This Saturday, December 15, Arizona Stronghold Vineyards is hosting a celebration complete with wine and light fair ― the 2012 4th Quarter Wine Club Release. During this special event held at Firesky Resort & Spa, guests will enjoy the tasting of two Arizona Stronghold Vineyard Site Archive wines as well as food from Taggia – Coastal Italian Cuisine & Cocktails, located in Old Town Scottsdale.

At the event, Arizona Stronghold Vineyards will be pouring its 2011 Nachise, 2011 Site Archive Riesling and 2011 Site Archive Bonita Springs Cabernet Pick 3. The two site archives will be available by the bottle at Taggia for a limited time.

Those at Arizona Stronghold Vineyards have planned the event in hopes to bring together Valley residents and Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Wine Club members to socialize and celebrate Arizona-made wine, which has had quite the impact on the state, pumping millions into the economy and drawing visitors from both in and out of state.

According to the Arizona Wine Tourism Industry Survey, produced for the Arizona Office of Tourism and conducted by Northern Arizona University’s Arizona Hospitality Research & Resource Center:

  • Arizona wine visitors had an estimated $22.7 million in direct expenditures, which resulted in an indirect economic impact of $4.3 million, and induced impacts of $10.5 million for a total industry economic impact of $37.6 million. Indirect business taxes based on direct expenditures produced an additional $5.9 million and the total economic impact supported 265 direct jobs and 140 indirect and induced jobs, for a total of 405 jobs.
  • Day visitors had an average of $149 in direct spending, with restaurant and grocery expenditures ($44) accounting for the largest portion.
  • Overnight visitors had average expenditures of $370, with lodging or camping ($140) comprising the single largest item.
  • In terms of county origins, Maricopa County contributes more than half (55%) of all wine visitors followed by Pima County (33%).
  • Almost one‐third (29.0%) of the sample have never visited an Arizona winery before, while 6.8 percent have visited 11 or more Arizona wineries in the past 12 months (average 4 visits/year).
  • More than four‐fifths (82.7%) of all respondents said that their experience at the winery or tasting room was either “a little better than I expected,” or “much better than I expected.” A glowing endorsement of the customer service and value of the experience.

Admission into Arizona Stronghold Vineyards’ event is free for Wine Club members and $10 for non-members. For more information about Arizona Stronghold Vineyards, visit azstronghold.com, call (928) 639-2789 ext. 206, or email wineclub@azstronghold.com.

Arizona Stronghold Vineyards 2012 4th Quarter Wine Club Release

When: Saturday, December 15, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: FireSky Resort & Spa
4925 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale
Tickets: Free (Arizona Stronghold Vineyards Wine Club members), $10 (non-members)
(Purchase tickets here.)