 1500 Liters of wine. Can you do the math and figure out how many bottles that will fill?

Get out a calculator and leave us your answer here.

More Snow Photos

2011-02-28T10:14:00.000-08:00

We had fun yesterday driving around watching the snow squalls in the distance while Tim took photos of the snow. Of course, by the end of the day there was very little snow left. That is just about as perfect as a snow storm can get!

White Magic

2011-02-27T08:31:00.001-08:00

The storm blew in last night - fearsome wind, cold air, driving snow and ice against the windows, but this morning we woke up to a spectacular scene and I just can't resist sharing some of the images. This sort of winter storm is ok for the vines - a little moisture, not brutally cold, but not the sort of weather that get's Joan out pruning. That'll have to wait until it warms up to the 70's later this week.

New Sprout

2011-02-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

Amber and Casey Polivchak are regulars - tasters, visitors, bottlers, friends. A little less then a year ago when bottling the 2008 Sangiovese, Amber was conspicuously not sampling the wine. "Pregnant," she announced. These photos of 3 week old Lucy mark her first big outing and her first introduction to Canelo Hills. She feigned interest, but I sure she had her mind on other beverages and important pursuits. She is a cutie. Joan and I look forward to many more of her visits.

Happy Valentine Day!

2011-02-14T15:41:00.000-08:00

We had a special event Saturday evening to celebrate Valentine Day at Canelo Hills. Kathryn gave
a concert of love songs with Brian O'Morrow on keyboard.

Kathryn's fiancee, Nathan Leaf, flew in from North Carolina to join her in the encore.

I saw lots of smiles and some tears in the audience. People enjoyed the wine tasting and chocolate.

Hopefully, we can make this an annual event at Canelo Hills.

Colder than a . . . . .

2011-02-06T19:53:00.000-08:00

This past week of single digit temperatures wrecked havoc in our part of the world. Water froze and busted pipes all over town. We lost water at the vineyard, winery and the house. On Friday Joan had the wisdom to realize there was not only a problem with frozen pipes, in terms of keeping us from opening due to no water, but there was also a problem when the ice melted and the fractured pipes started gushing. As she drove up to the winery, a stream was beginning to flow down the drive. Water poured out of the well house. Opening the door revealed an indoor swimming pool with a geyser roaring out of the un-impeded well head.

As she dashed into the spewing mess and waded through the water in an attempt to shut the water off, she became drenched in 40 degree water, only slightly warmer then the outside temperature. Wayne Tomasi came to the rescue and helped turn off the power and close the relevant valves. Soaked Joan? - well not a pretty picture:

Repairs will be accomplished by the weekend and we'll be open for business.

And the Answer is . . .

2011-01-26T20:12:00.001-08:00

You are patient souls. There were four correct answers to the Whazsis? question last month. The photo was a close up of pressed grapes from the 2010 vintage. Under the gentle pressure of the wine press bladder, the fermented grape stew gives up the new wine. Remaining inside the press is the compacted solid residue - called pomace or sometimes press cake. We compost this stuff and throw it back into the vineyard.

Jessica Chasse, Maggie Gibson, Kim Tunze and Joe Richie gave correct answers. Send your e-mail contact information to info@canelohillswinery.com and we'll send you a coupon for one free tasting!

Time to Heal

2011-01-12T19:26:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by the Memorial Service that took place at McHale Arena tonight. The initial tone of a Political Rally + UofA Basketball Game put me off at first but then I too ran through the broad range of emotions that swept through the assembled crowd. Anger, profound sadness, pride, regret, pity, excitement, and others that may yet emerge from this veil of grief. Although the poor souls directly impacted by Saturday's shooting are united by more things then separated by differences (paraphrase President Obama), of the victims I personally knew only Congresswoman Giffords and her Tucson Chief of Staff Ron Barber.

In August (see blog August 11, 2010) the two of them visited the Sonoita region to learn more about the grape farming and wine business in this little corner of her district. It was seemingly a casual swing through our area on the way to a Democratic Party Fundraiser, so I was prepared for the usual self-serving political photo-op type of visit. Quite the opposite. The Congresswoman - "call me Gabby" - was gracious, interested, engaging, completely present and full of ideas about how to promote the region and bring some distinction to our toils. One week later after the hail storm that destroyed the 2010 crop, Ron Barber called to see how he could help and subsequently mobilized the resources of Gabby's office to eventually rally the regional USDA to our aid and with the help of the governor's office have the the area declared a federal disaster area. These are good people, the kind of people I want in my government.

