Vineyard Journal

What is a kitchen garden?

The tiny little olive trees are starting to get big.  It is very exciting to watch them grow.  Our olive harvest has started and we are learning so many new things.  It is very different from the grape harvest.  We are still very small with only 3 acres planted.  Hopefully that will change next spring as we are anticipating planting 5 more acres. Stay tuned!

As many of you know we moved to Willcox to start a vineyard.  Our goal was to help the burgeoning wine industry which was struggling to produce enough Arizona grown fruit to make Arizona wine.  For six years we planted, grew, and harvested grape varietals that were making amazing wine.  Life was great.  Then one night in the spring of 2017, while we were hosting a dinner for some folks in the pistachio world wanting to learn about grapes, I had a discussion with a gentleman who used to grow olives and make olive oil.  “Do you think we could...

As we are nearing the end of 2019 season, it is time to stop and reflect on the season, and Party!  Here at RLV, we call this party the “Harvest Hootenanny” and it is a HOOT!!  Year after year, I am so excited for this event.  I look forward to seeing all the regulars, and meeting all the newcomers.  People who venture to RLV from all over the state and country.  Some stay for one night and some for longer.  It is such a great, relaxing way to appreciate the beauty of Willcox, RLV and Arizona wines.  Many of the...

“I had a farm in Africa “ were words that profoundly affected me when I was a teen. The adventure, learning a new way of life, and the romance. After seeing the movie Out Of Africa I was enthralled, so I read the book, twice. Now in my 40’s I recall those words when I think of the direction my life has taken. My name is Michelle and I have a farm in Arizona at the foot of the Dos Cabezas mountains. I didn’t travel to another country. I didn’t even travel to a different state. I just went a...

As I mentioned previously, the property we bought was rough. We had a lot of work to do. Clearing the land and getting it fenced were at the top of the list. When I said there were a lot of mesquites I was not exaggerating. This land was once beautiful grass lands. The mesquites have been encroaching and taking over for centuries, so I was on a mission to get rid of these trees. The crew started clearing the fence line first to install the 8ft deer fencing. Deer apparently love grapes. Deer are very expensive to keep out We...