Last weekend on our trip to Sedona, my husband and I really wanted to check out some of the wineries that they have in the area. Jerome and Sedona wine tours are like the top thing to do for wine lovers in our area, so it was a must for us on our little getaway.
There are actually quite a few companies to book through it you do not want to just tour on your own, and actually want the full experience of a group wine tour. We went through Arizona Winery Tours, and I am so glad that we did! Our driver was absolutely the best and the group of 16 others that we went with really made the who experience more fun.
On this tour, you get to stop at three different wineries in the Sedona/Page/Cornville area, and on our tour we also got a picnic lunch in between (which a lot of companies don’t offer). After all of that wine, food was a necessity!
Not only that, but there were mimosas on the bus as soon as we got on in the morning, and cheese plates for the drives in between! It was really a great time.
I picked up a bottle of wine from each of the wineries that we visited and I will be reviewing each of those next week on Wine Wednesday.
Sedona Wine Tours
The first winery on our tour was Page Springs Cellars. This was the largest and the most commercialized of all of the wineries that we toured, and I think it was the most enjoyable experience overall.
The staff member that helped us was probably one of the sweetest girls ever, and she just so happened to be extremely knowledgable about each and every wine.
We got to taste 5 different wines each; either all whites, all reds, or a combo of the two. I chose the combination and my husband did the reds. Neither of them disappointed us, although I am a much bigger fan of the reds than whites in general.
The grounds were gorgeous. We got to walk around and see everything for ourselves, which was nice. I am not a huge fan of guided tours where you don’t get to see much. The views from their patio and from the start of the vineyard were just stunning.
The next place up on our tour was Oak Creek Vineyards Winery. This one was probably the smallest operation of the three, but it was neat because the atmosphere was much different.
Here, they only age their wine in stainless steel barrels, not in oak. This was something that I hadn’t heard a lot about so it was really interesting to taste the wine. We, again, got to pick 5 different wines to try out off of their lists of reds, whites, and dessert wines.
This one had the most charm, in my opinion. They sold a lot of different wine-themed items like t-shirts and napkins, which I loved! They also had a lot of fun signs like this one hanging all around. The grounds were a little bit smaller here and we could not walk around to see as much.
The final winery that we stopped at was Javelina Leap Winery. This may have been the most memorable because I learned so much out of this visit.
They had a few buildings including the tasting room, the cellar, and a small restaurant area. I loved the atmosphere that they had built.
Here, they do their tastings individually. You can pick however many you want out of all of their wines, and then they pour them in the order that they think goes the best depending on the flavors. We tried all of them:)
The best part of the experience here was getting to tour the cellar and hear more about the wine making process. Our tour driver, who again was just amazing, lead us and another couple through the cellar and explained how their wine aging and storage process works.
Some fun facts we learned while we were there:
- A sommelier tastes the wine. The winemaker tastes the actual grape.
- White wines convert to lactic acid in the body.
- Winemakers look for about a 3.4 on the acid scale for a good wine. They also look for grapes that contain about 25% sugar, because this will give them the ideal 14% alcohol.
- When looking for a grape that is ready, they only choose those that have brown seeds, no green seeds.
- Oak barrels are usually used for up to 4 years. After that, they can be broken down and remade into new barrels with the same oak. The person that does this can also make miniature barrels of that oak at the same time.
The wine tour was hands down one of the best parts of our trip. If you are in the area, I highly suggest checking a tour like this one out for yourself. We had a really wonderful time, brought home some great wine, and met some amazing people!
Have you ever been on a wine tour?
*Cheers to a day spent in bliss, drinking wine*
Umm those wineries look amazing. I need a wine trip in my life!
xo
Lee Anne
http://lifebylee.com/
I’m already ready for my next one:)
This looks like a great experience
So jealous — I love going on wine tours. I haven’t been to one in Arizona — Ill have to plan a trip. Thanks for the inspiration!
Yes, you will! Thanks for stopping by:)
Great photos! I love wine tours. I don’t think I have ever actually had a wine from Arizona before. I’ll have to see if I can scope some out at our local wine shops!
Marlynn @ UrbanBlissLife recently posted…Wine Bliss: Seattle Wine & Food Experience Grand Tasting
I am reviewing three of the bottles I brought home next Wednesday:) You’ll have to come check it out and see if they sound good to you!
I went on a huge family trip with my husband’s family to Santa Barbara (he was still my boyfriend back then) and we went on a huge wine tour.. on tandem bikes. It was SO much fun but we totally just drank all the wine and didnt pay much attention. This looks amazing.. I would love to go again.
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They are like my new favorite thing to do!
My husband really wanted to rent bikes… but I turned it down. I haven’t ridden one in years!
Oh, we love Sedona wineries! Such fun! Now I want to go back!! 🙂
They were really gorgeous!
So jealous! I could use a wine trip in my life 🙂 these are beautiful wineries
Looks amazing! Just a little jealous! xx
I’ve always wanted to visit a vinyard and I don’t drink- that would be fun to see wouldn’t it? I’d be knocked out after one taste! lol
Sounds like a great time drinking wine and learning a few things about it too! I enjoyed reading those interesting facts. Wine tours are the best; sometimes you find treasures you might never have had a chance to taste.
This looks so fun! I love vineyards , they are stunning. I am doing a trip to San Fran next month and it includes a wine tour , I’m soooo excited! This will be my very first. Cannot wait
Danielle Greco | AccordingtoD.com
It was a lot of fun! I hope your wine tour is amazing as well:)
Ooooo looks Like you had a fabulous time gurlieeeee!!!! But again how could you not since you were surrounded by wine 😉
Haha I know right? Thanks for stopping by!
Look like all three wineries were amazing! I took a tour similar to yours when I was in San Francisco. I had such an amazing time and our driver was great as well. If I go back to California, I will be taking another wine tour for sure. My favorite winery was the Madonna Estates. It was smaller but everyone was so knowledgeable.
Looks like I need to make another trip to Arizona!
Wow, I never really took the time to appreciate the wine-making experience. It is truly a beautiful thing! We have a few vineyards around here that I want to hit once I feel better!
Jennifer Corter recently posted…On Hobbies And Distractions In Chronic Illness
Looks like the perfect way to spend a weekend. Embarrassingly, I am just learning about wines and I live in Temecula home of a ton of great wineries. I think what has prevented me is the idea that there is a stigma out there against novice wine drinkers. I’ve always felt inadequate when I am talking to the person serving me the tastings. Now that I am a little older I don’t really care as much and I am excited about learning more 😉
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Oh I bet they have one really good wines in your area! I love learning from the sommeliers and the people that have worked at the wineries for a long time.