Honest people may disagree about the proposition that our political dialogue contributed to this atrocity, but it is clear Gabby and Ron wanted to change the tenor of that dialogue. I hope first for their speedy and full recovery and secondly that we engage in more civilized political discourse.

Our New Look is on the way

2011-01-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

I'm doing a total re-design of the Canelo Hills website, as you might have read in my blog posting from a month ago. Working on our website is one of my favorite parts of my job, and I've had a lot of fun teaching myself how to harness the awesome power of modern web design using Cascading Style Sheets.

After a not-quite-right first draft (div tags floating all over the place!) and some coaching from my brother Ian, who recently learned HTML to design his snazzy personal site, I’ve got the basic template designed. Here it is:

The menu bar at the top will now feature drop-down menus under some of the items, like About Us and Our Wines. Obviously, where it says "Content Goes Here" we uh, need some content. That's the next step -- creating all the pages that make up our website. Once they're all done, I'll upload them to the web and Canelo Hills will have a fresh new look on the old Internet.

What do you think?

2010 White Line Up

2010-12-21T18:10:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I racked the white wines from the 2010 harvest. The grapes are sourced from Dragoon Mountain Vineyards in Kansas Settlement and Sierra Vista Wineyards in Sasabe. Each batch is fairly small but very distinctive and true to variety. The Gewurztraminer is completely dry at this point and Joan and I like it. I was thinking of returning a little fresh juice to the wine to sweeten it but perhaps not this year. The Riesling was more ripe when harvested compared to last year and consequently is more complex - still piercingly dry and acidic but rounder and richer in the mouth. It's my first year working with Pinot Grigio and I was totally faked out when I saw the grapes. They are greyish red. How strange for such an ethereal light white wine. The Viognier comes from what must certainly be the most southern vineyard in Arizona - Melissa Owen's vineyard in Sasabe. It is the second harvest from the vines so the wine is consequently fresh and light and crisp, but true to Viognier. Look for them all to be released during our Memorial Day Weekend White Wine Release.

Creativity, wine, and holiday cheer

2010-12-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we hosted our 3rd annual Holiday Wreath-Making Workshop and Wine Tasting. Again it was a special afternoon of good spirits, good people, and good wine. Our group included both Canelo Hills regulars and first-timers. Everyone was in good spirits, crafting, conversing, and even helping each other with wreath-making and design ideas. We also enjoyed a tasting of all our wines including both sparklings, and delicious holiday cookies from Nadine's Bakery. Looking forward to next year!

Making wreaths

Decorating

The finished product

The whole wreath-making crew

More photos coming soon to our website - stay tuned!

A Blank Slate

2010-12-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

So far, this is what the new Canelo Hills website looks like:

a blank Design View page in Dreamweaver. I'm just getting started with a total re-design of our site, which hasn't changed much since we launched it before our Grand Opening in 2007.

I want the new design to be familiar, and just as easy to navigate as our current site, but to look more modern. I created our original site in Dreamweaver MX, a software program that dates back to 2002! I'm looking forward to trying out the powerful tools in my new, modern version of Dreamweaver, but that means some manual-reading and tutorial-watching on my part.

Of course we've involved Ian and Rhian on the design end--we're awfully lucky to have them and their expertise on call. I emailed them my initial page design, and they sent back some helpful comments. When I incorporate them I'll share the basic design with you, so stay tuned!

Got any comments or suggestions for our re-design? Post them here!

Whazsis?

2010-12-02T20:25:00.001-08:00

The next in an irregular series of quiz questions.

The person who provides the most accurate identification of this picture will be awarded a free wine tasting. But there are some new rules to this quiz. Since all the answers will become public once entered on this blog or on facebook it's OK to revise your answer. If there are multiple correct answers, two names will be randomly drawn from an empty spit bucket.

On your mark, get set, go!

Friends

2010-11-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

Our good friends, Liz and Charlie, whom we've known since our Reservation days, came to visit us today, all the way from Seattle. As happens with all our friends who visit us at the winery, we quickly put them to work. Actually, they offered and ended up helping us organize our first wine club shipment for the year. The work went quickly so we had plenty of time to visit and share a meal at the Velvet Elvis in Patagonia. A day does not get any finer than that!

