Urgently needed: a skilled Winemaker for our Winery in Rugged Cochise County, Arizona.

This dramatic Terroir in a High Elevation Mountain Valley where the most sought after Arizona vineyards are emerging, growing to over 100 from a mere handful when I started in 2000.

Pillsbury Wine Company was set up 2006 with wines from vines we planted in 2000. My endeavor started with 100 acres, a well, a house and a barn.

The soil is a sandy Igneous Alluvial Loam with Caliche at around 3 ft in most areas. At 4350 ft there’s 40% more UV than most vineyards, this has a remarkable impact on the fruit. Then endless daytime sun and a temperature drop of up to 40 degrees at night encourages ripening, then slows everything for longer hang time.

So, we are a bunch of pioneers who wrangled something wonderful out of a Longhorn grazing valley.

We only make wines from our organically grown vines…there are 14,000, mostly Rhones, some own-rooted.

We are presently fermenting all our wines with our native yeasts, or ‘spontaneous fermentation. It makes more complex, fascinating wines but comes with some issues.

We are looking for a passionate and inventive Winemaker who can handle all aspects of winemaking, someone with the highest standards, but who wants to experiment, and possibly handle some vineyard management, Due to our 2000-3000 case production, one of our nearby colleagues, Cochise Wine Company, would be interested in sharing services.

Check our website, www.pillsburywine.com. We are looking at a salary range of $45,000-$65,000 with the ability to use our fruit and make own wine as part-salary, if desired.

My name is Sam Pillsbury. You can contact me at spillsbury@aol.com.