1764 Vineyards Located in Pearce in Southern Willcox AVA
Background
You know a winery named 1764 must be unique and original. When pressed how and why the name came about, Bob and Jules Dixon the owners of the winery, provided their insight to the name. The winery and their tasting room are located at 357 W. Treasure Road, Pearce, Arizona. Jules’s major and education was in pre-Revolution history. In 1764 the British Parliament passed the Sugar Act, imposing duties on sugar and molasses imported to the American colonies from non-British sources. This helped solidify the formal protestation of “no taxation without representation”, sparking early colonial resistance that became the groundwork for the American Revolution and independence. This following the Boston Tea Party in 1773. The Sugar Act was a tax on many items as depicted in the London Chronicle printed in 1764. Far more to the story on their name and I would direct you to their website to read.
from the London Chronicle 1764
Their 30 acre property is located just east of Cochise Stronghold in the southeastern Arizona’s Dragoon Mountains.
National Parks Service Picture
These rugged mountains rising to 7,000 feet elevations about the Willcox bench of 4,500 avg elevation, served as a natural fortress for the Apache Chief Cochise during the resistance against the U.S. Army in 1860’s and 1870’s. Cochise ran a brilliant and daring guerrilla campaign from these spires and narrow ravines with secret lookouts with up to 1,000 Apache Indians eluding capture. These mountains are the backdrop for the winery and may be symbolic of a small winery being successful.
The winery was recommended to me for a visit by several folks in the community. Bob started out in Iowa and subsequently moved to the East Valley of Phoenix. Their background was admittedly one of being not big wine drinkers. The attended the 2010 Willcox Wine Festival and “caught the wine bug”. Shortly thereafter in 2021 they were at the Cottonwood Harvest Festival and had a long discussion on the next phase of the lives, as they were soon to be empty nesters. They wanted to rebel a bit from sitting back in their recliners and decided starting a winery was the direction to move towards. Jules attended Yavapai Colleges’ Verde Valley campus to receive her enology degree in 2019. During her time at Yavapai, they found land that was cleared and began planting grapes in 2018. Their grown children also relocated to Cochise county working alongside Bob and Jules in developing the winery. In September of 2020 their winery was officially launched.
The Winery Today
Picture from visit https://www.vacationrenter.com/
Today they are eagerly producing handcrafted and artisan wines infused with the same spark and energy that helped found the American independence. They offer Petit Verdot, Picpoul Blanc, Vermentino, Syrah, Riesling, Malbec, Mourvedre and Sagrantino. They have received at the 2026 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition a Gold Medal for their 2021 Syrah called the Vixen. Additionally, they have won various awards from the Arizona Wine Growers Association.
We spent a lot of time discussing the Willcox AVA, wine competitions, and discussing a wide range of topics. As the time passed, we hardly had time to try the wines! We did settle on tasting a few of them.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Jules’s favorite is her new “Orange wine”, appropriately name Jules T 2023 Amber Riesling. She is especially pleased making this wine in the traditional format and time-consuming method orange wines require for their flavor and with beautiful coloring. Her description of the wine as having “fresh herbs dazzle the nose. On the palate, this crisp and refreshing wine offers up a balanced blend of citrus pith, minerality, and hints of mild tea flavor”.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
My favorite from the tasting was their 2023 Petit Verdot “Star Rider” made with 100% Petit Verdot grapes. This is listed at $40/bottle and received my highest rating of the tastings. On the eyes a truly radiant purple and magenta in color, on the nose aromas of black fruits and plums with violets. On the palate, black fruits provided layers of enjoyment, depth and provocative thinking. On the finish the mellow earthiness of the AVA terroir finished off each satisfying sip.
They are working on a few other creative and unique wines that are available when visiting.
Bob and Jules were perhaps the most interesting, intelligent and creative people I met on the visit to Willcox AVA. While being a bit “out of the way”, the trip was rewarded in their wines and getting to know them. Look for this small winery to continue to make an impression and win awards.
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
https://californiawinesandwineries.com