Every November now we travel to the Verde Valley to visit Aaron and to taste his new wines.  This year we could not be at his wine release party for the 2016 wines, so we came out the following week and had a wonderful time with family and friends.  And the wines are terrific, as always.

We stayed this time at the Clarkdale Lodge, which was comfortable, spacious, and very close to Aaron’s house.  It’s across the street from Four Eight Wineworks Tasting Room, where Aaron and partner, David, were having an animated conversation.

One night we had a great dinner at Annie’s.  The second night was at Far Side Bistro, another favorite.  The spinach and cheese lavash and Aaron’s stupendous lamb chops were the highlights of that meal.

Far Side Bistro

Breakfast tacos at Crema Cafe in Old Town Cottonwood were a significant departure from my usual morning fruit smoothies, but with enough green chiles, they provided a welcome change.

Breakfast Tacos at Crema Cafe

One day we went up to Jerome for a late breakfast, and we went out to the winery at Camp Verde, where Aaron gave us a full tour and education, along with some barrel tasting of the unblended 2017 vintage.  The scenery also included one of my favorite Studebakers.

These trips usually feature hiking in some of the lovely countryside, in this case alongside the Verde River near Tuzigoot National Monument.

Waterlogue 1.3.1 (72)

Waterlogue 1.3.1 (72)

The last night Aaron cooked vegetable fajitas for us with some steak ones for Bree and him.  Another very memorable visit to sustain us until we see him next.