Bottle your own wine at Su Vino Winery in Scottsdale

As I walk into the Scottsdale Old Town Farmer’s Market, I get a cup of coffee at the Bean There Done That coffee roaster and wander through the stands of the heirloom tomatoes, the squash blossoms, the onions, the breads, the cheeses. And then, I’m offered a taste of wine. The scent of the wine pairs up beautifully with all the fresh foods in the stalls. At the Scottsdale Old Town Farmer’s Market, Su Vino Winery offers free wine tastings. Usually they bring a selection of white wines to the market since the reds get too warm as the day warms up. Patrons of the market may also buy bottles to take home. I chatted with co-owner Christine Whalin and she invited me to the winery for a visit.

Su Vino Winery, a short walk from the Old Town Farmer’s Market, sells itself as Scottsdale’s only winery. “We do everything but the growing and the pressing,” said Christine Whalin, part-owner in the operation. All the blending and bottling happens on-site. On Mondays, Su Vino closes as the staff spends the day bottling.

Su Vino means “your wine” in both Spanish and Italian. The winery invites people in to taste their wines, and then talk with the winemakers about how they might like the wine to be different. Would they like it sweeter? or drier? or with a more peppery flavor? They work with the winemaker to come up with their own wine. Su Vino then creates the wine and you come back to have a bottling party somewhere between four and eight months later, depending on the type of wine. At the bottling party, friends gather to sanitize, rinse, dry, fill, and cork the bottles as they enjoy wine and appetizers from the bar.

Some people design their own labels. Others work from the templates provided by Su Vino. If they use a Su Vino template, the set-up cost is $5. Labels are $1 a piece after that. The price depends on the wine they are making. “The Bottling Experience” can cost anywhere from $250 to $385. There is no charge for the bottling, just for the cost of the wine. The experience includes the wine, one and a half hours in the bottling area, the back label on the bottle, and the capsule foil wrap that goes over the cork. If a customer prefers splits instead of standard size bottles, the cost is $1/bottle.

Su Vino has corporate customers come in for “The Bottling Experience”, as well as birthday parties and wedding rehearsal parties. They also have many people come in who are just interested in getting together with friends and bottling their own wine.

Su Vino carries between 20 and 25 wines. The wines are blended from grapes primarily from California, but also from Washington and Canada. “We do everything but the growing and the pressing,” said Whalin. She recommends that people come in for a tasting before they design their wine. The tasting can help to narrow down the taste you might be looking for. Five tastings are available for $10.

The winery has a terrific bar, along with tables set up for four to six people, and outdoor seating. Stainless steel vats full of wine can be seen from anywhere in the place. Artwork on the walls is provided by local artists and is switched out every few months. The winery is especially popular on Thursday nights when the City of Scottsdale hosts their Art Walk.

The Farmer’s Market became a great way to introduce themselves into the community when Su Vino opened two years ago. While I interviewed Whalin on a follow-up visit, a couple came in and said “I saw you at the market on Saturday, and we thought we should come in and check it out.”

Su Vino Winery is located in downtown Scottsdale at 7035 E. Main Street, Suite 110. The winery opens Tuesday and Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday from noon to 10 p.m.; and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. They are closed on Mondays. Free parking is available in the underground garage just south of Main, accessible from Marshall Way. You can also continue to taste their wines and buy bottles at the Old Town Farmer’s Market.