Oak Creek Vineyards and Winery Review
Address: 1555 N. Page Springs Rd Cornville,Arizona 86325.
Phone Number: 928-649-0291
Tasting Hours: 10:00-6:00
Region: Arizona
Reviewer: Diane
Review Date: 7/17/2013
Reviewer: Diane
Rating: 3
The Review
Oak Creek Vineyards was founded by Deb Wahl in 2002. Deb is a petite woman with more spunk than youd think a person of her stature could muster. The winery is one of several Arizona wineries located southwest of Flagstaff, and its ten acres of vines are nourished by a deep aquifer located under the vineyard. The winery also sources fruit from the Willcox region. Deb intends to plant more acreage in the future and showed us the site selected.
Place:  The winery tasting room is inviting and comfortable. The mesh netting draping the porch rafters gives an air of the deep south reminiscent of an old movie scene. The patio has numerous picnic tables and stuffed chair seating; in the fall and winter this would be quite relaxing. But during our visit in the summer, the weather was quite hot so we immediately ventured into the cool air-conditioned tasting room. We were greeted by Lisa standing behind a spacious wine bar. Several other patrons were already enjoying wine and obviously having a good time; their laughter was contagious!
Vino:  My tasting partner Dave and I had an additional friend Jeff with us on this specific journey. We selected several wines to sample, and Lisa was ready to accommodate our wishes. More visitors came streaming in, and her time with us was short, but she was extremely knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions we had.
Whites: We started with the Oak Creek 2011 Viognier; this unfiltered, viscous, wine boasts flavors of ripe peaches and apricots, just what we needed to refresh us. We moved on to the 2011 Fume Blanc. The Sonoita-area grapes resulted in a Fume Blanc with clean, bright floral flavors and a light lemon finish. The 2011 Moscato is made from California grapes and is semi-sweet with stone fruit flavors.
Reds: The 2010 Merlot was our first red. The wine, velvety smooth and balanced with black cherries and cocoa flavors, is produced from grapes grown at the Verde Valley estate vineyard. It’s a real winner!!
The Oak Creek 2010 Zinfandel was our next sample. The wine has a big, jammy nose with a ripe cranberry flavor that slaps your palate with spice and oak on the finish, a delicious wine. The 2011 Syrah, also grown at the winery location, is inky in color with a chewy tannic bite. A good BBQ would definitely tame this wine. Then we were treated to a wine called Arizona Lady 2011, a blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Syrah. Ripe blackberry fruit and black pepper- what a great blend! The soft bright Pinot Noir tamed the tiger of a Syrah.
Tasting Fees:  A wine flight tasting is $5 and includes four tastes. A small lunch menu is available, and the Paninis are their specialty. The winery also offers other tastings like the wine & chocolate pairing, or the wine & cheese for $10. They also have a selection of cheese, salami, olives and chocolate at various prices. The VIP club gets notifications on special events and 2 for 1 tastings. The wines range from $12 to $30 very reasonable.