Our Vineyards
Elevation, well draining soils, hot days with significantly cooler nights make northern Arizona a perfect environment for grape growing. Arizona, California, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Bordeaux France all share a similar latitude north of the equator placing Arizona among some of the most famous wine destinations in the world.
Javelina Leap Vineyard & Winery is a 10 1/4 acre estate nestled 3,800 ft. above sea level. The Javelina Leap Estate Vineyards are located on the steep slopes of an extinct volcanic mountain, overlooking the lush, riparian, greenbelt of Oak Creek.
The Javelina Leap Estate Vineyard grows our highly awarded Legacy Zinfandel planted in 2005. Recently, beginning in 2022 our double gold, award winning, Legacy Sparkling Rosé is now made from the estate grapes .
In 2014 we began harvesting the following varietals from our exclusive Hassayampa vineyard outside of Prescott Arizona. Our awarded cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sangiovese and barbera are grown at Hassayampa. Javelina Leap also contracts a variety of wine grapes from southern Arizona. Our Northern Arizona Vineyards are pruned and harvested by hand to ensure the highest quality. Many of our wines are produced and bottled as pure varietals from single vineyards as opposed to blending and field crushing. Produced in this way the characteristics of each varietal is preserved. Javelina Leap wines are a true result of the Arizona terroir.
You will notice an abundance of plants intermingling with our Javelina Leap vines. We don't believe in sterile vineyard rows. These plants are a natural, sustainable resource that benefits our vines and we have chosen to completely avoid chemical weed control and weed-whip instead. In addition, we compost the destemmed and must material right back into the vineyards's soil. It would simply be irresponsible to use chemical weed control as we are located across the road from a riparian green belt, state fish hatchery, Oak Creek and it's many tributaries and natural springs.
Natural vegetation in our vineyard decomposes with the help of valuable microbes and fungi in the soil, improving the nitrogen, moisture retention and the vines overall nutrient absorption capabilities. Every good vineyard manager and winemaker knows the value of nitrogen and the important role it plays in the stability of wine and the fermentation process. Using chemical weed control lowers and kills the vine’s natural populations of microbes and fungi which colonize in and around the root system, reducing nitrogen and the soils ability to retain moisture. Our unique terroir needs to be protected and nurtured. It's a no brainer!
-Cynthia Snapp