Wildcatter Winery

06/02/2026

Our 2023 Rock Water Red win silver at the Texas Intl Wine Fest (Austin Rodeo)! Come enjoy it this weekend.

05/31/2026

Definitely stop by if you go through Verde Valley! Excellent student made wines.

🍷🔬 When Science Meets Science Fiction: How Our Students Engineered a Gold Medal Winner! 🧪✨

Ever wonder what happens when you treat a wine glass like a laboratory beaker? You get a Gold Medal at the 2026 AZCentral Arizona Wine Competition! 🥇

Our incredible enology (wine science) students at the Southwest Wine Center at Yavapai College didn't just stumble into making our award-winning 2024 Sonoran Solstice. They used strict chemistry, sensory science, and a bit of liquid physics to balance three notoriously bold grapes:

• Tempranillo: Gives the wine its structural backbone and bright, red-fruit acidity.
• Aglianico: Adds deep, dark fruit complexity and striking earthy minerality.
• Tannat: Packs a punch with big tannins (the natural compounds that create that drying, textured feeling in your mouth) for an unforgettable finish.

Blending isn’t just mixing; it’s a delicate calculations game to balance pH levels, volatile aromatic compounds, and phenolic extraction (color and texture). Our students nailed the molecular synergy, and the judges noticed!

🌟 Taste the Experiment Yourself!
Want to experience what a scientifically excellent balance tastes like? 2024 Sonoran Solstice is officially available for purchase. Come support our student-winemakers, enjoy a glass and vineyard view from our public wine tasting room patio, and grab a bottle (or three) before it sells out!

📍 Where: The Tasting Room at the Southwest Wine Center at Yavapai College
601 Black Hills Drive, Building O, Clarkdale AZ
⏰ Hours: Thursday–Sunday, 12 PM - 6 PM

To make your educational wine flight tasting experience reservation:
https://www.southwestwinecenter.com/wine-club/

To learn more about the viticulture and enology program at the Southwest Wine Center at Yavapai College:
https://www.southwestwinecenter.com/

05/29/2026

Come out and enjoy all of our award winners before it starts to get hot outside next week!

05/23/2026

Normal hours on Saturday and Sunday for the tasting room. We will be closed for Memorial Day. Remember and honor.

05/16/2026

Close up of grape flowering.

05/09/2026

Verde Valley Wine Fest in Cottonwood.

05/05/2026

In celebration of International Sauvignon Blanc Day this weekend, bottles of our 2023 Sauvignon Blanc will be 20% off in the tasting room!

05/03/2026

05/02/2026

Tempranillo bottling.