Wine in Arizona?

We recently spent a week in Sedona for vacation and spent one of the days at a few different tasting rooms in the area. I must say my expectations were pretty nil going in, but it ended up not being terrible.

The first stop was Caduceus Cellars in Jerome, AZ. The biggest reason we hit this place is that it is owned by Maynard James Keenan of Tool/ A Perfect Circle/ Puscifer fame. This was actually the only Arizona wine I heard of beforehand, more specifically I had only heard of Arizona Stronghold which is his other label. Caduceus is a new label I guess.

2008 Caduceus Cellars "Dos Ladrones" (Chardonnay, Malvasia Bianca)
2007 Caduceus Cellars "Primer Paso" (Syrah, Malviasa Bianca)
2007 Caduceus Cellars "Anubis" (Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah)
2006 Merkin Vineyards "Chupacabra" (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Zinfandel.......)
2008 Arizona Stronghold "Dayden Rose" (Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Grenache)

As it turned out most of these wines were either all California fruit or blended CA/AZ fruit. The only 100% AZ wines I tasted were the Dayden Rose and the Dos Ladrones ... I guess you still need CA fruit to make a good AZ wine? I actually liked most of the wines here and purchased bottles the Chupacabra (which I think is a blend of 13 different grapes), the Dayden Rose, and the Anubis. Maynard was in the tasting room with a group of people. Didn't want to bother him, but thought it was cool that he was there. Up next was 3 places in Cornville which were actually located on vineyard land as opposed to just tasting rooms. First up was Javalina Leap.

2007 Javelina Leap Barbera
2007 Javelina Leap Zinfandel
2007 Javelina Leap Zinfandel Reserve
2007 Javelina Leap Petite Sirah

The Barbera was $75. Ridiculous. It was good, but I can't see paying that for an AZ wine. I guess I'm just biased. I believe that all of the other wines were from CA, I know both Zinfandels were from Paso fruit. We didn't buy anything because nothing stood out. I did find it interesting that the only label that had a vintage date on it was the regular Zinfandel. Guess it makes buying labels cheaper? And just next door was Oak Creek Vineyards.

2007 Oak Creek Chardonnay
2006 Oak Creek Zinfandel Reserve
2005 Oak Creek Syrah
2007 Oak Creek Merlot
2006 Oak Creek "Arizona Port Wine"

Don't go here. It was all terrible. Got back on the road to go to our final stop Page Springs Cellars.

2008 Page Springs "Vino de la Familia Blanca" (100% Malvasia Bianca)
2008 Page Springs Chardonnay, Arizona Stronghold Vineyard
2007 Page Springs Syrah, Lakeview Vineyard
2007 Page Springs Mourvedre, Enz Vineyard
2007 Page Springs Petite Sirah, Shell Creek Vineyard

I think all the wines were 100% AZ fruit, and they were all very good. I would definitely put this place #1 on the list, and a pretty good distance above #2 Caduceus. We purchased bottles of the Familia Blanca and the Syrah. That was it for our adventure in AZ wine. It was definitely hit or miss, but when done correctly it was great. I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference between a good AZ and a CA wine. I'd say that's a sign of success right? Or maybe it's just that I really like Rhone varietals ...