Every customer who books a tour with Wine Tours of Sedona gets a personalized experienced that starts with a conversation over the phone or via email. Tours are built around what the customer is interested in and wants to see. “I like the more intimate experiences of getting to know my customers one on one, sitting with them, talking to them about wine, talking to them about the vineyards and really educating them about why the Arizona wine industry is so good,” says Jim Reich, owner of Wine Tours of Sedona. “The winemakers here are really perfecting their craft, and they do it exceptionally well.”
The company started back in 2004 as Sedona Hiking Adventures, and Jim offered guided hikes throughout Sedona. When one client asked Jim to take him to a winery, he started focusing more on wineries in the area. Wine Tours of Sedona visits nearly every winery in Northern Arizona. The company currently offers over 33 tours that can focus on wine country, micro-breweries and raw chocolate. The company operates seven days a week and provides at least one tour per day. In the next few months, Wine Tours of Sedona will probably be able to give as many 10 to 12 tours in a single day as he trains more guides. Guides see Jim in action as he gives tours, learn the vineyards and meet the winery staff and winemakers. “Being a tour guide is not just providing tours. It’s fostering relationships. It’s creating community and abundance within the community,” says Jim. “That’s really important to me as a small business is I will support other small businesses.” Customers can visit breweries, wineries and even chocolate shops on a single tour. “If my customers can dream it, I will create that experience,” he says.
Tours range from three to eight hours in length. The bachelorette party tour is one of the company’s most popular offerings. Another is a five-hour Date Night package that includes a double wine tasting at D.A. Ranch, followed by a glass of wine and then dinner at Up the Creek. Customers are invited to spend plenty of time at each winery to really enjoy their wine. Customers have even proposed on the tours. “It’s not about how many customers I’m serving. It’s the lives that I’m touching, and the experiences I’m creating, and the memories people are going home with,” says Jim. “We’re really about setting that standard in the industry for extraordinary tours.” – Teresa K. Traverse
SEDONA CALENDAR: Events, activities, shows, happenings
