Verde Valley’s Wine Diamond
WORDS BY JENNIE WOLFE | VINEYARD PHOTOS BY BETH STAUB
There’s a small building in Clarkdale situated between the shadow of Mingus and sweeping views of Sedona. Once an underused locus of leisure, it is now a fount of industry-wide influence, local pride, and multiple award-winning concoctions. The Southwest Wine Center (SWC) intertwines hands-on education in viticulture and enology while experimenting at the edge of high-desert growing and showcasing the region’s distinct flavor profile.
Established in 2009, the Center is part of Yavapai College. It is simultaneously an estate vineyard, teaching winery, and tasting room. Institutions like this are rare; it is one of four junior colleges that have a bonded winery—meaning the SWC can produce and sell its wine, allowing it to partially self-fund.
The combination of vineyard, commercial production winery, and tasting room means students can learn every aspect of the industry: growing grapes, making wine, and selling the fruits of their labor. A 60-hour practicum each semester places them in working vineyards and wineries so that they accrue lived experience while building a relational network. Practical, adaptable, cooperative: This school means business.
The building where the Center resides used to be racquetball and squash courts. Renovating an existing structure versus constructing a brand new one was an easy choice, reflecting the ethos undergirding every decision. Stewardship of land and community in the desert demands careful planning. An agreement with the City of Cottonwood to use reclaimed water demonstrates the level of environmental consideration involved.
WINE VINES MAKE SENSE AND CENTS
Between 2012 and 2017, the school and its robust volunteer force planted 12 different varietals—the term for the grafted aboveground vining, fruiting portion of a grape. Most are from the so-called ‘Old World’ and typically sport names alien to most American wine drinkers: Piquepoul, Carignan, and Aglianico. These fancy-sounding vines are no shrinking violets. Elevations ranging from 3,500 to 5,000 feet with volcanic, formerly sub-oceanic soil mineral profiles are reminiscent of the vines’ Mediterranean mother countries. Wine grapes thrive in extreme environmental conditions anathema to most industrial crops.
Once established, they need a mere one to two acre-feet of water per year for their 30- to 100-year lifespan. Intense diurnal shifts in temperature result in thick grape skins and concentrated juices. These harsh elements contribute to expressing a delicate terroir—that ineffable flavor profile that tastes of place, time, and people in each sip. In a good year, the grapes can fetch an impressive $8,580 per acre. Tipping the scales of the SWC is its location, location, location.
According to Ryan Avery Follensbee, director of the Center, “What you’ll see with any successful wine region is a major epicenter of population within roughly four hours.” While serving the whole southwestern wine region is the Center’s explicit purpose, proximity to Phoenix and the magnetic draw of Sedona are natural resources for tourism. A clear benefit of encouraging not just winemaking but wine tourism is that it keeps even more of the economic potential close to home. “For every dollar spent at a winery, three or four dollars get spent in the community,” Follensbee says.
Follensbee’s leadership extends beyond the office. He appreciates both the physical and mental effort required to make wine.
Studies by the Arizona Department of Tourism on the economic impacts of wine tourism show explosive growth in this sector over the past couple of decades. In 2023, the wine tourism industry’s total economic impact was $351 million statewide. Accolades roll in every year at the state and national levels for the wines produced at Arizona’s premier wine school. “One of the biggest wine competitions is held by the San Francisco Chronicle,” Follensbee says. “In their Collegiate Bowl last year, we beat wines from Sonoma, Napa, and Santa Barbara we’re up there in the ranks of the more well-known West Coast zones.”
He refers to the silver medal received for their 2024 white blend dubbed ‘Monsoon,’ noted for the dimension added by the Piquepol Blanc. Other high honors include a gold medal, judges’ choice award—and this year a silver medal—all from the Arizona Central Grand Wine Awards. Other awards have included best in show, double gold, best in class, and best non-traditional red
OLD WORLD VINES MEET NEW WORLD ISSUES
Implementing groundbreaking practices is tricky. After 14 years of relying on reclaimed water and rainfall, the sodium and potassium levels in the soil are approaching a critical level. The rising use of water softeners and erratic rain patterns are a one-two punch: extra salts in the irrigated water combined with less timely deluges created the need to address excess buildup. In his first year of directorship, this issue could have been a breaking point for Follensbee.
“Part of our leadership is not just trying things to try things, but trying them before other people do,” he says. “We have resources to execute things that commercial operations may not. This is really the quest: continuing to do talented research around implements and techniques that we can turn around and tell the industry about.” Follensbee laid out a plan to collaborate with UC Davis and the UofA.
A fresh half-acre research plot will trial new drought- and salt-tolerant rootstock, the below ground portion of the vines. Over the next five to 20 years, these new rootstocks will be grown with different blends of water sources, including reclaimed city water. The majority of the flagship acreage will need supplementary water from an alternate source for the first time since planting.
Flushing out the minerals is necessary for the longevity of the project. Follensbee and crew hope to return to a blend of potable and reclaimed water once the sodium level falls below plant toxicity. Ultimately, trialing these new varieties alongside the established vineyard in its own irrigation experiment addresses multiple layers of globally important issues, potentially maximizing future water savings for high desert vineyards from Australia to Austin—especially those adjacent to water reclamation facilities.
Another industry tool being tested by the Southwest Wine Center is “One-eyed Wall-E,” which replaces nets by using a laser to deter birds from eating the fruit off the vines.
Depending on the type of material, nets can cost $1,500 per acre—not to mention the labor involved with installing and removing them.
The laser was purchased with funds donated by the Friends of the Southwest Wine Center and installed in May of 2026.
CHEERS TO 17 YEARS
Setbacks included, the juice continues to prove itself well worth the pressing. The instructors, students, graduates, employees, and diverse network of community and industry supporters of the Center treat their mission with the reverence befitting the Dionysus-approved quaff that unites them all. They know what the vines know more deeply every year as their roots descend: This desert is a gold mine. Sumptuous sips. Verdant vistas. Engaging enophiles. Triple-bottom-line trophy winners. Visit the tasting room, join the wine club, volunteer in the vineyard, and tell your friends. Supporting a resilient future can be as delightful as drinking a glass of Monsoon.
To learn more about the Southwest Wine Center, visit southwestwinecenter.com.
To volunteer at the vineyard, visit yc.jotform.com/252127156289865.
