ROCK OUT WITH YOUR WINE OUT

Maynard James Keenan—Frontman, Wino

By TYLER BALLIET

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Let's start with two things you probably don't know. One: Tasty wine is made in Arizona, and two: Maynard James Keenan, frontman for Tool and A Perfect Circle, is a winemaker—and he's not some celebrity "I own a winery but don't do anything except put my name on the bottle" kind. He's the "I walk the vineyards, know the soil composition, decide how much oak, run the bottling machine" kind. And he's a pretty damn good one.

Keenan got a taste for wine right here in Somerville. He used to sit on a rooftop, barbecuing with friends and guzzling the vino brought from a buddy that worked at a local wine shop. Years later, when he started touring the world with Tool, he made a point to drop into the major wine regions in Europe, advancing his knowledge and furthering his passion for the grape.

Eventually, the desire to plant his own vineyard smacked him in the face while he was staring across his remote property in Arizona, sipping on some wine. He wasted no time and by 2003, plans were in the works to plant Caduceus Cellars' vineyards on his own property. That same year, Keenan met fellow Arizona resident, winemaker and future business partner, Eric Glomski. Now the owner and winemaker of Page Spring Cellars, located in central Arizona, Glomski brings the winemaking know-how to the team and mentors Keenan.

Each with their own winery, Keenan and Glomski have teamed up to start a third winery, dubbed Arizona Stronghold Vineyards. Owning 10 percent of Arizona's 28 wineries is no easy task. "You can't pop down to the barrel store," Keenan explains. In rural Arizona, there is little support for a winemaker, as the winemaking community is incredibly small and there are few experienced workers to hire, plus the extremely high costs of needing to fly specialists in to fix equipment or consult on winery matters.

These negatives, however, didn't seem to faze Keenan. When asked why he decided to make wine in Arizona, Keenan simply replied, "That's where I live. It's a powerful, magical place." Keenan compares the soil content to Burgundy, Champagne and Bordeaux, but says it looks more like Spain and Italy. He goes on to wax poetic about how the volcanic- and limestone-rich soils are prime for making great wines—explaining, in detail, how they're experimenting with a slew of grapes, from Malbec to Monastrell, Viognier to Sagrantino. So far, they have had the best luck with Rhône grapes in the southern part of the state (Syrah and Grenache), and Cabernet and Sangiovese in the north.

We had the opportunity to taste Arizona Stronghold's 2007 "Nachise" red from Cochise County. It's a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Petite Syrah, with dark and earthy flavors. While this may sounds cheesy and cliché, you can literally taste the passion, dedication and persistence that goes into making a wine like this in such a new region. Keenan and Glomski are putting Arizona on the map, and these wines represent the beginning of a bright and intoxicating future for wineries in the Southwest.

[Meet Maynard Keenan and Eric Glomski, Tue 6.16.09 & Wed 6.17.09 for a bottle signing at Whole Foods Market, 340 River St., Cambridge. 617.876.6990. 4:30pm-7:30pm. azstronghold.com]