2010-11-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

In this month's e-newsletter we added a new feature: the Wine Fact of the Month.

Here's your first Wine Fact:

Did you know that 1 ton of grapes will fill 2 oak barrels with wine?

Do you know how many bottles of wine that will make? The answer will be in the next issue. If you want to wager a guess, leave us a comment here. We'll see how many people get it right.

And, if you're not getting our e-newsletter delivered to your In Box every other month, click here to join our email list (we'll never sell or share your address).

The Answer is ........

2010-10-28T09:48:00.000-07:00


Yucca Seed Pod

Although we had some wonderfully creative answers to our "What's This?" contest of last week, Nicole Dee Miller gave the closest answer, saying it is a seed pod. She wins a free tasting!

Wine makes you young

2010-10-26T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well ok, to be truthful it doesn't actually make you young, but don't tell Adele that. She brought her parents Matt and Nicole back to the winery for a second time in her 11 youthful weeks of life, this time to enjoy the lovely Fall weather. Her first visit included bottling the NV Yummy Zinfandel. Although way too young to sample wine (no need to even ask for and ID), she is a big fan of our place and we are of her.

What's This?

2010-10-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here's your next chance to win a free tasting. Can you tell us what this is? The correct answer will be posted soon.

The Winner Is............

2010-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Casey Polivchak was the first to give the correct answer to the "What's This?" contest via the blog posting. Congratulations!

Although I do find them a bit creepy I am sure they do a lot of good. Perhaps Tiffany, our Doctor of Bugology consultant, can enlighten us on why we should appreciate these little buggers!

Stay tuned for our next "What's This?" contest. You, too, can win a free tasting.

What's This?

2010-10-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

Tim and I are going to do a few of our "What's This?" contests. Here's the first. What critter does this head belong to? Someone will win a free wine tasting.

It's Been a Sonoita Sunflower Summer!

2010-10-03T18:31:00.000-07:00

The Good Grape

2010-10-02T08:08:00.000-07:00

Those of you who have been following the 2010 growing season know we lost this year's harvest to a freak hail storm. I recently wrote about the Syrah's canopy growing back. The Tempranillo is not only growing a canopy, it is also trying really hard to put out another crop of grapes. It doesn't matter that the grapes are growing out at the wrong place or that it is the wrong time of year; it is the thought that counts. Being the traditional good grape of my vineyard family, it just wants to do the right thing. I know, I'm not supposed to play favorites but I can't help it. Tempranillo is just such a pleasure to grow.

The Morning After

2010-09-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

the rain, that is. Wednesday it rained all day, maybe our last monsoon storm. Thursday morning everything was glistening. It made for a great photo shoot!

My Love-Hate Relationship with Syrah Continues

2010-09-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

All I can say now is, "Thank goodness for the Syrah!" The top picture shows how most of the vineyard is struggling to recover from the hail storm. The bottom picture is the Syrah. I spend a great deal of my summer wrestling with these vines, trying to tame and control their growth. For someone of my size, it is back-breaking work. And it seems no matter how hard I try, I cannot get them trained on the wires the way I want. I am usually not very happy with these plants until harvest, when they make a simply delicious wine for our customers. But this year is different. The vines are oblivious to the trauma they experienced. They are doing what they do best and are sprouting leaves as fast as they can. Hopefully, they will do the same with grape buds in the spring. Syrah, you just gottta love 'em!

2010 Cabernet Sauvignon!

2010-09-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

Chris Hamilton, owner of Rancho Rossa Vineyards, delivered a mighty nice load of Cab grapes to us on Sunday. Beautiful fruit!

It is now crushed and happily fermenting away. That is happy news. Thank you, Chris and Sarah!

Very Yummy Yummy Zin

2010-09-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you blend together Arizona grown Zinfandel from three vintages (one of which was the 2007 late harvest crop)? You got it - very, very, yummy, Yummy Zin. We have been waiting a long time for this wine. The 2007 vintage dessert Zinfandel was tasty to the extreme and very popular. It was a small experimental batch that convinced me of the compelling power of Arizona fortified dessert wine. This past Saturday Mike and Stephanie (and their doggie Ella) and Matt and Nicole pitched in and bottled 140 cases of small bottles of this wine. Being a mixture of three vintages it is a "Non Vintage" wine and will be on the tasting room the first weekend in October.

