Page Spring Cellars is a must-visit winery on Arizona's Verde Valley Wine Trail near Sedona. This area is one of three main wine regions in Arizona. Given that the Sedona area attracts over four million visitors each year, do any come to check out Arizona wines? Arizona may not be a place that you normally associate with wine; however, maybe it is about to change. My Spaswinefood visit to the Sedona area was the perfect opportunity to discover the northern Arizona wine scene. If you are looking for recommendations Page Springs Cellars tops the list of Verde Valley wineries to visit.
Arizona wines, like the other southwestern states, were first produced as sacramental wine by the Spanish missionaries. Since the mid-1970's Arizona winemakers have been working hard to produce good Arizona wines. The first success stories came from southeast Arizona vineyards. In recent years northern Arizona winemakers are achieving similar results. Page Springs Cellars is one of the wineries where this is happening. It is indeed a wine oasis in northern Arizona.
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Page Springs Cellars, Estate Vineyards, Landscape 2012 © Spaswinefood
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Estate Vineyard at Page Springs Cellars © Spaswinefood
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If you are wondering where in Arizona where you will find vineyards, then think high elevation. Arizona vineyards are located in the high desert. The elevation of these vineyards ranges between 3800 ft. to 6000 ft. At this elevation the hot days and cool nights result in good grape growing conditions. If you are looking for more information on Arizona wines check out Snooth and Wine-seacher. Dan Sorenson describes the recent history and speculates on the future of the Arizona wine industry. Some of the recent happenings in Arizona's wine regions is highlighted in an Edie Jarolim's article. Richard Ruelas provides a list of Arizona wineries to visit. Spaswinefood was anxious to experience first hand some of the excitement about Arizona wines in the Verde Valley. After doing regular walk-in tastings at a number of Verde Valley wineries and tasting rooms, Page Spring Cellars is my top pick.
Discovering Page Spring Cellars
It was a warm Arizona day when we dropped by Page Spring Cellars to taste their wines. Four of the wines that I tasted included:
1) Page Springs Cellars, Norte Block, Arizona Stonghold Vineyard, Mourvedre 2012.
2) Page Springs Cellars, GSPm 2012 (a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre)
3) Page Springs Cellars, Vino de la Familia 2012 (a blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah and Viognier)
4) Page Springs Cellars, El Sereno 2012 (a blend of Mourvedre, Syrah and Petite Sirah)
After the wine tasting we ate lunch on the back deck, overlooking the estate vineyard. Overall the Page Springs Cellars wines that we tasted were good. While Page Spring Cellars wines that we tasted were mainly produced from grapes grown in southern Arizona they are producing some wines from its estate vineyard. Still it would be great to taste more northern Arizona wines in the future. I guess patience is needed, after all the wine industry in Arizona is still young.
For lunch we enjoyed a Cheese Plate and a Vegetarian Pizza with a bottle of Vino de la Familia 2012.
The Vino de la Familia 2012 wine that we tasted was quite good. We thought that this wine was not only good but, it was a great deal at $21.
During lunch however, we were in for a special Arizona wine treat. One of the servers gave us some Page Spring Cellars Estate Vineyard, Landscape 2012 to try. This wine was produced from grapes grown in their estate vineyard. If that wine is any indication then we should look forward to some amazing wines coming from northern Arizona vineyards. I totally loved the expression of terroir in the Landscape 2012, a blend of Syrah, Petit Sirah and Mourvedre. If more wines can be produced that captures that expression of terroir then the future is looking great for northern Arizona wines.
Exploring Page Springs Vineyard
After lunch we took a walk down to the vineyard and the Oak Creek River back of the winery.
We passed an inviting picnic area with a view of the estate vineyard.
I could not help but, notice the Sarah grapes growing in the vineyard as we walked by.
I was happy to discover that some of the grape vines were used to provide shade, as we walked in the mid-day Arizona sun.
We checked out the Oak Creek River that flows at the back of the estate vineyard.
On our return to the parking lot at the front we retraced our steps back up the hill.
There near the parking lot, near the front entrance we saw Grenache grapes trellised two ways.
The Grenache grape vines were trellised to run either horizontally and vertically.
It certainly made me wonder about the effect of the trellising direction on the taste of the wine.
