Keeling Schaefer Vineyards, Willcox AZ

Keeling Schaefer Vineyards produces estate grown and bottled Rhone-style wines on 21 acres located along Rock Creek on the western slope of the Chiricahua Mountains. After generations of farmers Rod Keeling fell in love with wine and decided he wanted to begin making wine at home.

After some trial and error Rod and his wife Jane decided to buy some property in the Chiricahua foothills. Thus began the adventure to grow wine, a long process that would eventually turn them into the great winery that they are.

Keeling Schaefer Vineyards has an elegant tasting room in downtown Willcox located near the Golden Rule and Copper Hills tasting room. They offer comfortable indoor and outdoor seating options.

Currently, due to COVID-19, they are offering a protected experience using plexiglass and separation lines. This is to social distance and also protect both you and the server. The plexiglass has a cut the height of the glass so you can just slide it back and forth through that section. It worked out very nicely and although it was difficult to hear at times, it did exactly what it is supposed to do.

Keeling Schaefer offered many more wines then we had been offered at some of the other tasting rooms. I was able to have a tasting full of red wines, with no white wines.

The descriptions on the menu were spot on. Rare to find a Mourvèdre that is bold, but bold it was. I honestly think it was my favorite. I enjoy a bold red but I did find that these are all a little more bold than I prefer. They are tasty, but also they are very rich and lean toward a port, but not as sweet as a port.

Keeling Schaefer Vineyards Menu Summer 2020 — Menu Summer 2020

We were the only ones in the tasting room and struck up conversation with the young lady serving us. She was knowledgeable and provided us with feedback on the wines, the location and the future.

We did find that they offer a Sweet Lucy, which I think is gross. I do remember it from 10 years ago. Kokopelli wines were a thing back then, and we accidentally had it one time. She said they had purchased Kokopelli at some point, I did not dig far enough into that information to confirm it. Sweet Lucy is a very popular wine for many, the namesake says enough for me, sweet is not my thing.

This is also where I truly discover how different wines in Willcox are. They all have a similar taste to them in the context that they are bold and rich in flavor. Very deep reds with almost a silky thickness to them.

Keeling Schaefer Vineyards is a must do if you are ever in Willcox. Do a tasting, sit inside or out and just enjoy the moment. Let me know how you like the wines there.

Be sure to check out tomorrow's feature on Silver Strike Winery. You can read yesterday's article on Coronado Vineyards, or see all of our Sippin’ September articles here.

Living, loving, drinking, and traveling through life.

— Taunya