Southern Arizona’s 1764 Vineyards made a big splash at the 2023 Arizona Wine Competition.
Bob and Jules Dixon’s winemaking origin story is not so different than most. Which is to say, drinking was involved. The Valley couple was celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary at Alcantara Vineyards in Camp Verde, circa 2012, when Bob had a notion. “We were sitting there, enjoying wine, food and music and looking out at this beautiful vineyard,” the former software executive recalls. “So, I leaned over to Jules and said, ‘I bet we could figure out this sort of thing.’” Once their winery, 1764 Vineyards, got off the ground in 2018, success did not take long to follow. After amassing several awards in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and Arizona Wine Competition, the duo scored their biggest plaudit last spring, winning the Growers Cup for the best red wine in Arizona for their 2021 “8 Years Later” red blend. They popped a bottle with us.
Ironically, it was Jules who figured out the winemaking “thing,” enrolling at Yavapai College in 2013 to learn viticulture and enology while Bob readied a 30-acre property near Willcox to serve as their estate vineyard.
Why name it 1764? Number junkies both, the Dixons cite it as the square of 42 – a number well-known to fans of A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It was also the year the British levied the Sugar Tax, helping trigger U.S. independence.
While their vines got up to speed, the Dixons purchased grapes from other growers and formed collaborations with nearby wineries, including Golden Rule Vineyards in Willcox.
With the help of the GRV winemaker, they settled on an unusual blend of Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot and Sangiovese to fill out their menu. Combining Rhône richness with Bordeaux structure and Italian acidity, it “was what we were looking for,” Jules recalls.
Dubbing the wine “8 Years Later” to mark that fateful day in 2013, the Dixons entered it in the 2023 Arizona Wine Competition, and the rest is history. The 2022 vintage dropped this summer with the same “PPS” blend. “The percentages of each varietal may change year to year, but it will always be those three,” Jules says.
$45
1764 Vineyards “8 Years Later”
1764vineyards.com
Available at Queen Creek Olive Mill, Wine Collective of Scottsdale and other fine wine stores.
