Oak Creek Vineyards [October 2020]

Day trips to Jerome, Cottonwood, Cornville, and/or Camp Verde areas are all the rage for wine drinking/seeking enthusiast!! You see, there are more a just a couple places to check out in each town that make it worth the drive. My very good friend Lindsey Dell, a favorite scrub tech of mine, who I met on one of my first assignments here in Arizona [Banner Del Webb to be exact] and I hit it right off while working together. I was only there for 13 weeks, but we kept in touch and eventually [when we realized our mutual love for wine and wine tasting] we started to see each other outside of work.

On this beautiful day in October, shortly after we got back to Phoenix [after a lovely Washington summer] we took a day trip like I mentioned above. Shawn and I picked Lindsey up at a predetermined meeting location and we headed North for a day of wine tasting!! By this time I had visited my fair share of wineries and tasting rooms in Arizona, and I believe Oak Creek was one of our final stops before heading back. Who knew there was an actual vineyard at this winery!? I mean lots of places are called wineries or even vineyards and they turn out to just be a tasting room. So exciting!!  

In the early 2000’s Deb Wahl and her family planted Oak Creek Vineyards on 11 acres of ground. This parcel sits roughly 500 feet from Oak Creek itself, at about 3,400 feet in elevation. Oak Creek is one of Arizona’s only natural and year-round bodies of water. The Winery is shaded by the House Mountains, and the soil is mostly volcanic with some loam, [a balanced mixture of sand, silt, and clay, along with some organic matter] and gravel. Oak Creek Vineyard was one of Verde Valley’s first wineries and tasting rooms, and they helped establish this area as a premier wine destination.

In February of 2020, Nathalie and Gary Carruthers purchased the vineyard. Coming from California, the they were already in love with small family-owned wineries and it was their dream to bring this feeling into Arizona with them. They believe that “sharing wine is just as important as the quality of the wine itself. “ The Carruthers' have hired the right people to help them bring their passion to life. Let's meet a couple. Adam Gingrich was hired as the all important winemaker. He is originally from Austin, Texas but moved to Napa to learn more about wine. He worked at several other wineries for about a decade to learn the business before finding his home at Oak Creek.

I really liked Abby Rothwell’s story… a Jersey girl working in restaurants since the age of 16, who after moving to Sedona tasted her first sip of Arizona wine. This inspired her to attend the viticulture [the study of grape cultivation] and enology [the study and science of wine and winemaking] program at Yavapai County College. She became head chef for Pillsbury Wine Company in Cottonwood, AZ where she honed her skills on farm to table style cuisine. Now that she has joined Oak Creek Vineyards, [as head chef] she is excited to be offer seasonal menus. They will soon start serving meals from the estate food truck, “The Tipsy Squirrel.” [which is also the team mascot!! LOL]

Most of the time I do some research and have a better idea of what to expect, I am pretty sure Oak Creek Vineyard was just in the area and near a few other places we were already going to visit. As I mentioned, we were a little surprised to see an actual vineyard when we rolled into the parking area. There is a beautiful patio and a nice selection of boards and other nosh [food] from the kitchen. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and winery; I actually can’t believe I haven’t been back yet. [I mean just look at that tasting flight below!!] Plus, I really want to see The Tipsy Squirrel!!

Today the winery produces around 3,000 cases of white and red Arizona wines per year. The owners Nathalie and Gary are loving life in Verde Valley, and they enjoy drinking their creative wines out on the patio, just like everybody else. They have also added more family members to the vineyard, a couple furry friends of the canine and feline varieties and some egg laying hens!!

Next week Wine with Wixy will be visiting Desert Rock Winery... one of those names that makes you think it will be a vineyard, but is really just a room in a store front for tasting wine!! [Haha!!] Come on back to meet another friend I am blessed to have in my life!!

Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!