such as Lawrence Dunham Vineyards in Cochise County.
By Laurie Daniel | San Jose Mercury News
Winemaker Eric Glomski says people’s perceptions of Arizona are “based on seeing Looney Tunes, the Road Runner and Coyote.” Think vast stretches of desert with the occasional cactus and Acme anvil.
But Arizona, he says, “is much more than desert.” Parts of it are quite mountainous, and those higher elevations have proved to be suitable for wine grapes.
Glomski, who owns Page Springs Cellars outside Sedona, is a partner in Arizona Stronghold and formerly worked at David Bruce in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He is also one of the winemakers building Arizona’s fledgling wine industry. The industry is so new that Peggy Fiandaca, president of the Arizona Wine Growers, couldn’t tell me how many acres of vineyards are planted in the state. Fiandaca, who also owns Lawrence Dunham Vineyards near Willcox, says the group is just now conducting a vineyard survey to determine the acreage and find out what varieties are planted. Wine grapes don’t appear in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual crop survey for Arizona, either.
