Essential Sedona Magazine lives to introduce its readers to those people and places that are the heart and soul of the community. Therefore, we are excited to share with you our encounter with James Ratliff, the owner of the longest tenured operating art gallery in Sedona.
David Yellowhorse walked into Mother Nature’s Flower Shop in Glendale, Arizona. He wasn’t there to purchase flowers but rather to visit the woman who ran a small jewelry shop in the 10-foot wide gazebo in the back. The woman he was there to see was Peggy Lanning.
Michael Pierce seems to always have a full calendar. No, make that a really full calendar. And he always handles it with grace. Among his areas of interest and responsibility, he is the Director of Enology (winemaking) at Yavapai College’s Southwest Wine Center at the Verde Valley campus in Clarkdale.
Near the outskirts of town and adjacent to Sedona Pines Resort, one will find a charming and delicious dining gem. Surrounded by towering Italian cypress trees and sweeping views of the red rocks, Bella Vita Ristorante is a favorite among locals.
If you find yourself strolling through the cobblestone streets and vine-draped buildings of the Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village in downtown Sedona, be sure to make your way back toward the shops that line Oak Creek.
Wine lovers “in the know” have been watching Arizona advance into the earned status of a true wine destination over the past few years. That has taken a while—in fact, much longer than should have been the case. And, with apologies to the Grateful Dead, what a long strange trip it’s been.
The 19th Annual Thunder Valley Rally will take place on the 20th and 21st of September and kicks off with a huge, opening ceremonial ride. Participating motorcycles ride into town with a police and fire department escort, starting in Camp Verde and arriving in Cottonwood early Friday afternoon.
It’s not often that you can visit a new world-class wine destination during its infancy. In the Old World, the ones you can easily recite — Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Chianti and the Rhine River — established themselves centuries ago.