2013 Summer Update

AS LONG AS THERE IS WINE, WE CONSIDER IT A VACATION!

That is what we told our friends, family and ranch guests who helped us so much. We sold the guest ranch at the end of 2012 but are still making wine at Juniper Well Ranch.    Our wine making company is now called Tough Country Winery inspired by Frank Bonham's book, Tough Country.

We really need to thank those that have given us so much support over the years as we became wine-makers, Rick & Rosie Hartner  are always there to figure out a machine, pick grapes,bring food, move equipment...you name it.  Houston Spalding helped us plant most of the vines. with friends and neighbors, especially the Lewis's, The Painted Ladies, Fiona Reid and Jodi Padgett.  Jeff and Jenn Herbert (Logan and Luke)are like family now and help us with our wine making whenever we call.  Vicente Larios is officially one of the "Vineros" and has participated in every step.John and Joyce Spicer and family, Dale and Betsann Copeland,
Jerry and Sandy Rasmussins, Erica Lindsey, Steve, Karen and Chris, Leslie & Mark from LBell, and finally our family... Dustin Bonham, Kyle Seyler, Korey Seyler, Bethany Hogan, all of the Hooper family, and the Burns family- We love you all and could not have done it without you.  You are tough characters.

Here Come Cowboys and Hot Tamales- December 17 & 18

It's an free evening of live music, gourmet tamales just for our wine club members ( others $20.00 per person). Come pick up your 2010 wine- Our Cabernet Sauvignon (Night Raid) and Syrah (Snake Track) are both delicious. The cab is fruit forward smooth and a runaway favorite. The syrah is peppery with cherry notes. Call and RSVP 928 442-3415

Here Come Cowboys and Hot Tamales- December 17 & 18

It's an free evening of live music, gourmet tamales just for our wine club members ( others $20.00 per person). Come pick up your 2010 wine- Our Cabernet Sauvignon (Night Raid) and Syrah (Snake Track) are both delicious. The cab is fruit forward smooth and a runaway favorite. The syrah is peppery with cherry notes. Call and RSVP 928 442-3415

Nature has been hard on us but Life is Good

2011 is the year we opened our Tough Country Winery at Juniper Well Ranch. It is open on weekends and serving some of our delicious AZ Merlot, delicate estate Tempranillo, and rugged Red Belly Red blend.

We just finished planting 600 Tempranillo and our new varietal, Malbec. We are optimistic, these own rooted plants from Inland Desert in Washington state will thrive...

The 2010 winter in Skull Valley was once again very harsh with a low of 0 at one point, lots of high winds intermingled with spring-like winter days. Our vines were very confused and finally gave up the ghost. Our 6-year old vineyard was almost completely replanted today with own rooted Tempranillo and Malbec. Last year after another vineyard was almost completely devastated we tried own-rooted rather than grafted- Most of them survived Skull Valley's crazy winter/spring so we think this might be the answer. Most of our previous winter kill was around the graft.

Tough Year for Vines-2010

This spring we have had to replace about 80% of our south vineyard and 25% of our original vineyard due to frost, wrong rootstock and possible crown gall (ouch). We are trying own rooted vines now hoping to eliminate losses that seem to start at the graft. We lost almost all of our Grenache, all of our Cab Franc and quite a bit of our Tempranillo, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The whites do better. Just a few Sauv Blanc and Pino Grigio had to be replaced. We also decided to try Malbec since our conditions are similar to Argentina.

Wine Tasting at Juniper Well Ranch & Vineyards

Dave and Linda are now hosting wine tastings on the Fiesta Patio at Juniper Well Ranch. If you would like to be invited to our events please contact us through our website, www.juniperwellranch .com. Click on the vineyard tab and ask to be added to our mailing list. If you would like to RSVP to our next event you can click below the vineyard photos and reserve a spot. Our next tasting is May 23, 12:30-2:30, "Lunch and Learn". Dave, Linda, and Dustin will give an overview of winemaking on a small scale, wine appreciation and offer a tour of our winery in the barn. The winetasting is $10.00 for winetasting (members free) and $10.00 for a very special box lunch.

We began making wine in 2008 and are now ready to sell our handcrafted wines with label art from Frank Bonham's westerns and from Juniper Well Ranch, where Frank retired and wrote several more novels. We now have 08 Cabernet Sauvignon, 08 Syrah, 08 Grenache, 08 Tempranillo (wine club members only), 07 Chardonnay with 09 Merlot, Tempranillo and Petite Syrah in barrels ready to be bottled.