Our 2009 Harvest

Last weekend we harvested almost all the grapes from the Canelo Hills vineyard. After a few nervous days worrying about the damage from a bad hail storm, we were relieved to discover that nature smiled on us this year. The hail damage was minimal, and a few days of hot, dry weather made the grapes ready for picking before bees or ravens or coyotes could get to them.

The crop looks great. The Syrah, Zinfandel and Tempranillo that we picked are going to make some fantastic Estate wines. Be looking out for them in fall 2010.

I shouldn't say "we" picked--by the time my mother and I arrived to open the tasting room and take turns picking, the harvest was within minutes of completion! Our friend Ken drove down from Tucson and was a huge help.

Now only the Cabernet Sauvignon, which needs another couple weeks of ripening, awaits harvest. My dog Charlie and I inspected the clusters of nice little grapes, and they look great.

It's a happy time when the grapes are in and the wines bubbling away. Too bad we have to be patient and wait a whole year to enjoy the awesome 2009 Sonoita AVA vintage...

Wine & Farm Festival a hit

Saturday's Wine & Farm Festival was our 3rd annual, and each year it gets bigger and better. This year we were happy to have five Southern Arizona winemakers, all selling wine made from Arizona-grown fruit. The winemakers were joined by local farmers and craftspeople selling their wares.

The farmers market indoors featured a range of delicious and useful products from eggs and goat cheese, to baked goods and goat milk soaps, to crafts, gorgeous alpaca fiber items, and native plants like tomatoes and chiles.

We were expecting about 400 people, the same number as the previous two years. The emphasis on local products and PERFECT Sonoita spring day brought over 600 people to Canelo Hills with their friends, honeys, and children. Café Sonoita sold out of the yummy lunches they'd brought by 1:30!

It was exciting for us to see so many people at Canelo Hills enjoying themselves and learning about all that Santa Cruz and Cochise Counties have to offer. The Santa Cruz Humane Society adopted out all the dogs and cats they brought to our festival -- another mark of a wildly successful day.

Colibri Vineyards at Canelo Hills May 3 Wine and Farm Festival

We are pleased that Bob Johnson of Colibri Vineyards will be at our second annual Wine and Farm Festival. Colibri's vineyards are nestled in a valley in Cochise county surrounded by the foothills of the Chiricahua Mountains. Bob makes award winning wines from Viognier, Syrah, Petite Verdot, and Grenache grapes. When you attend our festival you will be able to taste and purchase these great wines as well as wines from Canelo Hills Vineyard and Winery and Keeling-Schaefer Vineyards.

Today's Featured Vendor-- Emu Enterprises, LLC

Roger and Priscilla Tabar's Emu Ranch products are a new addition to our Wine and Farm Festival. Their ranch is in Huachuca City and they make skin care products from the Emu oil which is nutritious for the skin and promotes healing. If you come talk to them at the festival they will passionately tell you about the benefits of using the Emu products. Some of the products Roger and Priscilla will have on hand at Canelo Hills Winery's Wine and Farm Festival on May 3 are hand and body lotions, moisturizing cream, muscle rubs and shampoo and conditioner.

Keri Jelks- Wine and Farm Festival Artist

Keri Jelks has been a rancher and active community member of Sonoita for over 30 Years. Keri enjoys painting in her studio and in nature where the wind, air and birds surround her. Having received her degree in creative writing Keri also loves to write.

A returning artist to Canelo Hills Vineyard and Winery 's Wine and Farm Festival, Keri will be selling her simply delicious cookbook, "Yum-Yum," which is chock full of her best recipes as well as her exquisite paintings. She will also have Giclee prints of her animal paintings, note cards portraying landscapes and animals, and an item hot off the press, her unique birthday calendar featuring domestic and wild animals.

Alpacas are coming!

Yesterday, after a busy afternoon coordinating the upcoming Canelo Hills Wine and Farm Festival I sat down to read, "The Desert Leaf," a Tucson publication. After flipping through a few pages I ran into a cute alpaca staring at me and an article titled, "Living the Alpaca Lifestyle." Smack in the middle of the article was a section on Mike and Linda Wood and their Square Top Ranch. I was especially excited because I have been to the Square Top Ranch and met their alpacas nose to nose. Those very same alpacas will be attending our Festival with their owners. So come meet Mike and Linda Wood and their animals and see first hand the beautiful things alpaca fiber can create.