Kingman Arizona Wine Culture

Award-Winning Vineyards are a Hidden Gem Along Historic Route 66

All  over Arizona there is a growing demand for great tasting, hand crafted wines. The Verde Valley area of Yavapai County around, Cottonwood, Sedona or Cornville are producing some great wines that are being met with a lot of praise and anticipation. Then there is Cochise County that still produces about 70% of the states wine grapes. However, I think that wine grapes and their skillfully crafted wine from Mohave County are often overlooked.

The area around Kingman has similarities to some great wine producing regions of the world. It has a lot of sun and heat to develop the succulant fruit. The Hualapai Valley also has unique soils and growing conditions that produce grapes with great flavors and concentration. The soil and the stressful growing conditions force the vines to put their energy into developing less abundant grapes, but grapes of higher quality. The more intensely flavored fruit then has the characteristics the winemaker wants to craft great wine.


Since 2006 we have seen two wineries grow and expand in the Mountain Vista Ranch area. The two that are open are Cella Winery and Stetson Winery. These pioneering wineries here are producing a wide variety of wines that are being praised by wine critics and are starting to win major national awards for their quality. Here visitors will experience the skillfully crafted wine that each artist produces but you will also see the rugged beauty of the area. Both are on an easy to drive dirt road but are surrounded by thousands of acres of undeveloped desert. What better way to enjoy a weekend than touring the wineries, tasting room, and area attractions that dot the landscape?

 After visiting the vineyards and the area you may decided you would like to purchase a home or land in the area for your own wine grapes.

Land for sale! 
This is an area of actively selling land. Therefore it is best to call me with an updated list. I currently have three properties in the area currently in escrow. Please call Justin Chambers of Chambers Realty Group to discuss Mountain Vista land at 928-716-0973.

Home for sale! 
 At the current time Cella Winery at 6927 Brooks Blvd is for sale at $1,515,000. It is a  stunning 4550sqft  home and Boutique Winery & Vineyard!!! It is a 10.02 acre property with approximately 4 acres of vineyards planted with Sangiovese, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec and Zinfandel. All the grape vines were first planted in 2006 so you have vines that are already 10 years old!!!

The home itself is beautifully handcrafted and has lots of upgrades with 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms (includes 1bdrm 1ba Casita plus an ADA half bath for the Wine Tasting Room). There is a large office & spa Room. Hand carved 8 ft Mahogany doors against 10 ft ceilings with crown molding. Custom cabinetry. Jenn-Air Appliances including refrigerator, trash compactor and double convection ovens stay. Granite counter tops throughout including kitchen Island with wet sink. Surround sound and alarm system with video surveillance. Gas gireplace, tiled shower, jetted master tub, plus bidet. 2 Air Conditioning/Heating zones in main house plus separate HVAC for Garage and one for casita. 3 exterior buildings include a pump House for 2500 gallon water storage tank and pressurizer tank and 2 irrigation sheds for the Vineyard irrigation systems.

Directions to Cella Winery:

6927 E Brooks

Take Route 66 (Andy Devine) NE towards Hackberry to Milepost 71

Turn Left at Concho Dr.; Travel through Valle Vista about 4 miles,

Turn Left at Morningstar, to Monte Vista, turn Right, to

California, turn Left; turn Right on the 1

st

bladed road, Moonscape (not marked),

You will see the Red Barn of Stetson Winery about a mile straight ahead; turn

Right on Brooks and Cella Winery is the second property on the Left.

 

Why is Farming Expanding in Kingman AZ?

 

 These photos were taken in August of 2016. What they show is 570 acres of land  being planted with Pistachio trees approximately 35 miles north of Kingman on Stockton Hill Road. The address for this is 17250 Stockton Hill Road. This is a significant dynamic changing event for the entire Hualapai Valley. Why is that? The property is owned by Jim Rhodes of Las Vegas and is being managed by The Wonderful Company.

The past 16 years have been one of the driest on record. A prolonged drought has caused California Farmers to face severe water restrictions or pay a much higher price on district or irrigated water. Some farmers have been forced to not only curb their production but completely idle thousands and thousands of acres. Trees that were producing are now being ripped out of the ground and the water that was used for those orchards are being re-allocated to the ever growing city populations. For that reason I think we will see more and more nut farmers expand or completely relocate to this area.





Pistachio Market Overview
• The U.S. pistachio industry is relatively young, much of it dating back to 1976, the year the U.S. placed a boycott on the importation of pistachios from Iran and Iraq.

Justin Chambers, Broker/Owner of Chambers Realty

 • From its first commercial crop in in 1976 of 1.5 million pounds, the market has increased up to 551 million pounds in 2012, a 24% increase from the previous year.

This is a Pistachio Tree in Kingman Arizona

• Today, the states of California, Arizona and New Mexico represent 100% of the U.S. commercial pistachio production.  California comprises 98.5% of the total with over 250,000 acres planted throughout the San Joaquin Valley (see map to the right). • Pistachios trees require several years of growth until they begin bearing nuts, with significant production starting 7 to 10 years after the pistachio trees have been planted.
• The United States is the second leading producer (and exporter) of pistachios nuts behind Iran, providing 24% of the world total.

This is a 320 acre farm that has been cleared and now is planted with Pistachios. I sold the parcel to the gentleman who have now planted this farm. I can give any buyers for the area a tour of this farm anytime. 

This is one of the most amazing machines I have ever seen that plants the bare root trees.

• The northwest region of Arizona is one of the few locations that have the same exacting water and soil conditions and number of chill hours as the Central Valley which are required to grow pistachios. • Even though Arizona has experienced a drought like California, the northeast region of Arizona sits on the three massive aquifers, including the Hualapai Valley, Detrital Valley and Sacramento Valley water basins which, according to US Geological Survey estimates, have collectively approximately 47.3 million acre feet of water. 
• In a worst case scenario, even if other landowners develop their properties into pistachio and almond orchards, there should still be adequate water supplies for all landowners, including those who have developed pistachios and almond projects for over 100 years. • According to Arizona Groundwater Management Act, “a person may … withdraw and use groundwater for reasonable and beneficial use”, which includes use for agricultural purposes, thus assuring Red Lake I with a reliable source of water for the Project.

This well is able to produce 1200 gallons per minute.

This is the Generator that pumps the water out of the ground.

This is one of the new Pistachio farms located 35 miles north of Kingman, it is owned/operated by Jim Rhodes

Jim Rhodes farm of pistachios

This is an alfalfa farm run by Red Lake Ventures

 These are all Walnuts that have recently been planted by Rodney Beard of Quality Nut.

Lazy YU Ranches, Kingman AZ

Custom Home Sites Available!

Lazy YU is on the western slopes of the Hulapai Mountains. This is one of the most prestigious communities in Kingman AZ. Lazy YU is a 2847 acre ranch of custom site-built homes and does not allow mobile or manufactured housing. There are value adding CC&R's for this area. The community consists of parcels that range from the 5 acre minimum to 40 acres or more. The 5000 foot average elevation allows for Juniper trees, palo christi and some pinion pines. The area has wonderful hiking trails, horseback riding trails or places to ride your ATV or side by side.

At the current time about half of the roadways are paved. Many of the outlining streets are still dirt road. Every landowner here has to pay a yearly road maintenance fee that runs about 43 dollars per parcel.

To buy or sell your land or home in Lazy YU please contact Justin Chambers of Chambers Realty. It is always best to call me on my cell to discuss at 928-716-0973.