A 7-Acre Winery With A Wood-Fired Pizza Restaurant Is Coming To Cottonwood, Arizona This Fall
By Melissa Mahoney|Published August 30, 2023
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Melissa Mahoney
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I'm an east coast girl living in a west coast world. I grew up in New England before moving to SoCal for several years. I then lived in NYC or a year before moving to AZ in 2009. I worked in the entertainment industry for many years of my adult life and I love photography, writing, and traveling around the U.S. as well as to far-flung locations around the world! Travel is my life and writing about it is a dream.
Do you enjoy visiting wineries around Arizona? With three distinct wine regions around the state, there are certainly some incredible local vineyards to visit. This October, the ultimate winery in Cottonwood, Arizona is set to open, and all you wine lovers out there are going to want to add it to your bucket list.
This fall on October 6, 2023, a new venture for Merkin Vineyards & Caduceus Cellars is set to open. The much-anticipated Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria is set on 7 acres in Cottonwood and offers something for both foodies and wine lovers.
Maynard James Keenan, who was in the band Tool, is not only a talented musician, lyricist, and music producer but a winemaker as well. He owns Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars and the Hilltop location in Cottonwood is his latest enterprise.
Located on the 7-acre Cottonwood property in the Verde Valley, Hilltop will offer winery tours as well as private wine tastings. The tasting room can be found within Hilltop's 4.5-acre vineyard.
Additionally, it's going to have a gelateria named the Merkin Vineyards Pocket Park Gelateria. It will serve homemade gelati and sorbetti made with fresh local ingredients, some of which are grown in Merkin Vineyard's very own greenhouses and gardens.
From the gelateria, you'll be able to take a tram up the hill to the Trattoria.
And then there's the Trattoria! If you love wood-fired pizza, this will be the place to come in the Verde Valley. House made pasta will also be on the menu.
So, not only will there be tours, a gelateria, and the Trattoria but a facility that will produce over 8,000 cases of Merkin Vineyards wine. You'll even be able to see some of the wine-making process while inside the Trattoria.
Are you as excited as I am for the opening of Merkin Vineyards Hilltop Winery & Trattoria? Let us know and, hopefully, you’ll make it to the grand opening in Cottonwood this October! To learn more, head to the Merkin Vineyards website. You can also follow the Merkin Vineyards Facebook page for updates on the Hilltop location’s opening.
