In Southeastern Arizona, the Chiricahua, one of the state’s highest-elevation mountain ranges, peaks at just under 9,800 feet. Several grape growers and wineries populate the westward area, which is known as the Chiricahua Foothills, southeast of Willcox.

In 2016, Willcox became Arizona’s second American Viticultural Area (AVA)—a federally designated wine-grape-growing area recognized for its unique conditions. Soil type, elevation and weather are only some of the factors taken into consideration during the evaluation process. Today Arizona has three AVAs: Sonoita, Willcox and Verde Valley.

When the Willcox AVA petition was filed, it also contained a petition requesting a separate AVA distinction for the Chiricahua Foothills. The Chiricahua application wasn’t accepted because the responsible federal agency, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, decided the location was too similar to Willcox.

However, this question remains debatable. While the petition failed to demonstrate the unique geography of the Chiricahua region, today a small group of growers are working to refile the application. They argue that several factors distinguish the Chiricahua Foothills from Willcox, including higher elevation, more annual rainfall and different wind patterns.

Each distinct wine-growing region requires different viticultural practices. Sun exposure, wind patterns and soil type all influence a grower’s choice of which grape varieties to plant and farming methods to utilize.

Jeff Hendricks, Alex King and Torin Hodge, three separate grape growers in the Chiricahua Foothills, have spent considerable time deciding how to farm in high-elevation desert terrain surrounded by shrub and grassland.

Jeff Hendricks, formerly of Page Spring Cellars and Chateau Tumbleweed

After a successful career in Silicon Valley, Jeff Hendricks moved to Arizona in 2008. Although he lacked viticultural experience, Hendricks was quickly hired by Maynard James Keenan of Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards.

His time with Keenan, though brief, gave him a foot in the vineyards. He then joined the team at Page Spring Cellars and within a few years became their director of vineyard operations, overseeing an expansion of about 30 acres.

In 2011, Hendricks and some friends started Chateau Tumbleweed, where his primary role was fruit acquisition. Tumbleweed doesn’t own any vineyards; Hendricks said they purchase approximately 100 tons of grapes from Willcox each year. He left Page Spring Cellars in 2015 to focus exclusively on Chateau Tumbleweed.

“I’m mainly a vineyard guy,” Hendricks said. “I had no training in vineyards at all; I just learned it on the job.”

Several years ago, Hendricks was helping his friend Alex King, owner of Red Tree Ranch Vineyard in the Chiricahua Foothills, when he saw a six-acre parcel nearby was for sale.

He purchased the property in 2022, drawn to the area’s beauty and its stable water table. According to Hendricks, the major challenges to cultivating grapes in the Chiricahuas are cold and frost, which can occur late into spring at higher elevations. At around 5,000 feet, the area is significantly higher than the Sulphur Springs Valley where Willcox is located and where approximately three fourths of Arizona’s wine grapes are grown.

There are also many upsides. The higher elevation, cooler weather and lack of monoculture creates less “pest pressure” on the vines, necessitating fewer pesticides. The soil also has greater-than-average acidity for a region where the pH level is typically higher—more alkaline than is ideal for wine grapes.

In spring of 2024, Hendricks planted an acre of Barbera and a half-acre of Verdelho. Barbera is an Italian grape most commonly found in Northern Italy’s Piedmont region and, per Hendricks, is “a real acid bomb.”

“Generally, in grape growing, if you’re in a hot climate, you’re going to have low acid,” Hendricks explained. “The sun takes away the acid.”

Although the Chiricahua Foothills is cooler than other grape-growing areas in the state, Southern Arizona is still a warm climate where fruit can struggle to retain acidity. Grapes that are naturally higher in acid mitigate that effect, resulting in more balanced wines.

The other varietal planted on his acreage is Verdelho, a Portuguese grape best known for its use in Madeira, a dessert wine intentionally maderised, or heated and oxidized, to achieve its unique flavor. He intends to make a dry, still wine from Verdelho, which is also naturally higher in acid.

To farm responsibly in a desert climate, Hendricks stressed the importance of managing inputs: the numerous materials and resources used in any farming operation.

“I’m not chasing organics as much as I’m chasing just low inputs,” he explained.

Over-irrigation or unnecessary application of nutrient fertilizers are examples of inputs Hendricks avoids, simply through efficient use and timing. In place of pesticides, he relies on native vegetation and beneficial insects to mitigate pests and diseases, which spread faster in monoculture operations if left unimpeded.

“I have much more of a minimalist approach and try not to disturb any of the land that’s not the vineyard,” he said. “I’m a big believer that I want to keep as much of this area untouched as possible. Just let things kind of grow wild.”

Alex King, Red Tree Ranch Vineyard

King credits Hendricks for introducing him to viticulture. When he decided to purchase his own vineyard, Hendricks toured properties with him to help assess site and soil conditions and consulted for him afterwards. King said Hendricks never asked him for a dime in return.

“He’s just that interested and passionate about expanding the footprint in Arizona,” King said. “I can confidently say that I don’t know that I’d be where I’m at today in the world of viticulture without [Hendricks].”

Previous owners of King’s land planted Syrah and Fiano grapes in 2010 and 2013. He has since expanded the growing area to six acres and planted the Aglianico, Barbera, Greco and Carignan varietals.

Apart from Carignan, the expansion focused on Italian grapes native to Southern Italy’s Campania region. Like Hendricks, King believes grapes with naturally lower pH are well-suited for producing acid-driven, balanced Arizona wines.

King said his experience in viticulture taught him how chemically intensive the practice—and agriculture in general—can be. For that reason, he was adamant about farming his own property organically, without herbicides and using the fewest possible inputs. Still, he is mindful to acknowledge he has the benefit of farming only six acres. Managing weeds with a shovel and rake on his land is economical but is far more difficult at scale.

