Cochise County, Arizona, is a charming county as big as some states. Yet this isn’t the Arizona that most tourists experience when they visit the Grand Canyon State. The southeastern corner of the state offers visitors (and natives) a chance to drink in Arizona’s culture. The parched explorer can sip on craft beer or award-winning fine wine, throw back a cold one at the rodeo, or just enjoy the sweet nectar of a tree-ripened fresh peach.
Old Bisbee Brewing Company
Bisbee has museums, galleries, and shops aplenty, but my favorite spot is the Old Bisbee Brewing Company. I’ve already written a few times about Bisbee as a destination. Yet the brewery is reason enough to make your way to Cochise County, regardless of everything else to do.
Their beer is for beer snobs and wine snobs alike. These brews are crafted by a family with origins in the wine industry, from Napa to Oregon down to South America. Now, they work in the artist community of Bisbee and brew beer instead. One, the Copper City Ale, is a recipe dating back to the Wild West. Wyatt Earp himself enjoyed it. No, it’s not a publicity stunt. It is a well crafted and delicious drink. These beers are not flashy or over the top. They are engineered to perfection with the balance of a gymnast. I dragged my wife off the patio when it was time to go home, and I’m the beer lover in the family.
Willcox Wine Bench
Two tasting rooms are open most weekends in downtown Willcox, Carlson Creek and Keeling-Schaefer, and my favorite, Sand-Reckon er, is only open by appointment. Carlson Creek might end up being the largest vineyard in Arizona, as they have huge expansion plans. Keeling-Schaefer is crafting complex wines, none of which are a miss. If Arizona had a signature red wine, it should be Syrah, and Keeling-Schaefer’s makes some of the best Syrah in the world – that is not hyperbole. Sand-Reckenor’s rose is good enough to actually give rose a good name again. Culled from the finicky red Nebbiolo grape and blended with a few others, it is a once in a lifetime bottle of wine. This is the wine that will put Arizona on the wine map for quality crafted wine that will and can compete in the big leagues.
The town of Willcox and the Willcox Wine Bench are actually quite far apart, but I’m looping them together. The drive from Willcox to the Wine Bench is scenic and only takes about 30 minutes. The only tasting room open on the Willcox Bench, where most of the state’s best grapes are actually grown, is Zarpara Vineyard. It is basically brand new, and you can be one of their first visitors. They wisely offer a nice selection of local wines that are difficult to find anywhere else, such as Sand-Reckoner and Lawrence-Dunham Vineyards. Just off the Wine Bench and open by appointment only is Lawrence-Dunham Vineyards. The Grenache and Petit Sirah are well worth the drive. Stay at the nearby Sunglow Ranch, with scenic views of Chiricahua National Park and tons of open space with hiking trails galore.
Willcox Orchards
The famous Stout’s Cider Mill closed in 2011, but there are plenty of other summer spots to snag some juicy fruit. Mostly you’ll find apples, but also pears, peaches, and berries. Apple Annies opens for business in July with the start of the peach harvest. A few weeks later gala apples and Asian pears are available. There is plenty of opportunity to pick your own fruit in this area. Check visittucson.org and thegardengeek.com for complete lists of numbers and hours for U-pick farms.
Benson’s Arena Bar
My mom’s aunt and uncle lived in Benson, Arizona, and they were like my grandparents. I spent many summers down south and near the Mexican border, when other Arizonans flocked north instead. Down the way from Uncle Jim’s was an excellent spot for thirsty travelers, Benson’s Arena Bar. This working rodeo arena is not pretty or fancy and, in the words of one online reviewer, “is older than the hills.” Yet liquor is permitted anywhere on their 9.7 acres. Drink alongside cowboys, listen to live music, knock back cheap cold beer, and perhaps watch some ropin’ and ridin.
Benson is an unlikely destination for summer, unless you take into account nearby Kartchner Caverns. Caves are always cool. Tickets range from $13-$23 depending on child or adult tickets and the tour selected. This recent discovery is one of the most impressive caves in the entire world. A perfect place to explore once your thirst is properly quenched.
Cool Summer Days
Arizona is mountainous with a variety of micro climates. The lowland deserts are notoriously hot. Bisbee, a mile-high city, averages temps in the 70s and 80s. Traveling throughout Cochise county a visitor experiences huge swings in temperatures as that elevation rises and falls. So pack a variety of clothes. Most places you should be able to wear flip flops, a T-shirt, and shorts. If it does get a bit hot, all the better, because heat makes you thirsty.
