Sand-Reckoner Vineyards‘ co-owners Rob Hammelman and Sarah Fox are amped, to say the least, about one of their newest additions to the Tucson tap room at 510 N. Seventh Ave. #170. On Saturday, March 11, Sand-Reckoner is releasing its 2019 Carmènére — the first ever, as a matter of fact, from the winery.

“This wine is 100% from Chiricahua Ranch Vineyard in the Willcox AVA, and we are super excited about the potential for this varietal in the high desert,” said Fox. “Medium/light bodied with juicy fruit, pepper notes, and light herbal quality, a really lovely lighter style red perfect for warmer temps.”

The wine, which is described as embodying the qualities of herbs and raspberry, will be available by the glass and by the bottle (they’re offering tastings, too).

“It’s grown from a region that’s at a higher elevation,” said Hammelman. “So, it’s 4,350 feet in elevation and the Chiricahua Ranch has a lot of different varieties planted there. Carmènére was originally a Bordeaux variety and it’s mainly grown in Chile now. So, it’s pretty rare to find.”

“One of the interesting winemaking techniques on this one was that it’s made with 50% whole cluster, whole berry,” said Hammelman. “The stem inclusion accentuates that peppercorn quality and the whole berry component accentuates that nice raspberry fruit and juicy mouthfeel.”

The whole berries are then aged in older oak barrels for 18 months, fermented with native yeast, and then bottled Bottled unfined, unfiltered with minimal sulfur dioxide at bottling.

And, to make the debut extra special for Tucsonans, Sand-Reckoner Vineyards will be serving charcuterie boards to pair with the 2019 Carmènére. 

The Tucson tasting room reopened its doors back in October 2022 and its current hours of operation are 2 – 9 p.m. every Wednesday – Saturday.

The Sand-Reckoner Vineyards tasting room is at 510 N. Seventh Ave. #170. For more information, visit sand-reckoner.com.