King fell in love with Southern Arizona and the Chiricahuas during his time at Colibri, one of Arizona’s highest-elevation vineyards at over 5,300 feet.

Located on the eastern range of the Chiricahuas, it lies opposite Red Tree Ranch in the western foothills outside Pearce. The site was an apple orchard for decades before being converted to a vineyard. King said it was there he learned one of the Chiricahuas’ greatest strengths: airflow.

“We have enough airflow, and the temperature and the environment is conducive, that you don’t have to spray [pesticides] all year if you manage the canopy correctly,” King said.

Grapevines are notoriously vigorous and if not trained they will form dense, heavy leaf canopies. The canopy’s benefits are twofold: providing grapes with shade from the intense Arizona sun and protecting them from harsh winds during delicate growth stages like flowering. In the 2024 vintage, for example, strong winds caused some of King’s Fiano to shatter—the term used when unfavorable weather causes bunches to ripen unevenly, or not at all.

A dense, thick canopy, on the other hand, will block both sunlight and airflow, retaining moisture and creating an ideal environment for harmful mold. King describes the “umbrella effect” that occurs when heavy rain saturates the ground and, as it evaporates, traps water under the leaf canopy.

Growers combat these conditions by applying pesticides to ward off fungus. Thanks to consistent airflow from wind and employing effective vineyard management techniques, Red Tree Ranch Vineyard did not use chemical pesticides last year.

King was drawn to Red Tree Ranch because he could apply techniques similar to those he learned at Colibri Vineyard. He explained that what he’s doing wasn’t his original idea, giving credit to Glomski of Page Spring Cellars, who had learned it from Colibri’s original owners.

“I’m just following the trail of what somebody said 30 years ago,” King said.

Torin Hodge, Day Trails Wines

In the 1980s, Torin Hodge’s grandmother purchased 40 acres near Turkey Creek in the Chiricahua Mountains. She planted an orchard and was also a schoolteacher in the area. Born in Bisbee, Hodge spent much of his childhood on his grandmother’s land. After high school, he learned to manage the property and care for the trees she planted.

Hodge studied biosystems engineering at the University of Arizona and works for a large plant-breeding company, where he’s learned more about plant genetics. He remembered his grandma saying quite a few vineyards were coming up near her property, and he figured the area was suitable for viticulture.

“I’ve always just kind of daydreamed about some kind of agricultural endeavor out there,” Hodge said.

Hodge learned about the work of Andrew Walker, a geneticist and professor of viticulture and enology at California’s UC Davis. Walker spent 20 years crossbreeding grapes to create five new hybrids resistant to Pierce’s Disease, a pathogen that costs the U.S. agriculture industry upwards of $100 million a year in losses.

Pierce’s Disease has been present since the domestic wine industry began in the 19^th century, although it was considered manageable. In the 1990s, an insect called the glassy-winged sharpshooter, native to the southeastern U.S. and northeastern Mexico, was introduced in California. The invasive pest became a prominent vector for Pierce’s, rapidly spreading the disease.

To create grapes resistant to Pierce’s, Walker crossbred Vitis vinifera, the major European vine used in winemaking, with Vitis arizonica, known by the common name “canyon grape” and found in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico.

The global wine industry is dominated by different varieties of the single Vitis vinifera species. Arizonica, however,is not widely cultivated, although it has historically been an important food source for Indigenous peoples across the Southwest. The native grapevine often grows along streams and inside shady Arizona canyons, providing food for wildlife. Importantly, it contains a natural genetic resistance to Pierce’s Disease.

Among the five hybrids created by Walker are Errante Noir, similar to Cabernet Sauvignon; Paseante Noir, similar to Zinfandel; and Caminante Blanc, which has characteristics of both Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

“I don’t know anybody else in Arizona who’s growing them,” Hodge said, “so I’m kind of taking that risk here, but I’ve got a good feeling about it.”

The Elgin-Sonoita area of Southern Arizona experienced a Pierce’s outbreak in the 1990s, and while there have been no major outbreaks since, the potential threat remains one of the most critical issues facing the state’s viticulture industry.

“We have so many different insects here that vectorize the bacteria that cause Pierce’s Disease, like the spittle bug, and the blue-green and glassy-wing sharpshooters,” Hodge explained. “From my perspective, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before we see another outbreak.”

While Pierce’s Disease can be managed by applying pesticides or tearing out infected vines, according to Hodge, another option is to plant hybrids that are resistant to it.

The hybrids Walker created at UC Davis contain only a small percentage of arizonica, most importantly the dominant gene necessary for resistance to Pierce’s, but Hodge believes there may be more potential for the native grapevine.

“It seems like it could be a key to reducing the water usage even further on some of these vines,” he said, “because in the wild, the arizonica is incredibly low vigor. It just grows so slowly. It buds really late in the season.”

Over the past few years, he’s been propagating wild samples of the plant to assess its long-term potential for breeding and rootstock. Hodge describes it as a decades-long project, but one that could yield interesting results.

For now, he is in the process of securing his farm winery license to sell wine made from his grapes under the Day Trails label.

Like Hendricks and King, Hodge believes in letting the surrounding environment flourish with endemic plants like sagebrush and native grasses to behave as cover crops—enhancing the soil, biodiversity, and reversing nitrogen deficiency.

Hodge said great horned owls, kestrels and red-tail hawks frequent the property. He installed tall fence posts as perches for the raptors, who act as pest control against gophers and field mice.

A variety of bird species line up in the mornings to drink from his drip irrigation and have even broken emitters by pecking at them. He noted that many growers inject fertilizer into their drip systems to feed the vines, but seeing how the birds rely on it for water, he decided against it.

“I’m trying to take things slow and just sort of observe.”