Did I mention Adele? What a sweetie. The last time she helped bottle some wine it was the 2008 Sunrise and she was in utero. Matt and Nicole are understandably proud parents and Adele is about the most mellow, easy tempered and gentle soul I have met in the form of a 10 week old child.

Thanks Mike, Stephanie, Matt and Nicole!

ET - 08

2010-09-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

The day before The Storm - Amber, Katelyn, Dave and Casey put in a full day's work bottling the 2008 Estate Tempranillo. Although Katelyn is new to the task, the others are old hands and within a case or two the group was humming like a well oiled 4-person powered machine. Seventy cases of absolutely scrumptious wine was bottled. As I was originally composing this blog the next night, The Storm blew in, the power went out and Joan and I were worried but (for the moment) oblivious to the vineyard damage that ensued. I haven't had the heart to get back to it until now, but thanks to the efforts and good wishes of these four and hundreds of other friends, fans and well-wishers, Joan and I are back on track. Another one of life's lessons learned. Mother Nature is has a mind and desire all of her own. The '08 Estate Tempranillo needs some serious bottle time - huge, dark, rich, oaky wine flavors of a classic Sonoita AVA wine. Look for it to be on the tasting table around New Year 2011. Amber by the way is working on a new member of the Polivchak family - due to arrive in 2011. There is always room for one more on the bottling line.

Canelo Hills gets a makeover

2010-09-09T10:01:00.000-07:00

If you came down to Canelo Hills last weekend for our '08 Estate Syrah release, you might have seen our newly spruced-up front corral. Or maybe you followed the work in progress last month on our facebook page (scroll to August 18-23 for videos).

Here are a few photos of the completed winery park that Ian and Rhian designed and built to transform our empty front corral. We think it looks great! Come on down and see for yourself.

Click here to visit our website and view more photos of the new winery park.

Why I Love Grape Vines

2010-09-02T10:15:00.001-07:00

Tim and I have been in communication with grape growing consultants around the country. They can't believe the damage that was done to our vines during the hail storm a couple of weeks ago. They have never seen damage this extensive. Yet, the vines don't seem to be paying attention. No matter what happens to them, they just keep on trucking. Time and time again, they send out new leaves in hope of renewal. I think that is a good lesson for all of us. That is why I love tending my vines.

Introducing Spritzer

2010-08-28T13:02:00.000-07:00

You might remember that in our July e-newsletter we announced the first-ever Name My Tractor Contest. We needed a name for my mother's new little tractor, which she got when my father decided she needed one more her size.

We had some great suggestions, including Tilly, Sol, Poco Rojo, and Big Red. But the winning name, submitted by Felicia, is Spritzer. Felicia wins a bottle of Canelo Hills wine. Next time you're visiting the tasting room, you can see how Spritzer compares to the old blue tractor. Which makes me think, maybe the old blue tractor needs a name too...

Yay! We Got Some AZ Riesling!

2010-08-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Tim and I drove to Dragoon Mt. Vineyard to pick up some beautiful Riesling from John McLoughlin. His mother, Marge, was there and gave us a delightful tour of their vineyard.

Tim paid a visit to their Zinfandel which will stay on the vines a while longer. Their vineyard looks like a lot of love has gone into it. Tim is very excited about the wine these grapes will make.

Beginnings

2010-08-21T06:16:00.000-07:00

Tim and I are grateful for all our winery friends and the wonderful support that has flowed our way since the hail storm. The grapes are off, the wine is fermenting, and we are planning for the future, like all farmers do around the world.

Our design team arrived just in time to help us move on. They are creating a magnificent front corral for us. We have been posting daily videos of their progress on Facebook. Here are some still photos of days 1 to 3. Come see for yourself.

Revised Harvest Plan

2010-08-17T17:56:00.001-07:00

This is not rocket science; just common sense and a lot of optimism. The hail and wind stripped the vines of the leaves and damaged the grapes. But, most of the grape clusters do remain on the vines; they so want to complete their task. The problem is that they are badly bruised and if we leave them on the vine longer, they are likely to get rot. And anyway, they are not going to ripen any more without the foliage there to feed them. And, if we left them on long enough for new foliage to grow, that would zap the vines of all their remaining strength just when they need to start storing carbs for the winter (like bears do before hibernation). So, the plan is, the grapes come off tomorrow. Who knows what the resulting wine will be but I have lots of faith in Tim's wine making skills. He loves a challenge. We will have a "Name the Wine" contest when the time comes!

