From novelty to menu mainstay, Republic event offers a tasting of Arizona wine history and a taste of the wines

Some bottles had desert critters on their labels and names invoking the Old West. They would have looked at home in souvenir shops next to the Cactus Candy and scorpion paperweights. If only the souvenir shops would have stocked them.It’s an industry that started with modest aims, producing bottles whose chief achievement would be that they existed. A wine from Arizona -- how novel.

Instead, the bottles were mainly available in the twin towns of Sonoita and Elgin, scenic spots southeast of Tucson. And it was in those small towns along State Route 82 that Arizona wines began to evolve from novelty to notable.

A retired soil scientist from the University of Arizona, Gordon Dutt, planted vineyards as an experiment in the early 1970s and opened his winery in 1983. Dutt showed that grapes could be grown in the high desert and that wine could be made from those grapes — both achievements many still find implausible.

There is at least one winery in all 50 states, but most serious wine fans don't look much further than California, Oregon and Washington. And the last two are still iffy. Arizona’s wines were lumped in with all the other states, the ones where people didn’t expect wine could be made, and didn’t expect much from that wine.

That blackberry wine from Kentucky. The pineapple wine from Hawaii. The peach wine from Georgia. Arizona wines were like those. Cute. But not vital.

That would change when Kent Callaghan established his winery along Elgin Road.

WINNING WINES:Top-scoring Arizona wines from The Republic's 2015 competition

Callaghan, who holds a doctorate in philosophy, came to the area because his parents had bought land with the intent of planting a vineyard. Callaghan did not think much of the idea until he tried a cabernet sauvignon made at Dutt's Sonoita Vineyards. It showed promise. That sip changed his mind and the trajectory of his life.

He and his father, Harold, planted a vineyard in 1990. Three years later, Callaghan had enough confidence and guts to send his wines to noted wine critic Robert Parker.

Parker gave Callaghan’s wines high scores and rave reviews. He called it “one of the most interesting wineries in America.”

Arizona wines began getting more national recognition. And budding winemakers started buying land. Two areas grew in southern Arizona: The area near Callaghan’s vineyard and winery in Elgin, and the area south of Willcox. That area had a vineyard called Dos Cabezas and it was where Callaghan bought the grapes that made the wine Parker raved about.

GUIDES:Road trip to Arizona wineries | Map: Arizona wineries, wine-tasting rooms

Up north, there was another small group of wineries. In 2003, Eric Glomski established Page Springs Cellars in Cornville, a town south of Sedona and north of Cottonwood. His wines started attracting attention, including from a transplant, Maynard James Keenan, a Grammy-award-winning musician who wanted to plant his own vineyard in the area.

The two started a label, Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, and aimed for national distribution.

This second wave of pioneers learned from each other, about what varietals grew well in the Arizona climate and about wine-making techniques.

The desert motifs all but disappeared from the labels. Fewer tasting rooms specialized in sweet wines. Keeling-Schaefer Vineyards scored an 89-point score from Wine Spectator. Javelina Leap sold a bold Barbera for $70 a bottle.

Soon, chefs and sommeliers in the Phoenix area took notice. FnB, in Scottsdale, became the first restaurant to introduce an all-Arizona wine list. Arizona wines, by the bottle and by the glass, became more common in restaurants and resorts.

There was a third wave of winemakers attracted to the area: Sand-Reckoner, Rune, Chateau Tumbleweed, Saeculum Cellars.

Carlson Creek poured Arizona wines in France, as part of a tourism pitch. The writers scoffed at first, then kept coming back for samples.

ARIZONA WINES: New group seeks to promote wines, wineries

This month, a group of Arizona winemakers went to New York City, selling those restaurants on the unique offerings found here. Wines made from unique varietals like Malvasia Bianca and Tannat.

The 95 wineries in the state have won notice in national competitions and in international publications. They have moved past the novelty category and into the category of states producing notable and serious wines.

For a growing number of Arizonans, the wines have become fixtures in their wine racks. These fans seek out Arizona wine because it is unique, in a good way. It tastes and smells of the regions where it was grown. It does not try to copy the taste of a California chardonnay or merlot. Tasting rooms, up north and down south, see traffic from locals who have figured out that a visit to wine country is about two to three hours away and, in the summer, at least 10 to 20 degrees cooler.

And, those consumers have become ambassadors for the industry. They'll open a bottle for a wine-snob friend, one who thinks that the state’s wine is simply a novelty. Here, try this. Good, right?

It’s a wine made in Arizona.

Between the Vines: A night of Arizona wines

What: Join azcentral and the Arizona Republic for Between the Vines, an evening devoted to discussing, celebrating and sampling Arizona’s wines.

When: 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 19.

Where: The Phoenician, 6000 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix.

Your hosts: Republic reporters Garrett Mitchell and Richard Ruelas.

Admission: $35, which includes six wine samples, appetizers and music.

Details: Find more information and a link to buy tickets on azcentral.com.

On the program: 

• Kris Pothier of Chateau Tumbleweed will discuss the inspiration behind the artwork on the winery’s labels.
• James Callahan of Rune Winery will discuss the unusual investment he has made to build his own brand. Callahan is living in an Airstream trailer while planting his vineyard and building his winery.
• The founding members of the Arizona Vignerons Alliance will discuss the reasons for creating the group that seeks to promote quality and integrity in the state’s industry. They will also present the first collection of wines to be certified both Arizona-grown and of high quality.
• And a sommelier from the Phoenician will discuss the state’s wines and lead a seminar on overcoming any intimidation when ordering a bottle.