What is it like going wine tasting in Arizona this summer? Times are weird right now. It’s hard to balance staying safe, staying within your comfort level and not wanting to stay home all the time so you don’t go insane. We took a weekend trip up to Cottonwood Arizona to get away and restock our wine coolers.
How are the tasting rooms open when bars are closed?
In Arizona at least, wineries are not considered bars and fall under more of an agricultural classification. Even though Arizona was forced to shut down bars again due to a lack of social distancing, the tasting rooms have been allowed to stay open.
Unlike bars, in a winery tasting room it is generally fairly easy to maintain social distancing. Every tasting room we have visited since Arizona’s reopening has been good about enforcing the local health guidelines. In fact we have not been to a tasting room that does not have a requirement that masks be worn except when sitting down.
All of the indoor tasting rooms are running under limited capacity. Some are either doing appointments or using a waiting list. Generally this is done by smaller tasting rooms, or those in high traffic areas like Jerome AZ. And of course some of the smaller wineries have remained closed by choice, or are only doing to-go bottle sales.
So what is it really like?
Although we had a great time in Cottonwood, there are a few caveats. It can be hard to manage making appointments at multiple tasting rooms, especially if it is a winery you are not familiar with. We ourselves have made the mistake of both not allowing enough time between appointments, and also leaving too much.
Also, we would highly recommend calling the tasting room to verify hours and that they are doing wine tastings. I would not rely on Google Maps or any other travel site for this information. This is because not everyone is keeping their hours up to date on those platforms. We have found Google Maps to be out of date due to reduced operation hours.
Some places are posting to their social media with updates as well, but others are not as active. I would check to see how often a winery is posting to Facebook before trusting that the information is still accurate. If a winery is posting often it probably is. However if they are posting less frequently it may not be. Calling is always a way to ensure you aren’t disappointed when you get there.
The bottom line
So bottom line, what is it like wine tasting in Arizona this summer? Wine tasting is a great way to get out of your house, assuming you are comfortable doing so of course. All of the boutique wineries in Arizona, which is most if not all, are small businesses that could really use your support. For us personally, we would never remain in a tasting room, or restaurant for that matter, where we didn't feel comfortable with the precautions being taken.
If you do decide to venture out, feel free to post a comment below or reach out to us on Instagram or Facebook. We would be happy to provide some recommendations. You can also check out our Sippin’ September features from last year for ideas.
Living, loving, drinking, and traveling through life.
— Derek
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