Our Design Team is on Its Way!

2010-08-17T14:08:00.000-07:00

This is what my architect son calls our "Winery Park." We'll call it the Fancy Front Corral. He and his design teammate, Rhian, will be onsite to survey the area tomorrow. Work will start early Thursday morning. That is, not farmer early but New York City Designer early. Drop on by over the week-end if you want a look.

August 15, Rain, Wind, Hail Devastation

2010-08-16T14:36:00.000-07:00

Front Corral Fixins

2010-08-12T08:08:00.000-07:00

How in Heavens are our fancy city slicker designers going to use these? I guess we'll all see next week.

More barrel tasting photos

2010-08-11T15:23:00.000-07:00

As promised yesterday, here are a few photos from our earlier barrel tasting on July 24. It was a great evening of wine, too.

Across the tasting room, guests taste and discuss our '09 reds

Right now we have a LOT of different tasty wines in the barrels

Tim uses a winemaker's tool, the wine thief, to extract wine from the barrels

Winemaker Tim shares his assessment of one of the new wines

Beautiful Sonoita skies over the vineyard as the evening comes to a close

Too bad we have to wait another year for our summer barrel tastings to return. If you missed them this year, be on the lookout for announcements next spring about our July and August 2011 (yes, 2011) barrel tasting evenings. We even have some new ideas for next year!

'09 Reds get a thumbs-up at summer barrel tastings

2010-08-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

On Saturday evening we had our second summer Barrel Tasting event. It was a lot of fun, with many Canelo Hills regulars, and a few first-timers, pumping us with winemaking questions and giving us their feedback on our '09 red wines.

We sampled seven '09 wines plus our Yummy Zin dessert wine, and they were all pronounced delicious. Some guests asked if they could buy some that night right out of the barrel, but unfortunately we'll all have to be a bit patient. These wines will have anywhere from a few weeks to several months more barrel aging, and then they'll be bottled and need from 3 to 12 months of bottle aging to settle down from bottle shock and reach their full potential.

Stay tuned. Tomorrow I'll post photos from our July barrel tasting!

2010 Harvest

2010-08-08T16:58:00.000-07:00

It has begun. Melissa and Todd brought over the 2010 Harvest's first fruits - Viognier from their vineyard in Sasabe, AZ - Sierra Vista Vineyard. This is the second time I'd had the opportunity to work with Melissa's fruit. She's a master gardener from the University of Arizona who not doubt tends to Arizona's southern most vineyard. The fruit isbeautifu, at the peak of ripeness and already along the way to wine. Today I destemmed the fruit which is now cold soaking at the winery to be gently pressed tomorrow. This should make a plush, rich wine with an "oily" mouthfeel in the way that only Viognier can be. It will be available on a limited basis in the winery and through the wine club.

City Slicker Design Team

2010-08-05T16:16:00.000-07:00

Canelo Hill's New York City Design Team thinks our front corral needs some sprucing up. Since Rhian Swierat and Ian Mueller did a mighty fine job with our tasting room design, we're leaning towards believing them. They will be jetting out the middle of the month to start the work. I'll be posting some of their fancy Eastern ideas in the days ahead. You can add your two cents if you have a liking to.

High Desert Green

2010-08-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

Almost exactly 9 years ago, Joan and I "discovered" Southern Arizona wine country. As we ventured down SR 83, we traveled through a monsoon rain storm complete with rainbow, nearby lightning strikes, brief hailstorm, intoxicating smells of wet desert and brilliant Arizona sun as the rain passed us by.

The hills were green - incandescent green waving grasses punctuated by small clusters of flowers of many hues. It has been many years since this valley looked that spectacular. This year is one of them. The grape vines are happy. In fact all things growing seem to be happy at present. I suspect you will be too when you make the trip.

A Great Run - the Great AZ Grape Stomp

2010-07-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning was the first 5K race in the Great Arizona Grape Stomp, a series of 4 races in Arizona Wine Country sponsored by the AWGA. It was a beautiful Sonoita morning and a fun, well-planned event full of good spirits. My father beat his predicted running time by 10 minutes, and my mother, Charlie, and I, well...we got in walking under an hour!

