Our Story

How did we end up on a 10-acre parcel of land in Southern Arizona in the spring of 2004, planting wine grapes with the expectation of making fine wine for 2007? The journey began years ago, when Tim made dandelion wine during high school and hid it from his parents in his bedroom closet. Joan came on board when she and Tim fell in love as 18 year-olds with romantic talk of one day living off the land in rural America. Then there was the move from New England to the California bay area, and frequent trips to what was then the young pioneering wine country of Napa Valley.

We postponed our dream during 20 years of busy professional life and raising two children. Still, wherever we traveled we visited local small wineries and talked with the owners, all the while assessing our own possibilities. For 15 years Tim made wine in our basement with his friend, Bob Willis. Some of it was darn good! The pivotal time was during our 6-month sabbatical in Arizona’s White Mountains in 2001. Our children were grown, we were ready for change, the terrorist attacks of September 11th reminded us of our mortality, and most importantly, we discovered the wineries of Sonoita, Arizona. After talking with the Callaghans of Callaghan Vineyards and tasting their wines, we decided to throw our normally cautious selves to the wind and buy 10 acres of pristine grassland.

We began with 3 acres of Syrah, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Tempranillo grapes which we were able to plant with the help of our children and friends. Our experimental vineyard is planted in Zinfandel, Riesling, and Gewurtztraminer. This spring, 2008, we planted the upper 3 acres with more Tempranillo and also Grenache. We have also been very fortunate to find good grape sources from Southern Arizona to supplement our own. On September 22, 2007 our dream of opening a winery was realized when we opened our tasting room.