Team C&J
This Winery Is Permanently Closed.
Winery Rating
Located at:
114 Jerome Ave, Jerome, AZ 86331
Wine Club Rating
Price Range For Tasting
Located in the charming town of Jerome, Arizona, the Original Jerome Winery offers a delightful experience for wine enthusiasts of all levels. This historic winery, established in the early days of modern Arizona winemaking, boasts a convenient location, a unique selection of tasting options, and a commitment to showcasing the potential of Arizona grapes.
Whether you’re a Zinfandel aficionado or someone who is new to wine, the Original Jerome Winery has a wine for every palate. With a wide range of tasting flights, including a dedicated Heritage Zinfandel experience and a decadent port tasting, you’re sure to find something to tantalize your taste buds.
The Original Jerome Winery was created by winemaker John John McLoughlin. Starting way back in the 1980s, John began studying winemaking in pockets of Europe and California. As a native Arizonan, he was always hopeful that he could recreate the magic of those established wine regions in his home state of Arizona.
In 2001, after bouncing around a few other industries, he made the jump into wine full-time and established his very own vineyard in Wilcox, Arizona.
The grapes that the Original Jerome Winery use to make their wines are sourced from the brand’s Dragoon Vineyard in Wilcox, Arizona. Interestingly, the vineyard is about 300 miles southeast of the tasting room.
We will dig into the ins and outs of Arizona’s AVAs in a later piece, but when we learned that most of the wineries in the state grow their grapes here, we were a bit surprised. Of the three AVAs, Wilcox is the largest grape growing region in Arizona.
Original Jerome Winery’s vineyard is named after the Dragoon Mountains, which are close to the site.
This Jerome winery has a great little tasting room right in the center of town. In fact, the Original Jerome Winery is just around the corner from Caduceus Cellars, so you could visit both in an afternoon, if you want to try multiple tasting rooms.
The tasting room itself is filled with a mix of modern and vintage decor, which gives the space a fun, almost kitschy feel. Dramatic blue walls and gilded frame paintings will look great in your Instagram pictures! There’s also plenty of seating. It feels like this space has room for everyone, even on a busy weekend.
The entry level tasting at the Original Jerome Winery allows you to taste 6 wines for the very reasonable cost of $20. The winery will waive the tasting fee when you purchase two bottles.
If you love Zinfandel wine, try the Heritage Zinfandel tasting. Winemaker John McLoughlin has partnered with UC Davis to study how Zinfandel does in Arizona. The project established cuttings from Napa Valley and Sonoma County at the brand’s Dragoon Vineyard, with John overseeing the process.
This tasting flight is priced at $15 for 6 pours.
It’s somewhat unusual to see ports get their very own tasting, so this intrigued us. Guests can sample 6 wines (all ports) for $18.
2014 Malbec, 80 PTS
A firm, grippy wine with blackberry fruit and some tangy pomegranate notes. Decent, but not amazing.
2018 Sangiovese, 83 PTS
Not your typical Sanviogese. This one was all strawberry and raspberry with some rusticity.
2014 Dolcetto, (75 PTS first bottle) 86 PTS new bottle
The first bottle we tried that had been open tasted like grape juice. When the staff opened a new bottle, this wine totally changed. Beautiful red fruit notes, a touch of oak and structured tannins.
2018 Agliotico, (first bottle 75 PTS, new bottle 84 PTS)
Just not a lot going on with these wines. Many of them feel like one note wines.
2017 Blaufränkisch, 82 PTS
Interesting to see a cool climate, Austrian grape from Arizona. This bottle was ‘okay’. Robust herbiness on the palate.
2017 Petite Sirah, 87 PTS
A rich wine aged in 75% French oak. Lots of vanilla oak and jammy fruit.
2017 Provocateur, 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Merlot, 88 PTS
Full bodied with notable dark berry fruit and spice. Pleasant herbaceousness for the secondary notes. One of the best wines we tried.
All Wrapped Up, 40% Graciano 40% Montepulciano 10% Alicante Bouschet 9% Mourvèdre 1% Counoise, 86 PTS
Very aromatic nose with dark berry fruit, and lush chocolate. Stewed pitted fruit, black pepper spice, and rich vanilla notes.
The Tease, 30% Cab Sauvignon, 30% Syrah, 30% Petit Verdot, 10% Merlot, 84 PTS
Light vanilla and concentrated dark fruit notes. The palate is soft and holds jammy hints of blackberries and cassis. A decent wine.
We tried two ports from six wine line-up in the port tasting and they were both excellent. Counoise Port, 90 PTS, Primitivo Port, 85 PTS
A quick word about corkage in Arizona. If you fall in love with one of the wines at the Original Jerome Winery and want to take it to dinner with you, be aware that if an Arizona restaurant has a liquor license, then corkage is not allowed. Some restaurants that do not have a liquor license allow BYO, but pickings are slim. Always call ahead in Arizona if you’re interested in exploring wine corkage options in the Grand Canyon state.
This winery has a great little tasting room in downtown Jerome, and we really like the hospitality from our server, Dave. If you want a good jumping off point to learn about the Arizona wine industry, this is a great place to start.
All things wine, and food you could ever need or want — straight to your email!