The Canelo Hill Raisers: (L-R) Joan, Tim, Kathryn, David, Staci, Sharon, Kevin, Jayson and Fran

We had an awesome team of Canelo Hill Raisers for the race. Old friends Linda, David, Staci, Sharon & Kevin ran and walked with us, and we met Fran and Jayson for the first time and were glad to have them on our team. The team hung out at the winery post-race for muffins and mimosas made with my father's Sparkling Nebbiolo Rosé, a well-deserved treat.

After the race, Todd Bostock of Dos Cabezas WineWorks came over - we were in competition for the best team time. Without even seeing the official race results, he and my father conceded to each other (is that possible?). A bottle of bubbly was at stake, so everyone won.

More photos from race day are below. We're looking forward to next year! And encourage you to register for one of the 3 races still left in this year's Great AZ Grape Stomp.

Todd, Kelly, and Griffin Bostock of Dos Cabezas before the race

Our teammate Linda Wood of Square Top Ranch Alpacas and Joan chat while walking

Canelo Hill Raisers Kevin and Sharon, who seriously improved our team time

Kelly Bostock and the AWGA's Executive Director Rhonni Moffitt

The race stretches long down Elgin Road on a beautiful summer morning

Ready to Run

2010-07-23T21:32:00.000-07:00

Here's my father sporting his Canelo Hill Raisers t-shirt, ready to run tomorrow in the Great Arizona Grape Stomp 5K. It's a gorgeous evening in Sonoita tonight, and should be a lovely crisp morning for the run tomorrow. My mother and my dog Charlie and I will be walking. Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

It's Starting!

2010-07-20T18:32:00.000-07:00

It's just amazing to watch the vines go from brown sticks to fully leafed out with fruit turning purple in only a few months. These, of course, are Tempranillo grapes, always the first to start the ripening process. These 3 year old vines are from our upper vineyard. 2010 will be their maiden voyage; picked, crushed, made into wine for the first time. That is a good thing as the older, lower vineyard was hit hard by the May 1st frost. We will have a harvest this year.

In the Can

2010-07-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

Actually in the stainless steel tank. I combined all the barrels of the 2008 Tempranillo into this tank to settle and to do a little bulk aging. The aging in the oak barrels had reached a lovely spot so it was time to think about bottling the wine. It will need 4-6 months of bottle aging to show it's magnificence. This is a fully concentrated and complex Tempranillo. Estimated release? - New Year's 2011.

Congresswoman Giffords Visits Sonoita-Elgin Wine Country

2010-07-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords visited Arizona's premier wine country this weekend. In her first visit to the Sonoita-Elgin area she got the chance to sample Arizona wines and we got the chance to discuss our opposition to HR5034 which would restrict our ability to send wine outside of Arizona. It was great to see her take an interest in the legislative issues that impact us.

Team Canelo Hills

2010-07-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

July 24, 2010 in Sonoita will be the first leg of the very first AWGA Grape Stomp - a 5 kilometer fun run and walk. We are recruiting hardy souls to join the Canelo Hill Raisers (name suggested by our dear friend Jay Branegan in Washington DC) who will run (Tim) and walk (Joan and Kathryn) the distance basking in the cool, fragrant morning air and glorious sights of a Sonoita morning. We have received a challenge from Todd and Kelly of Dos Cabezas - the best team time gets a bottle of sparkly to celebrate. Best time? Hah, who cares? Competition? Now you're talking.

If you join our team you'll get a team t-shirt, coffee and OJ and coffee cake back at our winery after the event, no charge for wine tasting at CHV&W for that day, a team photo posted on this blog, bragging rights, unlimited use of our hose, and a fun time.

When you register (click here for link) be sure to indicate you want to join the Canelo Hills team.

Don't put it off. Do it! It'll be something to tell your great, grand children about or great, grand nieces and nephews, or doggies . . . .

Wine, Oregon-style

2010-07-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm in Oregon for three weeks to sing at the Oregon Bach Festival. Besides the music and the great colleagues that I'm with, I'm loving the weather, the berries at the farmer's market, and of course the wonderful local wine and beer. On a free day my boyfriend Nathan and I drove down to the Umpqua Valley to visit some wineries. The scenery was stunning and the wineries small and personal, like in Sonoita.

