February 14th - This Date in Wine History

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Wine has a long established history of being our drink of choice for celebrating, entertaining, and savoring life; but it didn't start out that way. From the invention of the barrel to the designation of the separate viticultural areas, wine has a long and sorted history.  In our daily feature "This Date In Wine History," we share an event of critical importance in wine history.

  • Happy Valentine’s Day.  St. Valentine has no reference to wine history, but sweethearts often toast their love with wine or Champagne!  Cheers!

  • Oregon was admitted to the Union in 1859.  It is home to the Applegate Valley, Chahalem Mountains, Columbia Gorge, Columbia Valley, Dundee Hills, Elkton Oregon, Eola-Amity Hills, McMinnville, Red Hills Douglas County Oregon,  Ribbon Ridge, The Rocks of Milton-Freewater, Rogue Valley,  Snake River Valley, Southern Oregon, Umpqua Valley, Walla Walla, Willamette Valley and Yamhill-Carlton

  • Arizona was admitted to the union in 1912.  It is home to the Sonoita and Willcox viticultural areas.

  • Drew Bledsoe was born in 1972.  He is owner of Doubleback Wines in Walla Walla Washington.

  • New Mexico's Mesilla Valley AVA was designated in 1985

  • The Côte Roannaise AOC was named in 1994

  • The Bulgarian’s celebrate Trifon Zarezan (Vineyard Day).  It is an ancient custom that was Christianized but previously offered to Sabazius, Dionysius, Bromius, Bacchus and Lycurgus.  The vines are trimmed, watered with wine and thrown into the River.  Later a meal of chicken (specifically a hen) stuffed with rice or bulgar is served.

  • The French have a saying, « Vigneron à la Saint-Valentin, doit avoir serpette en main. » which translates to "Winemakers on Valentine's Day, must have a serpette in hand.” (a serpette is an agricultural knife) 

Willcox - Wine Region of the Day

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WILLCOX

Map of the Willcox wine region by Gretchen Miller Neuman for Qorkz.

Arizona is generally considered to be a hot and dry place.  But even in Arizona vineyards flourish.  The Willcox viticultural area is one of those areas.  It was established in September 2016 is located east of Tucson around the city of Willcox.and is 526,000 acres in size with 26 commercial vineyards operating.  

The topography of the region is a shallow basin that is surrounded by the Chiricahua, Dos Cabezas, Pinalenos, Dragoon, Little Dragoon, and Winchester Mountains and is not fed by any waterways.  The water source for irrigation in the area comes from rain water that falls primarily during the monsoon season of July and August (editors note:  monsoons produce spectacularly terrifying lightning.... also, keep your gas tank full in the desert trust me).  

The soils in the Willcox AVA are loams produced wind and water born particles which allow for the heavy rains from the monsoon to drain readily into the aquifer below.  While the soils were formed in the same manner they are not uniform throughout the appellation.  They are influenced by the specific geology of the surrounding volcanic mountain ranges.

The climate of the region is effected by the topography.  Flat vineyards receive almost uniform sunshine which makes canopy management essential.  While many vineyards must remove leaves to assure that the fruit receives sufficient sunlight, Willcox vineyards must balance that with the need to protect the grapes from sunburn.  Temperatures in the basin are warmer that locations at higher elevations. Cool air does drain down the mountain which allows the grapes to develop fuller flavors during the growing season but can cause frost damage during the cold season.  

Grapes produced in the region include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Mourvedre, Riesling, Sangiovese and Sauvignon Blanc.