Julia Dixon and Brooke Lowry Ide — two dynamic women from two different backgrounds — found new lives and purpose in wineries located in Southern Arizona, each within one of the state’s recognized wine regions.
Julia Dixon and Brooke Lowry Ide
Jenelle Bonifield worked in partnership with Visit Arizona to create this blog and all photos are also her own.
For Julia and Bob Dixon, their 24th wedding anniversary trip in October 2012 to the Verde Valley Wine Region was a defining moment in their lives. They spent the day at a beautiful vineyard’s harvest party. While sipping wine and looking out over the lush green vineyard, they both thought, “We can do this!”
Within two years — despite having no prior farming or winemaking experience — they boldly relocated from Phoenix to Cottonwood in the Verde Valley, where Julia enrolled in Yavapai College’s viticulture and enology programs.
After she graduated in 2016, Julia and Bob purchased land and moved four hours southeast to Pearce, Arizona, in the heart of the Willcox Wine Region. She interned at Four Tails Vineyard, which ultimately led to her current position as head winemaker. Julia credits the influence of winemaker Gary Kurtz for helping her develop her own skills.
Shortly after moving to Pearce, Julia and Bob founded Seventeen Sixty-Four Vineyards. Nestled an hour from Tucson just east of Cochise Stronghold near the Dragoon Mountains, their 30-acre property sits at 4,500 feet in elevation — prime territory within the Willcox Wine Region. With a climate and soil composition reminiscent of renowned growing regions in Italy, Spain and France, this area is recognized as Arizona’s largest and most prolific wine-producing region. Their tasting room, located on the vineyard, offers panoramic views of the surrounding high-desert landscape.
Currently, they grow Petit Verdot, Picpoul Blanc and Vermentino. Their first wine release, 2018 Deep Thought Syrah, earned a silver medal at the 2020 AZCentral.com Arizona Wine Competition.
Vino Stache Winery
Vino Stache Winery
The Wino-O’s Moustache
Sonoita-Elgin, Sonoita Wine Region Brooke Lowry Ide, Winemaker www.vinostache.com
As an undergraduate in maritime archaeology, Brooke Lowry Ide spent summers diving among shipwrecks. Never did she imagine that, in the decade following graduation, her summers would be filled with crushing grapes into wine. Brooke’s career path took her from marketing in corporate America to becoming the owner and winemaker at Vino Stache Winery in the Sonoita Wine Region, where she produces 100% Arizona-grown and cellared wine.
Though based in Scottsdale with her husband and four children, Brooke divides her time between home and the winery in Sonoita-Elgin, about 2.5 hours away. “I have a lot of heart and soul in Sonoita,” she says. Since many people in the Phoenix area remain unaware of Arizona’s flourishing wine scene, her goal is to bring greater recognition to Arizona wines by making her products more accessible in the metro area.
Brooke’s journey to winemaking began in 2014 when she enrolled at Yavapai College and earned her degree in viticulture and enology. She interned at Four Eight Wineworks under winemaker Erin Center and later worked for Maynard Keenan’s Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards, as well as Kent Callaghan’s Callaghan Vineyards. By 2019, Brooke was running her own winery, Vino Stache Winery, as a one-woman operation.
Although she has yet to plant vines on her 54-acre property, she sources fruit from esteemed Arizona growers introduced to her by her mentor, Kent Callaghan. The varieties she works with include Cabernet, Graciano, Grenache, Malbec, Malvasia Bianca, Montepulciano, Petit Verdot, Tannat and Vranac. “As long as there’s fruit for sale, I’m just going to buy for now,” she explains. With barrels aging in her winery building, her first 2019 vintages were bottled in 2021.
Currently, barrel tastings — and soon, full wine tastings — are available by appointment only.
As Yavapai College continues to cultivate the next generation of Arizona winemakers, it’s inspiring to see women emerge as leaders in a traditionally male-dominated industry. Cheers to Julia and Brooke for shaping the future of Arizona wine!
One of Arizona’s fastest-growing emerging wineries is Los Milics Vineyards.
About the Author
Jenelle Bonifield
Jenelle’s true passion is photographing and documenting the beauty of Arizona’s vineyards and the stories behind the wine industry. She recently published a coffee-table book, AZ Uncorked, The Arizona Wine Guide. Her photography has appeared in numerous regional and national publications. Read more on arizonawineguide.com
The book AZ Uncorked, The Arizona Wine Guide, is available at: arizonawineguide.com
