LDV, Scottsdale AZ - Live Love Drink Travel

Next up in our Sippin` September series is Lawrence Dunham Vineyards, or LDV. We have been coming to this tasting room for years, and owners Curt and Peggy have been very good to us over the years. Unfortunately, on this particular day the tasting room was closed for harvesting down in Wilcox. However, since we used to be members, we can still complete a review as we had been to the tasting room often.

LDV has recently, within the last eight months, relocated to a very nice location in the 5th Avenue Shops area of old town. They are located in the Soleri Bridge Plaza, just off the South Bridge. It is a really good location with lots of foot traffic. They have a nice patio to sit and enjoy your wine (and generally has great people watching). They also have some inside seating as well. Personally we are a little nostalgic for their old space. It was like being in a vineyard, just a really nice space. The new one is a bit more upscale and newer.

Because LDV’s production has increased so much in the last few years, as part of the move they have increased their staff. We really only see Curt or Peggy during wine club events. The only complaint I would have is that is more difficult to get cozy with the staff and make a connection. We really like to get to know the staff when we are members and since the relocation, we just have not been able to make that happen.

We were lucky enough to come in on a slow day a few years ago and Curt was able to tell us the full history of their journey to wine making. When they first started their winery, they had very specific criteria for the land. They needed something at high altitude, and wanted something that had not already been farmed near a mountain so they could get the right micro-climate. They found the right parcel near the Chiricahua Mountains.

However, once they started planting they made a startling discovery. They unearthed a lot of native american tools, so they discovered they were NOT the first people to farm the land! Here is a little known secret, the larger and nicer pieces are on display in their tasting room. This discovery was instrumental in coming up with their logo design. The first circle honors the original Native American farmers, the second circle represents LDV as the current tenant of the land, and the lower circle represents the future, and turning grapes into wine. Even the 5 colors of their labels are representative of the color palette of the land and sky around the vineyard.

One of my most memorable trips was when we stopped and it was only our second or third time in and before we were members. I said to Curt, “I wanna try ALL of your reds”. I said this without knowing that they had like twelve reds at that time. He was having a slow day and he was kind enough to actually pour us a small tasting of each red. We were blown away, as he poured each one and then pulled one out for the next tasting. I finally said to him, “Whoa, how many reds do you have?” A lot! Lets just say when I left, I was a little buzzed. Not our intention, but we did enjoy our time. Shortly after that we became members.

The most important thing though is that as a winemaker Curt has made some really good wines. LDV wines are bold and a lot of them have a heavily oaked taste. They are really good, but over time, I began to feel as if they all started to have too similar of a tasting profile. Not a bad thing, but we definitely like to have a lot of choice in our wine flavors. To date, I would say that his best wine was his Decade, the anniversary blend they released in October or November of last year. We actually ended up buying a case of it, and it is just a really nice wine for any occasion.

In short, go, enjoy and buy. LDV has really great wine and the venue is a nice upscale experience. While you’re there, tell them we said HI! In the meantime, check out our feature on Dawn's Dream, or check out all of our Sippin' September features here.

Living, loving, drinking, and traveling through life.

— Derek