Having lived in Tucson for most the 1970’s, the concept of Arizona derived wine grapes and wines was barely in its embryonic stage, Gordon Dutt, a local soil scientist scratching the soil surface in an effort to plan for the future.  Fast forward to 1990 when Kent Callaghan of Callaghan Vineyards (www.callaghanvineyards.com) launched what I consider to be the birth of modern day Arizona based wine.   It wasn’t long before his wines gained some recognition, the 1993 Buena Suerte Cuvee, a blend of Merlot, Cab Sauvignon and Cab France being served in July of 1996 at a White House dinner for the Democratic National Committee.  In 2000, the same wine was served at President Clinton’s last State Dinner for the Prime Minister of India.  Later on, the Callaghan's Claire's 2004, a Mourvedre, Syrah and Petite Sirah blend, was served during President George W. Bush's dinner for retiring U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, an Arizona native.  Since then, critics from Robert Parker to Gary Vaynerchuk to the Wall Street Journal have praised the progress of Kent’s wines.  Over the last year, none other than the Wine Spectator has praised the progress of other local vintners such as Sam Pillbury(www.pillsburywine.com) , Eric Glomski (www.pagespringscellars.com and www.azstronghold.com) , Maynard James Keenan (www.azstronghold.com and www.caduceus.org)   and Todd Bostock (www.doscabezaswinery.com).  So my question to you is this: with so many knowledge wine professionals recognizing the improvement in quality of our wines as well as their bright future, why are so many locals still hesitant to try an Arizona wine?   Is it a state of denial that a terroir punctuated by searing desert heat in the summer and frosty cold in the winter, by flooding rains, hail storms, and snow can actually grow high quality wine grapes, let alone produce fine wine?  Is it because we have, at our western border, the most recognized domestic giant of the wine world so why take the chance on Arizona wine?  Is it a pricing issue?  Let me address all of these.

It’s not lost on most wine consumers that we live in a hostile and dynamic terroir yet still produce wine.  Witness the killing frost in Sonoita as April turned to May of this year followed by a catastrophic hailstorm just a few weeks back.  We are not the only region that experiences the hostile climate of a semi-desert.  The Mendoza region of Argentina is actually quite similar in terms of climate.  I can’t imagine that our climate dissuades anyone from considering our wines.

Without question, California has wielded a major influence on our universe of wine here in Tucson.  They are ever present as our neighbor and if a country, would be one of largest wine producers by volume in the world.  With over a century and a half of wine history, the region has a strong reputation of quality and accessibility.  So it should come as no surprise that the Arizona wine industry, barely a seedling even at this point, is still viewed by many with uncertainty.   Let me add that in the early days of the California wine industry, the quality of wine was inconsistent, as well.  The same could be said of the Argentinean Mendoza Malbecs, very inconsistent in quality until the last fifteen years.  I think it’s fair to say that the nearby presence of the California wine market has been a challenge to the larger scale acceptance of the Arizona wine industry.