One Of Arizona's Largest Wineries Is Surrounded By Majestic Mountains With Scenery As Renowned As The Sips

Arizona is known for it's glorious desert landscape with sprawling cacti forests and the massive Grand Canyon. It's also become a favorite foodie destination, as Tucson is a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. But wine growing in the desert? While Arizona does get plenty hot, its high elevation areas (between 3,500 and 6,000 feet) are perfect for growing wine. Arizona has over a hundred wineries across three distinct regions: Verde Valley, Sonoita-Elgin, and Willcox.  Each has its own "terroir," the environment in which the grapes grow which impacts the flavor. As The Wine Economist writes, "Arizona wine is a premium product — there is no such thing as Arizona Two Buck Chuck."

Aridus Winery is one of the state's largest, located in the Willcox growing region in southeastern Arizona. It's a good place to start any wine exploration of the area. Formerly a 28,000-square-foot apple warehouse, the rustic and industrial building now houses oak barrels alongside state-of-the-art wine-making facilities. It's a working winery that gets especially busy during the harvest season from late summer through to October. So, if you want to visit, make sure you call ahead to book a tour.

The Chiricahua and Pinaleño mountains surround the Willcox region, giving it an elevation perfect for growing grapes. Aridus grows its grapes on 40 acres set along Turkey Creek just outside of Willcox. With an elevation of 5,200 feet, the site provides warm days and cool nights with a semi-arid climate similar to Argentina. "It's absolutely beautiful," Aridus owner Scott Dahmer told the Life Between the Vines podcast, "It has the Chiricahua mountains in the background...Turkey Creek that divides the property in half. It's just stunning, a stunning background."

Red grapes like this climate, particularly malbec, syrah, and cabernet sauvignon. Aridus also has whites like sauvignon blanc, viognier, and malvasia bianca. The vineyard sources drought-resistant varietals from Arizona, New Mexico, and California that can cope with the region's fluctuations in rain. In harvest season, grapes are picked at midnight and trucked in heaping crates to the winery early in the morning for processing. The facility crushes about 140 tons of grapes each year, with the vast majority harvested from their Turkey Creek vineyard.

Visitors who book a tour of the winery can learn about the art and science of winemaking. For those who simply want to enjoy the wine, Aridus has a wine-tasting room located less than a mile away from the winery. It offers flights of four wines to taste and compare, along with charcuterie boards for nibbling. There's a fireplace inside for chilly days and an outdoor patio with sweeping views of the Dos Cabezas mountains in the east. If Willcox is too far, Aridus also has a wine tasting room in Old Town Scottsdale, less than 10 miles from Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport.

For more on the local wine growing industry, you can visit in May when the Willcox Wine Festival is in full swing. There is a schedule of tasting events and opportunities to meet winemakers. If you're planning a day of visiting wineries and need a place to stay, Rose's Motel is a family-run 1950s vintage motel that's been lovingly refurbished. It offers simple, clean rooms with friendly service. For food, locals swear by La Unica for a sit-down Mexican meal and Adolfo's Taco Shop for a quick food pick-up. If you want to keep exploring more of Arizona and the Chiricahua Mountains, you can keep heading south to the charming border town of Douglas, home to America's first international airport.