Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Gonnerman.
Hi Greg, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I always had an interest in wine but it wouldn’t become a passion until around 2006 when I started attending wine tastings at a wine store in Scottsdale. Soon I really got into it. I learned a lot from the wine makers, distributors, and others who poured wine at these events, as well as from my fellow wine drinkers. In less than a year I would start making wine at home from all manner of ingredients, and within a few years I decided to try backyard viticulture at my home in Mesa, in a friend’s yard in Queen Creek, and in a relative’s yard in far east Mesa. My closets and cupboards were soon filled with all manor of carboys and small barrels and I was making more wine than I could drink. By 2012 friends started asking me why I wasn’t making wine as a business. I told them it was too much work, too much worry, and too much bureaucracy. At the end of the day though I wasn’t happy with those answers, so I started looking for the property that would become my vineyard.
I focused pretty quickly on the Willcox area in southeastern Arizona. The cost of land was lower and the climate more suitable to growing grapes than other areas of Arizona. It took me nearly four months to find the property, but even then I wasn’t sure I had a workable parcel. Some in the area warned me that that particular location would be too prone to damaging late spring frosts. So I placed temperature sensors there and several miles away at a couple of established vineyards. What I found when I read the data from those sensors the first time would set the whole project in motion. The data suggested that the location I chose would be LESS prone to late spring frosts; with that bit of information I quickly ordered vines to plan in the spring of 2013. Those vines would go on to thrive in the high desert foothills of the Dos Cabezas mountains.
I wouldn’t start the winery though until 2016. Since then we’ve made a number of award winning wines in diverse styles. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
In 2014 as we were planting additional vines we were having issues with the irrigation system. Drip emitters were plugging up and we didn’t know why. We struggled to keep them clear but within a couple of weeks the pump in the irrigation well failed. It turns out that the clogged emitters were being caused by nylon filaments being cast into the water by a wobbly nylon turbine. It only took a few days to replace the pump, but those few weeks of plugged drip emitters had already done some damage. Tender young vines need some water, and being deprived of irrigation at that time led to significant losses. The following year, 2015, would be largely about replanting those dead vines.
The trials and tribulations of building a winery could also be quite a discussion.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an engineer and have worked for a number of prominent companies in Arizona, including Motorola, General Dynamics, ITT Defense, and others.
I have no formal education in wine making, viticulture, or business. I suppose I am self taught.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I grew up on a farm in Missouri at a time when kids, especially those in a rural area. were given a tremendous amount of autonomy. This freedom and the consequences it sometimes brought have shaped who I am. You have to think on your feet and find workarounds to problems when you are an entrepreneur, and I think I benefitted from this upbringing. So my favorite childhood memory isn’t a specific instance, but generally how I was raised.
Pricing:
- White wines are low to mid twenties.
- Standard reds are upper twenties.
- Premium reds are $32 to $45.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.laramitacellars.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laramitacellars/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laramitacellars
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/laramita-cellars
