News from Canelo Hills
International award for Canelo Hills
December 1, 2011:
For the third year in a row, Canelo Hills won a Silver medal in the International Women's Wine Competition.
The 2008 Sangiovese Select was awarded the silver by an all-female panel of industry experts: winemakers, buyers, and chefs.
The 2008 Sangiovese Select is comprised of 100% Brunello Clone Sangiovese (also known as Sangiovese Grosso) and aged for nearly three years in a mixture of neutral and one year-old American and French Oak barrels. It has wonderful red fruit aromas and flavors and very smooth tannins. Look for it to be released in late Winter 2012.
To view all the competition results click here.
Canelo Hills wines win honors in statewide competition
November 21, 2011:
Canelo Hills won 3 prizes in the second annual Arizona Republic Wine Competition. Chosen from many entries of wines produced by winemakers throughout Arizona, the Canelo Hills 2010 Riesling and 2009 Finale dessert wine were awarded Bronze Medals, and the 2010 Riesling was selected as Judge's Favorite by Carlos Batista of Westin Kierland Resort and Spa. The competition took place October 24 and 25 in Scottsdale, and the 16-judge panel was made up of sommeliers and wine experts from some of the state's finest restaurants.
For a list of all winners, click here. The Riesling has very limited availability, for pruchase only in the Canelo Hills tasting room. The Finale will be released in Spring 2012.
Sparkling Wine Release Nov. 25-27
November 1, 2011:
Our limited-release Sparkling Wines will go on sale Thanksgiving weekend, November 25-27. These wines are painstakingly crafted by Tim in the traditional Méthode Champenoise, undergoing their bubble-inducing secondary fermentation in the bottle. We will again have two versions, the crisp and refreshing Sparkling Chardonnay and the brilliantly pink Sparkling Nebbiolo Rosé. As usual, these wines will only be available between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Get yours in our tasting room or order online.
Vineyard makes a comeback
August 17, 2011:
The Canelo Hills Vineyard has made an extraordinary recovery from the weather events of last summer and winter. The vines that survived the golf-ball-sized hail and repeated hard freezes are healthy and thriving. The 2011 harvest will produce a small but intense batch of red wines, and we expect a return to normal production in 2012. For further details and photos of the vines and fruit, read Farmer Joan's blog posting here.
White Wines released for summer
May 31, 2011:
We launched four new white wines during our Memorial Day weekend release event. Customer response was enthusiastic to all four wines from the 2010 harvest: the youthfully direct and fruity Viognier, the dry Riesling with tastes of pineapple, lemon-lime, and apple, the sparklingly clear Pinot Grigio, and the fragrant and beautiful Gewürztraminer. The tasting room was busy with regulars and newcomers alike who took home our crisp dry whites, perfect for sipping on those hot Arizona summer days. Click here for release weekend photos on our blog.
Canelo Hills in Wine Spectator
April 18, 2011:
Canelo Hills was featured in Wine Spectator magazine as one of three Wineries to Visit in their travel article about the Tucson area. The article in the May issue describes Tucson as a world-class destination and features Canelo Hills as well as Callaghan Vineyards and Dos Cabezas WineWorks.
Click here to read the article (you'll need to be a WS subscriber to access it) or run out and buy your copy of the May issue while it's still in stores. If you can't do either you'll miss the great travel article about our beautiful part of the world, but here's what it has to say about Canelo Hills:
A small and relatively new winery, Canelo Hills is run by the Mueller family. Tim makes the wine from grapes grown by his wife, Joan. The winery is in a utilitarian metal barn. Wine tasting at Canelo Hills can be a no-frills experience, but that's part of its charm. The Muellers make a little of everything, from sparkling wine to Malvasia. Most notable are the Syrah and Tempranillo, ripe and spicy wines made from the vineyard just behind the winery.
--Tim Fish, "A Taste of Tucson: The desert beckons and a cache of wineries lies nearby," Wine Spectator, May 31, 2011.
More medals for Canelo Hills
April 11, 2011:
Canelo Hills wines won two medals in the 2011 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition held March 26-27, 2011 in Rochester, NY. Among the 3500+ entries from all 50 states and 42 countries, our 2008 Estate Tempranillo earned a silver medal, and the 2008 Estate Syrah was awarded a bronze.
This is an international competition that was judged in a blind tasting format (wines were grouped by variety but judges do not know the origin of the wines they are tasting). The judges were selected from sommeliers, industry experts, experienced wine judges and wine/food professionals from the USA, Canada and 10 other countries.
It was the first time we entered Canelo Hills wines in this competition and we're proud to display our new medals in the tasting room. Even prior to these awards the wines have been selling quickly, so come and get yours before they're gone.
Whites on the way
February 1, 2011:
We're planning to release our 2010 White Wines on Memorial Day weekend. Join us for a fantastic lineup of crisp wines, just in time for sipping them during the warm summer months in Arizona. This year's batch includes Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, and Viognier. If you want to read more about each wine, read Tim's blog posting from December when he reported on their progress.