I would love to taste some of the wine produced by the two types of trellising. I am sure that trellising is bound to affect many factors in grape production. However, the most important to the wine consumer is obviously, the taste.
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Page Spring Vineyards & Cellars © Spaswinefood
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It was a warm Arizona day when we dropped by Page Spring Cellars to taste their wines. Four of the wines that I tasted included:
1) Page Springs Cellars, Norte Block, Arizona Stonghold Vineyard, Mourvedre 2012.
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| Norte Block, Arizona Stonghold Vineyard, Mourvedre 2012 © Spaswinefood |
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| Page Springs Cellars, GSPm 2012 © Spaswinefood |
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| Page Springs Cellars, Vino de la Familia 2012 © Spaswinefood |
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| Page Springs Cellars, El Sereno 2012 © Spaswinefood |
For lunch we enjoyed a Cheese Plate and a Vegetarian Pizza with a bottle of Vino de la Familia 2012.
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| Cheese Plate, Page Springs Cellars © Spaswinefood |
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| Vegetarian Pizza with Vino de la Familia 2012 © Spaswinefood |
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| Vino de la Familia 2012 © Spaswinefood |
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Page Springs Cellars, Estate Vineyards, Landscape 2012 © Spaswinefood
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Page Springs Cellars, Estate Vineyards, Landscape 2012 © Spaswinefood
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Exploring Page Springs Vineyard
After lunch we took a walk down to the vineyard and the Oak Creek River back of the winery.
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| Page Springs Cellars Estate Vineyard © Spaswinefood |
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| Picnic Table near Page Springs Cellars Estate Vineyard © Spaswinefood |
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| Syrah Grapes, Page Springs Cellars © Spaswinefood |
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| Page Springs Cellars Estate Vineyard © Spaswinefood |
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| Oak Creek River, Page Springs Cellars © Spaswinefood |
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| Page Springs Cellars Estate Vineyard © Spaswinefood |
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| Grenache Grapes on Horizontal Trellises, Page Springs Cellars © Spaswinefood |
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| Grenache Grapes, Page Springs Cellars © Spaswinefood |
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| Grenache Grapes on Vertical Trellisses, Page Springs Cellars © Spaswinefood |
Page Springs Winemaker in the News
When you research Arizona wines there are certain winemaker's names that emerge. Two of these names are Eric Glomski (winemaker) of Page Spring Cellars and Maynard James Keenan (rock musician) of Caduceus Cellars (see story). Together Glomski and Keenan founded Arizona Stronghold Vineyards. Both Joe Roberts and Mike Rosenberg describe some of the wines produced by Page Springs Cellars and Caduceus Cellars.
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Arizona Stronghold Tasting Room © Spaswinefood
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Glomski's name surfaces again in connection with 2010 Syrahs (Page Springs Cellars, Colibri Vineyards, Syrah Clone 174 and the Burning Tree Cellars, Colibri Vineyards, Syrah). These Syrahs were awarded 90 points by Wine Spectator (see Richard Ruelas article).
Yes, there is lots of excitement on the Verde Valley Wine Trail. If your travels take you to the Sedona area then put Page Spring Cellars on your list. Let me not forget to mention they also offer yoga and massages. Regrettably, I did not try their spa services during my visit. Here is some further information on the Verde Valley Wine Trail that I consulted on Verde Valley wineries and vineyards and the Northern Arizona Wine Trail. For further suggestions on wineries and tasting rooms to visit you should also see Sedona area wine tours and a beginner’s guide.
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Page Springs Cellars, Cornville, Arizona © Spaswinefood
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It is no doubt that Arizona wine regions have been buzzing with excitement in recent years. Yes, my Spaswinefood's northern Arizona wine country's Verde Valley Wine Trail provided me with insights into the recent developments in Arizona wines. I have planned a late August visit to southern Arizona to experience first hand the wine scene there. In fact, I was most fortunate to taste some southern Arizona wines from Ardius Wine Company at #WBC14. I invite you to join me in my travels in Arizona and elsewhere in search of the best in Spaswinefood. You may also visit my travel column at the Examiner.
Sharon
June 2014
Sedona, Arizona
© Spaswinefood
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