Southern Arizona’s wine region often surprises tourists and locals. In cities like Willcox, rows of vines are tucked between mountain ranges, with the air transitioning from warm afternoons to cool, fragrant nights. 

The landscape has quietly produced exceptional wine for decades, even if much of the country still hasn’t recognized it. After a two-year hiatus, the Arizona WineGrowers Festival will return from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 28, at the Biltmore Fashion Park, 2502 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix.

Artlink presents the Arizona WineGrowers Festival in partnership with R Entertainment and the Arizona WineGrowers Association. Celebrating March’s Arizona Wine Month, the festival offers a tasting journey through Arizona’s three American Viticulture Areas (AVA): Willcox, Sonoita, and Verde Valley.

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Arizona’s wines will be available for purchase, including the 2026 medal winners. The event benefits the Arizona WineGrowers Association.

Artlink president Catrina Kahler worked nearly two years to revive the event under the arts coalition’s “culinary arts” umbrella. 

“Winemakers are often the first to say what they do is an art form,” Kahler said. “The creative decisions, the experimentation, the uncertainty — it mirrors the process of a painter facing a blank canvas.” 

Winemakers use the same language you’d hear in a studio: intuition, risk, patience, surprise.

During Arizona WineGrowers Festival, guests receive a glass and a set number of tastings with their tickets. They can wander from booth to booth sampling wines from about 30 Arizona wineries. 

Biltmore Fashion Park makes the perfect backdrop for a wine festival, Kahler said.

“The tree-lined walkways, dappled light, and the sense of calm tucked into the middle of Phoenix create a charming setting,” she added. 

Kahler said many folks are introduced to the depth and diversity of Arizona wine during the afternoon.

One of the winemakers pouring this year is Timo Geis, founder of Cactus Cru. His path to Arizona wine is a story in itself — born in Alsace, France, raised in Sedona, trained as a sommelier, and shaped by years of travel and work in France, Spain and the United States. 

“Arizona has such a unique landscape for grape growing,” he said. 

“High‑desert vineyards, hot days, cool nights, rain‑shadow effects — these conditions preserve acidity and aroma in ways most people don’t expect.”

His wines reflect that philosophy. He sources from organically farmed vineyards, ferments with wild yeast, and bottles everything unfined and unfiltered. The result is what he calls “pure, raw expressions of Arizona fruit.”

Even the name “Cactus Cru” carries meaning. Cactus is a nod to Arizona; “cru” is the French term for a high‑quality vineyard site. It’s a playful blend of his heritage and his belief in the state’s potential.

Geis didn’t plan to start a winery during a global shutdown, but like many people, the pandemic forced a pivot. He had just launched an importing and distribution company when restaurants closed. Instead of waiting it out, he enrolled in the Southwest Wine Center’s Southwest Wine Center’s enology program in Clarkdale, bought equipment, and started making wine in his Sedona studio.

“Cactus Cru was born out of wanting to stay creative during lockdown,” he said. “It was a way to keep moving forward.”

Today, he splits his time between Sedona — where he oversees fermentations — and Phoenix, where he sells his wines and helps promote the industry as an Arizona WineGrowers Association board member.

Now in its 38th year, Art Detour was founded as a small downtown Phoenix studio tour and has grown into a statewide celebration of arts and culture. The organization now connects with more than 3,500 artists and nearly 3,800 stakeholders across Arizona.

Public art is more visible. Creative industries are expanding. And Artlink is making sure culinary arts, including winemaking, are part of that cultural conversation.

“We’ve always believed artists themselves are essential to community and economic development,” Kahler said.

“Winemakers are part of that creative ecosystem.”