Beginnings.9 (fin)- Fourth Anniversary Reflections

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.