Drinking Arizona wine outside on a spring day in Cottonwood is our idea of a truly heavenly way to spend an afternoon. Luckily that fantasy comes to life every spring at the Verde Valley Wine Festival, which will be held on May 11 at Riverfront Park in Cottonwood from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. “If you’re a wine person, then you can’t beat it. And there’s nothing like this in Cottonwood,” says Paula Woolsey, director and co-host of the Verde Valley Wine Festival. The Verde Valley Wine Consortium and the city of Cottonwood and the Verde Valley Wine Festival, Inc. are all putting on this event.
About 23 wineries from all across Arizona will all be pouring their wines underneath big tents so attendees don’t have to stand in the sunshine. Guests can look forward to live music by What’s the Big Idea and The Well Dressed Wolves. Food trucks and vendors will also be selling food and goods. Vendor-wise, look forward to individuals selling art and jewelry. Food trucks that are slated to be there include Bachelor’s Pad BBQ, Merkin Vineyards Kebab Wagon and Rockin Rollz Lobster and Sushi. One unique offering is that Verde Valley Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a studio owned by Merkin Vineyards owner Maynard James Keenan, will be doing demos.
The festival is aiming to capture the attention of even more people by offering not just wine, but beer, spirits, hard and regular kombucha from Wild Tonic and even non-alcoholic cocktails by Crafty Cask. This year, the festival will be doing a wine pull in honor of the owner of Burning Tree Cellars, Mitch Levy. He passed away in 2021. “We’ve really thought about everybody. It’s a real diverse offering,” says Paula. The festival was founded back in 2016. According to Paula, the event’s original intent was to showcase Arizona’s wine industry and support Yavapai College’s viticulture program. That mission is largely unchanged. This year’s festival supports three different Arizona wine associations: Arizona Wine Growers Association, Verde Valley Wine Consortium and the Arizona Vignerons Alliance. The festival brings together a variety of wine makers in one place. “It’ll be a beautiful day at the park. Come tastes all these wineries you won’t get an opportunity to taste unless you go to places like Kingman and Wilcox or Phoenix,” says Paula. – Teresa K. Traverse
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