Echoes of the Southwest

Sharon and I spent a couple of days experimenting with various ways to shot photography and videos. One of the fun things we did was to take various photos through wine bottles and glasses. We had fun with this one. I put them together in a video.

There is a hidden gem located in the small community of Young AZ, called Bruzzi Vineyard. When Sharon and I were googling places to visit in Arizona, the vineyard came up. We wanted to stay in Arizona because of the virus, so I took it as a sign that this is where our next trip needs to be. Why is Bruzzi Vineyard a sign? My Mother's maiden name is Bruzzi and I have lots of Bruzzi cousins on the east coast. None of the family knew if James, the owner, was related, so I needed to check it out for myself. What the heck, I would get a nice dinner and delicious wine out of the deal as well. It was easy to find the vineyard. It was on the main road and only 5 minutes from the inn where we were staying. You enter onto a small drive with grapes growing on both sides. We got there early so we decided to take tons of pictures. The place was magical with plump grapes growing everywhere, llamas in the back along with sheep and glamping tents. We didn't get to see inside the tents because t...

Along Central Avenue in Phoenix is an amazing restaurant called Postino which is “Postman” in Italian. The wine café was once a 1940’s brick post office which was unoccupied for many years. It is a fabulous place to dine from its delicious food, large array of wines, and remarkable décor. I usually have the plate of 4 different bruschetta which have the freshest ingredients on top of delicious crunchy bread. The problem is trying to decide which four you want to try. I suggest going back there a few times and trying them all. You won’t be disappointed.

This is the second time our little girls group used this company for wine tastings.  The first time was in Willcox, AZ and just recently in Sonoita.  Our driver for both trips was Tony.  He was amazing and patient especially at the end when the wine clearly made us loud and goofy.  I highly recommend using this company for wine tastings in the Sonoita and Willcox areas. On this last trip in Sonoita, we were in a large air conditioned van which had enough room for the six of us, a bridal party of four, and a couple of friends.  We had snacks and plenty of water to keep hydrated during the tastings.  Tony took us to two places in the morning, then lunch, and two more places after that.  It took the whole day.  Check their website for prices.  The price includes being picked up wherever you are staying, four wine tastings, and lunch.  Tips are separate.  We had fun partying with the other ladies and tasting various wines and cider....

My daughter, nieces, sister-in-law and friend went back to Sonoita for another wine tasting trip.  Again, we had a blast and got a bit tipsy.  This time we used Sonoran Tasting Tours (next post) to take us to the vineyards for the tastings.  This is a great way to travel from vineyard to vineyard and enjoy the tastings without worry of driving drunk.  We stayed at the Sonoita Inn and will post about that after the Sonoran Tasting Tours post.  For this post, I will show you which vineyards we went to and some of the pictures of each place. Arizona Hops and Vines (one of our favorite places in Sonoita) This little winery/farm is a welcoming spot where families and wine lovers will have a wonderful time.   They have a patio where you can sit and enjoy your wine while enjoying the amazing scenery.   They also offer you different snacks (chips, Cheetos, Doritos) for each wine. http://azhopsandvines.com ...