Recently we took a trip to the Jerome, Clarkdale, and Cottonwood to go to the Verde Valley Wine Trail. I learned about the wine trail when I did a search for local wineries http://www.vvwinetrail.com/. I found that there were 4 wineries and 8 tasting rooms in the area. We weren’t sure which to go to first so we decided to walk in the downtown Cottonwood area since we hadn’t done it before.
It was actually really neat to walk down the area. Cottonwood became a town in 1912 so they are celebrating the AZ Centennial that happens this year, more specifically in February http://www.azcentennial.gov/! The downtown area is on the historic 89A which is outside of the main part of town.
While in Cottonwood, we visited a few boutiques and antique stores.
We went to the Pillsbury tasting room in the middle of Main street. It was a little pricey, the tastings start at $10 for 4 wines and go up from there. I did the white flight for $14, it was delicious and I got to keep my glass. Also, our Sommelier was awesome, friendly, and very informative. She told us why there are no AZ wines that are sweet simply because the quality of our grapes are different than other states.
http://www.vvwinetrail.com/pillsbury.html
We only visited one tasting room, if we had more time I would have loved to have seen a winery but we will be going back.
Another place worth visiting in the downtown area was Larry’s Antiques which is at the end of the curve. They claim to have over 2 acres of antiques and it was certainly true. It seemed to be a little pricey but the fun really was getting to go through and look at everything. You can see some of what we found there in the photos above. Larry’s Antique Store is located at 796 North Main Street, Cottonwood, AZ.
There is a burger place next door that was closed for the day but others in town seemed to rave that the burgers were divine!
At the end, we went to the candy store at the other end of the strip and bought some delicious almonds and candy for the kids. They had homemade fudge and flavored popcorn too!
We took the drive through Clarkdale and didn’t stop because we were running short on time but I did grab a few photos! They are also celebrating in the AZ Centennial.
I have to say the drive from Cottonwood through Clarkdale and to Jerome is beautiful. It takes you up the mountain where we saw snow on Mingus once we got to Jerome, which is at about 5,000 feet. Jerome has a lot of character and a lot of history. It is a great town to walk through and enjoy the boutiques, art and culture.
Because I am a history nerd, reading about the town’s history is really neat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerome,_Arizona
When we went, the weather was a little cloudy so the photos of Jerome I have above include a previous Jerome trip that we took. Jerome also has some wineries and an olive oil store and southwest store which also do samplings.
If you go to Jerome, AZ –
Time: It’s about an hour and 15 minutes from Phoenix, I suggest leaving early in the morning and you can visit all 3 towns. If you are able, stay close and you can also visit Sedona and Prescott all in the same weekend.
Best days to go: Don’t go on Mondays, it seems like a lot of shops are closed, Friday – Sunday is typically when tourists visit.
Where to go when stopping through: Take a stroll down each of the town’s downtown areas and take in the culture. Our favorite place to eat in the area is the Haunted Hamburger in Jerome.
Have you been to this area of AZ? What is your favorite thing to do there?
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