First we went to Girardet Wine Cellars. We headed there because I met their winemaker, Marc Girardet, at a wine event last summer, and I really loved his Baco Noir. It was as tasty as I remembered, and we also enjoyed their Estate Riesling which is just slightly sweet.

Vines at Girardet and the Oregon hills in the background

Being in vacation mode we'd gotten a late start, so we asked Cedar at Girardet what winery we should visit if we only had time for one more. She recommended HillCrest Vineyard which is Oregon's oldest vineyard and winery. Dyson and Susan Demara do all the work themselves, with the help of their children, and they sell only from their tasting room and online.

In the HillCrest barrel room with Susan

Susan gave us a tour of the winery works and showed off their concrete fermenting tanks. We also got to barrel-taste a couple of wines including a wonderful oaked Chardonnay (and I thought I didn't like oaky Chardonnay!) and a Tempranillo which was nice and interesting to compare to our Arizona-grown Canelo Hills Estate Tempranillo. The wines we ended up taking home were a fantastic Zinfandel and their Inside Out, which is a white Pinot Noir (yes, white) and a really delicious and unusual wine. Now we just have to drink all this wine with our singer friends before flying home next week...

Nathan and the HillCrest winery dogs

Yucca Heaven!

2010-07-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

Pool Prints Winner!

2010-06-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

The critter prints were, ringtail, raccoon, bear and coatimundi. I really wanted everyone to agree with me that the prints were made by a ringtail. It is the AZ state animal! However,the raccoon got the most votes so I'll have to agree it was the invader that night. It won't stop me from trying to find ringtail tracks in the vineyard, though. I'll keep looking.

CH V&W Wines in Phoenix

2010-06-28T20:45:00.000-07:00

Here's your chance to taste Canelo Hills Wines. Jim Wiskerchen is hosting a series of wine tasting events where our wines will be available.

June 30 at Fired Up Grill
July 2 at Phoenix Public Market
July 3 at Sphinx Ranch
July 15 at Oakville Grocery Company

For further details log on to his website http://www.meetup.com/blue-tooth-wine-society

Time To Vote!

2010-06-25T15:34:00.001-07:00

Okay, so here are some tracks I thought were the closest to the one in the pool as well as a pool photo for comparison. Let's see which animal gets the most votes. Vote by commenting on this blog, or by e-mail or on facebook. Just pick Critter # 1, 2, 3 or 4. I'll post the results and the names of each critter soon.

What Animal Is This?

2010-06-23T16:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you who wanted a closer look at the animal tracks in Charlie's swimming pool, here they are. For those of you who are newly tuning in, I saw these tracks one morning last week at the winery. I've seen them before and decided to enlist help in identifying them. So, here they are with a quarter dropped into the pool. Tomorrow I will post some animal tracks to help us all. So, check back in then.

New Whites Wines off to a smashing start

2010-06-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

We had another busy and rewarding day of new wines on Saturday, the release celebration for our 2009 white wines. Many of our friends and regulars came down to Canelo Hills to be first to try our 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Malvasia, and Gewürtztraminer.

Quite a few came specifically to get some of our Malvasia before it sells out. As expected, the Malvasia was the best seller of the day, but the other new wines were all popular as well.

It was also great to have Ken Jackson, our cowboy-doctor friend from our days on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, in the tasting room signing copies of his new book, Manifest West. Joel Blumenthal enticed our guests with tasty treats and herbal products from The Herb Garden, especially the chile brownies, which were deemed a perfect pairing with our Syrah.

We won't usually have all 4 new white wines out on the tasting table, so if you come into the tasting room hoping to try a wine we're not pouring that day, just ask for it.

Click here to view additional photos from our White Wine Release and Book Signing on our website.

Only the special get Malvasia

2010-05-27T18:39:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we're going to give our 2009 Malvasia a very limited release. Our '08 Malvasia sold out within days of winning the AWGA Grower's Cup for Best White Wine in Arizona. The '09 vintage promises to be even better.

To prevent the Malvasia from selling out too quickly, we won't put it out on the tasting table for several more months. Except for Saturday! You can sample this remarkable dry but perfumey wine during a special pre-release on the day of our New White Wine Release event.

During normal tasting room hours (11:00-4:00) Saturday, May 29, you can taste the Malvasia as well as our new Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, and Sauvignon Blanc, and you can take them all home with you. Also, Ken Jackson will be there signing copies of his book, and Joel Blumenthal will have her crafts, baked goods, and herbal products for sale. Join us!

