By Lizbeth Conguisti, The Sassy Sommelier

One of the side benefits of being a wine taster is the opportunity to travel.  Sometimes that means jumping on an airplane to visit the vineyards in Europe, Australia and elsewhere.  Other times it is a relatively short car ride.

Javelina Leap Vineyards

Several weeks ago my husband, Bob, and I ventured to the Jerome/Cottonwood area to visit several of the local Arizona wineries.

It took us about an hour and 45 minutes straight up Route 17 North to Exit 287 toward Cottonwood/Payson to reach AZ Wine Country.  (Best you map quest or use your GPS for specific directions.) Our first stop was the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce at 1010 South Main Street, Cottonwood, AZ (928-634-7593).  They have a wealth of information on the local wineries, places to stay and restaurants.

After leaving the chamber we headed out to visit Oak Creek Cellars located at 1555 North Page Spring Road, Cornville, AZ (928-649-0290).  The staff welcomed us with open arms.  Not only is the tasting room for tasting wines, they feature some very neat urns and pottery from a local artist.  The tasting room is open from 10 am to 6 pm daily.  The cost is $ 5.00 for 4 tasting samples of wine.  They currently have a couples tasting special which includes 8 samples and a cheese platter for $20.00.

On our visit this time, we sampled all white wines.  The 2008 Chardonnay fermented in stainless steel was a welcome relief to the hot sun of the afternoon with hints of tropical fruit and pineapple.

The 2008 Fume Blanc had a touch of acidity with a little burnt aftertaste.  We would have liked to have this wine with a charbroiled salmon or sword fish.

The Viognier with its deep golden color and essence of olives and herbs is a perfect match for a cheese plate with herb crackers.

Prices ranged from $22 to $26 per bottle.

Our next stop was the Javelina Leap Vineyard and Winery.  The two tasting rooms sit side by side but you must move your car from one winery to the other.  Just outside the tasting room they have vines growing so you can see the difference in the size of wine grapes vs. regular Thompson Seedless which most of us are used to seeing at the grocery store.

Javelina recently moved the barrel room and created a new tasting room with an awesome bar.  The new expanded bar is much more spacious and the atmosphere is perfect to enjoy your tasting.

Here we tasted the 2009 Estate Zinfandel with great deep color and nice mellow tannins making it easy to drink now.  The flavor of deep fruit came out with a nice lingering finish.  We’d love to have this wine with a cherry glazed pork roast or even Thanksgiving dinner.

We are looking forward to visiting Javelina Leap Vineyards again and tasting more of their wines.

With the excellent directions we received from the Cottonwood Chamber of Commerce, we headed into downtown Cottonwood to visit the new Pillsbury Wine Tasting Room at 1012 North Main Street, Old Town Cottonwood, AZ (928-639-0646).

We’ve tasted Pillsbury many times and love the Diva a blend of Mourvedre, Petite Sirah and Syrah.

Luscious is the best term to describe how this wine feels in your mouth and the taste it gives you.  It’s full bodied and really needs roasted chicken, pasta with red sauce or a nice juicy beef roast for us to fully enjoy and appreciate this single-vineyard gem.

Next month we’ll tell you more about our visit to Jerome, AZ.

Enjoy the cooler weather.

Happy Sipping

Sassy Sommelier

www.sassysommelier.com