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Photo by Abraham Karam

Kief Manning
Kief-Joshua Vineyards
Sonoita

It’s almost time for “bird tape.” Kief Manning saunters down a grassy knoll between rows of leafy vines, glancing up at the occasional feathered forager eying his pubescent pinot noir crops. The tape, he explains, is a long, red and silver paper flag he’ll tie to the vine posts. When the flags flail in the wind, they scare the birds off. This breezy version of a scarecrow is “surprisingly relatively effective,” he says. And so is Manning’s airy management style.

At 29, Manning has the easygoing demeanor of a retiree indulging a lifelong hobby. Though he has a formal education in the finer points of biodynamic winemaking from the University of Melbourne in Australia – where he earned an undergraduate degree in wine technology and marketing, and a master’s degree in oenology and viticulture – the Scottsdale-raised vintner repeatedly says, “I’m not in this to make money.”

The prices in his tasting room at Kief-Joshua Vineyards in Elgin reflect that: six tastings in a souvenir glass for five bucks. Bottles generally run $22 to $30. Watching Manning pour zinfandel in his T-shirt, shorts, and baseball cap, smiling between his auburn pork chop sideburns while an old basset hound named Jerry snoozes at his feet, you get the sense that this 60-acre, three-person operation (Manning, mom and dad) is really just a way to make a living crafting and drinking wine at home (he lives upstairs) and hanging out with people who share his passion.

But the work’s not easy. The vineyard produces around 2,800 cases of wine every year and grows 10 different varietals; at harvest time, Manning gets up at 3 a.m. to start hand-picking everything before the sun warms the fruit, which could affect flavor. And since he subscribes to sustainable farming, he takes no shortcuts. He shuns herbicides because they can kill bacteria in the soil that help recycle organic nutrients. He also set up several rain wells throughout the vineyards to collect and deliver water to the vines. “So we have to irrigate as little as possible,” he says.

Manning’s only regret is that, economically, he can’t afford to age his wines longer than two years before putting them on the market. “Most of our wines will age nicely, especially our reds,” he says. “We haven’t had anything go over the hill.”
—Niki D’Andrea

In the Tasting Room at Kief-Joshua Vineyards
2010 chardonnay: A light white with aromas and flavors of oak and lemon
2010 viognier: A honeysuckle-scented white with a citrus palate
2011 pinot gris: A crisp white with tones of orange, peach and pear
2011 chenin blanc: A rosy-nosed white with hints of melon
2010 pinot noir: A slightly peppery red rich with cherry and tomato leaf flavor
2009 Magdalena: A subtly earthy red blend of barbera and cabernet franc


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