Like a fine wine that takes years to reach perfection, the Verde Valley has finally been recognized with an AVA. An AVA or American Viticulture Area is a grape-growing area that’s been officially designated by the United States federal government. This is the third AVA in Arizona. The other two are in Southern Arizona, Willcox and Sonoita, respectively. “The people that grow grapes in the Verde Valley and make wine in the Verde Valley will now be able to specifically say they’re from here,” says Paula Woolsey, an instructor at the Southwest Wine Center, vice president of the Verde Valley Wine Consortium and a winery consultant. The Verde Valley Wine Consortium was started in 2008 as the trade association to promote and support the local wine industry. The petition for the AVA was submitted by the Consortium back in 2017. Beyond allowing wine makers to label their wines with an AVA label – as long as the grapes are from the area, wine makers can do this – an AVA designation allows for more targeted marketing. “If you figure there’s 15 percent of the people on the planet that know what an AVA is. They’re usually wine drinkers or people in the industry, you’re going to automatically get some eye on you. It’s been amazing how much press we’ve gotten,” says Paula. An AVA gives the Verde Valley legitimacy. “We’re pretty proud of the fact that we’ve got this designation. That we’re finally being recognized as a place that grows good gapes. The whole world, they don’t know we do grapes in Arizona. They don’t know we make good wine here. So this is going to allow for people who recognize that an AVA is something of an important status, will then come here and look and check it out,” says Paula. The AVA matters in many ways, but one of the biggest reasons is because it will hopefully bring more serious wine fans to the region.
Caduceus Cellars Vineyard
“The creation of a wine industry here was based on the passion of the people who lived here wanting to get into this new thing, and also, we all had a big interest in wine,” says Paula, who moved to the area 34 years ago. In those years, she’s seen people visiting the area come to visit wine country as a main focus instead of as an afterthought. “Now it’s shifted to people who are coming here to check out the wine and while we’re here we’ll go see Sedona or the Verde Valley. We’ll go see Jerome or we’ll go see Grand Canyon. So that’s a good thing because that’s the fruits of our labor.” Winemakers we spoke with feel the AVA gives the area more credibility in the wine world. “It’s a big stamp of approval,” says Ron Brumley, winemaker and vineyard manager at Alcantara Vineyards. “We’re playing with the big dogs. What it means to me and what it means to the whole entire Arizona wine scene is that now we have a third AVA. American Viticulture Areas is basically kind of a stamp of approval in the sense that oenophiles from all over the world are now going to recognize this or see us,” he says. The Verde Valley label on wine bottles matters to serious wine consumers. “That’s what they look for,” says Ron. Ron says that each winemaker has a style. Now with the AVA, “every winery is going to be able to show that off in a more formal way. When you’re drinking wine here, you’re drinking the soil,” says Ron. “Our soils are what define us. We have alluvial fan. We have basalt. We have sandy loam. We have granite. We have clay. We have all of these awesome soils that are everywhere else around the world in other wine regions.” Another winemaker we spoke with also told us she feels excited to see the AVA come to life. Bree Nation, the assistant winemaker at Page Springs Cellars and one of the co-owners and winemakers of The Oddity Wine Collective, also says she feels excited about the AVA. “Seeing it actually happen and come to fruition is super exciting for all of us. It’s been a long time coming,” says Bree. “And there was a lot of work that went in to getting us recognized. Huge thanks to all of the people that have been integral in making that happen.”
Southwest Wine Center Groundbreaking
Like the others we interviewed, she’s hopeful the AVA will make the Verde Valley more of a wine destination. “It just brings more global recognition of our area and what we’re doing here,” says Bree. “Being recognized as an AVA might help bring some credibility to what we’re doing, which we obviously all believe in. But people who haven’t been here and experienced it, or tasted the wines might not put much validity to our wine making here. Maybe now that we have an AVA, people may be a little bit more receptive.” Bree moved to the area in late 2012, and says she’s excited to see what the future holds for the region. She says she’s that although this is a big step, there’s still more work to be done. Bree is hopeful that the AVA will provide a stepping stone to getting more grants. “I’m just really excited to be a part of it. I’m grateful that I came in to this industry when I did and got to see the growth that’s happened so far, and I can’t wait to see what happens in the future,” says Bree. “It just gives validity to what we’re doing and highlights that there is a unique area that we’re growing grapes in here. We’re making really quality wines.” In the future, expect to start seeing sign on the highway mentioning the AVA.
