Hello!  Welcome to Wilhelm Family Vineyards-home of Kevin and Karyl, our children Kristian and Kassandra, and over seven thousand glorious grapevines.  Kevin and I planted our first little dreammakers, one year old Syrah and Tempranillo plants, on July 27, 2005; our 14th wedding anniversary!  Today those little foot-high baby-vines are mature and producing quality wine grapes for our winery. Now that's an anniversary gift that keeps on giving. 
     After the first season's plantings, we decided to really jump in with both feet and planted five more varietals; some I plan to blend and some will stand alone to show off their individual varietal characteristics. Check out the "Vineyard" tab to learn more about each varietal, and how they're doing here in Arizona soil.  
Each year, Kevin and I learn more about the vines and their wine potential, so I believe each year will be a positive step forward for both our vineyard and winery.  We'd like you to be part of the growth.  Please come sample our wines now and let me as the winemaker hear your thoughts.  
     I'm currently neck-deep in the U.C. Davis Winemaker's Certificate Program, and it's a tough program, I'll admit, but I have learned one important thing: people each enjoy different aspects of wine, and regardless of how much experience or science goes into the wine bottle, the bottom line is still..."Do you like it?"   
Please feel free to talk to me about your wine thoughts, likes & dislikes, recommendations, and so on.  Believe me, I'll be listening.

     Our winery consists of over 6000 square feet of indoor space and almost 1500 square feet of pad space outside as a crush pad for grape processing.  As we started planning our building, it was very important to consider the space requirements for equipment,  numerous processing needs and of course, barrel storage for proper aging.
 We wanted to make sure our layout encompassed all that we might want to do and offer in the future.  
We currently have over 2,000 gallons of wine in the winery in various stages of wine processing.  Some is in stainless steel tanks, some is aging in French oak barrels, and some is already bottled and cased, ready for shipment and tasting room sales.
     Now for those who have seen the math about gallonage to case, you'll realise 2,000 gallons is only about 835 cases, which is fine for us this year.  We are starting with baby steps with about 1,000 cases and eventually increasing case amounts to about 3,000 per year.  By the time we're producing that many cases a year, you'll hopefully be seeing our wine in wine stores such as BevMo and Beverage House, as well as fine restaurants throughout Tucson, Sierra Vista, Benson, and of course, our own little region of Sonoita.  I'd like to head to the Phoenix region too, when we get our facility up and running full bore!
     The production amounts Kevin and I have planned for Wilhelm Family Vineyards is actually only a small amount compared to what this facility can potentially handle.  We are also planning on branching into custom crush operations to allow other vineyards without the space or the processing equipment the opportunity to use Wilhelm Family Vineyards as the facility to process their fruit.  Furthermore, for the Wine Enthusiast Club members, we will also offer the chance to make wine of their own here at our facility, as well as design labels for special events/functions.  As the resident winemaker, I can assist as much or as little as the "visiting winemaker" would like.
     So,  Kevin and I do have a lot of big ideas and hopes for the future of Wilhelm Family Vineyards.  With the amount of available square footage, as well as the fruit processing equipment and storage we planned for and purchased, we have plenty of space inside for storage, fermentation, fruit and wine processing and even a designated bottling area.  We're looking forward to growing our own Hawk's Flight label, as well as expanding to fit the needs of other winemakers and grape growers. 
     Next time, you're in the Sonoita wine area, stop by and see us.  Come in for a tasting and ask me about a tour.  For those of you who have already had a tour, you'll probably agree it's a pretty big operation!  And thanks for the help with the Chardonnay bottling. :)

     Our property comprises 20 acres and is located right beside 360 acres of rolling state land for unobstructed mountain views.  Currently five arces are planted with seven different varietals.  We have plans to plant another three acres or so, but we're learning more about viticulture before we "outrun our headlights".  (Get going so fast, we loose our light, loose track of what we're doing and start making mistakes).
     Our first plantings were July 2005, when we put in one acre each of Syrah and Tempranillo.  Of course, this meant over 1500 grapestakes had to be driven by post pounder, over 120 end posts driven in by tractor, and miles, yes miles, of trellising wire strung.  That was just for the trellising-the irrigation infrastructure was another huge task.  Vineyards can be hard work!
     The following May, we added 1.5 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, one acre of Merlot, about a half acre of Cabernet Franc, and about a quarter acre of Petite Verdot..  You might have noticed all six of those varietals are red.  That's because I hadn't found a stand out white I liked well enough to attempt making.  White wines are certainly more challenging than red to make, so it was important to me to choose a white I really liked.  Sorry folks, that's not Chardonnay-besides there's lots of other talented winemakers out there making some fine Chardonnay-I wanted something new and unique.  
     Kevin and I had an opportunity to try a white wine from Spain and really enjoyed it.  Albariño (Galician) or Alvarinho (Portuguese) is grown in Galicia (northwest Spain) and northern Portugal.  We planted 70 little Albariño vines to see how they would do here in Sonoita.  We were delighted to find it does just fine!   In July 2008, we planted another 200 vines of Albariño and plan to plant an additional 1200 in Spring '09.
     Kristian and Kassandra are huge helpers, and make the Wilhelm Family Vineyards name quite accurate.  They help plant, cover, trellis, prune and most certainly harvest.   We even get their friends involved and have a great time.  Our Wine Enthusiast and Winemaker's Club members also have a standing invitation to join us for harvest!  We plan on Harvest Festivals with food, music and drink in the future.  Sound like fun?