Prior to the first Verde Valley Wine Festival, May 7, nearly 600 people had registered for the event — setting a precedent for future showings in Clarkdale.
“That’s not including at-the-door sales,” VVWF Event Coordinator Shelby Scheer said. “We’re close to selling out …. If this continues next year and the following years, we might outgrow Clarkdale Town Park. That’s not a bad thing. The goal is to attract people to come to Clarkdale.”
A Tucson event coordinator, Scheer admitted that she had not been overly familiar with Clarkdale before being asked to help with the VVWF. Now that she has become acquainted, however, she has come to the realization that it’s a “great little boutique community” with the potential to host premier events.
Scheer sees the VVWF as an ideal event to open the state’s annual wine season.
The VVWF hosted 17 wineries, four breweries and two spirits manufacturers — all hailing from Arizona. The wines were required to be made with grapes grown in the state.
In addition, nearly a dozen food vendors took part.
“The goal is clear that this has to be an Arizona festival: Arizona businesses, with the money staying in Arizona,” Scheer explained.
Scheer said that people are typically skeptical of investing in a new event, and the residents of Clarkdale are no different. “It’s a learning curve for the town …. When a new venture starts, it can feel like a black hole, but as we grow we’re going to bring dollars into the area.”
Keynote speakers for the event included Caduceus Cellars owner Maynard James Keenan, former Southwest Wine Center Director Nikki Bagley and current SWC Director Michael Pierce.
According to Keenan, a key figure not only in the Verde Valley’s winemaking industry but also in the VVWF’s creation, he has been all over the country promoting Arizona’s wines.
“One of the biggest push-backs is, ‘Why would you plant grapes in Arizona?’” Keenan said to laughter.
It is a common misconception, Bagley said during her address. The state is not ubiquitously desert. Much of its growing conditions mirror areas in Italy and Spain, making it possible for Arizona’s growers to produce varietals that might otherwise never make it across the Atlantic.
“The Verde Valley presents a great opportunity to pioneer wines for all of Arizona,” Bagley said.
Keenan agreed, saying that area wines help winemakers “express a place.” He promised that he and others would continue to make all the mistakes in order to learn, thus producing great wines.