Complete event details are on our website: click here.

Preview for Saturday - watch the video

2010-05-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

We're really excited that our old friend Ken Jackson will be joining us on Saturday, the day of our New White Wine Release. Ken will be there to sign copies of his book, Manifest West. We'll be pouring our delicious new '09 white wines: Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, and Malvasia.

Ken taped an interview for us about his book and about our history together. Here's a teaser. Click the link below the video to watch the entire interview on YouTube.

View the entire 2-minute interview on YouTube by clicking here.

After the Frost

2010-05-18T09:26:00.001-07:00

These lovely grape vines are Cabernet Sauvignon. They survived the frost quite well as they bud out after the others. It'll be fun to harvest them this year. They are now 5 years old and should be able to support a pretty good crop.

The Malvasia are rising from dead. This is exciting to watch. Vines can send up shoots time and time again, especially when they are young. Maybe we will get a small crop next year.

The older Tempranillo and Syrah are not doing as well as the others. I don't think we will be getting much of a crop from them this year but I remain hopeful. Maybe they are just hiding a little longer to make sure no more frosts knock them down. Who knows? It's possible.

WMD @ FnB

2010-05-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

That would be Winemaker's Dinner, a totally delightful affair this past Tuesday May 11 at FnB Restaurant in Scottsdale. I've blogged about this place before - the brainchild of Pavle Milic and Chef Charleen Badman, that features local Arizona grown produce and a totally Arizona wine list. Every Tuesday for the next several months an Arizona Winemaker is featured for a fix prix wine-food pairing. Joan and I (accompanied by Jim Wiskerchen of mywinehelper) kicked off the first event.

Sparkling Nebbiolo Rose started off the evening and prepared everyone's palate for the next three courses. 2008 Chardonnay was paired with goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms, lightly battered, quickly fried and placed in a puddle of lemon buerre blanc. Wow! That one worked. Fresh mixed sauteed mushrooms (I got morels and shitake and portobellos) on perfectly al dente garganelli with ramps and topped with lemon bread crumbs resonated with the 2007 Sangiovese Select. The profound earthiness of the mushrooms nailed the 22 month oak barrel aged wine.

The finale was quickly grilled squab dressed with zucchini, olive and almond relish for the carnivores and oven broasted halibut with toasted almonds in the same sauce for Joan and me. 2008 Estate Syrah was the wine match. Perfecto was the consensus. Chef Charleen tickled our palates with fresh peanut brittle and chocolate brownies as a finishing course. I can't wait until the next one.

And by the way be sure to check out the Arizona Republic news article that provides more of the back story of this unique restaurant and specifically mentions the 2008 Chardonnay.

Before and After

2010-05-03T14:47:00.001-07:00

This is the life of a farmer. One day everything looks great. I walk around the vineyard and marvel at how well the vines are growing and thinking what a great harvest we will have-- if only the predicted frost doesn't happen that night---and the next day when I walk the vineyard all the green is gone. The whole vineyard is brown. It's hard to believe it is the same vineyard. But it is. All a farmer can do is hope the rest of the season is good and maybe, just maybe, there will be a secondary fruit set, at best much smaller but still, it is hope. That is the life of a farmer.

Winemaker’s Dinner at FnB - May 11, 2010

2010-04-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

Pavle Milic and chef Charleen Badman of FnB Restaurant in Scottsdale, Arizona, have created a stir in the restaurant world by building a wine list that is entirely devoted to Arizona wines. Pavle is committed to the concept of focusing on local products and tastes, similar to what is the case in most of Europe. To support this vision he is hosting a series of winemaker’s dinners at 6 pm on Tuesday nights.

On Tuesday, May 11, Canelo Hills will be the featured winery and Tim and Joan Mueller will be presenting the 2008 Chardonnay, 2007 Sangiovese Select and 2008 Estate Syrah, perfectly paired with courses that will reflect the creative genius of chef Badman. The menu has not yet been set, that will depend on what fresh products are available in the local markets. We have eaten at FnB. The cuisine is inspired. The wine-food pairings will certainly be exceptional.

The cost for food and wine is $48 plus tax and gratuity. Space is limited to the first 36 people who call. To reserve a spot call the restaurant directly at 480-425-9463.