Caduceus and Merkin Wineries in Jerome, AZ

Streets of Jerome, AZ
@maezee (41985)
United States
November 21, 2018 11:45pm CST
Any Tool or A Perfect Circle fans out here? I meant to, a while ago now, chronicle some of my Arizona adventures from back around November 11-16 when I went with my sister and brother in law. We had fun! It was an adventure for sure. At the brother-in-law's request, (in fact, I think this is the only reason he decided to come along in the beginning, truthfully, as he is not the traveler), was we would visit James Maynard Keenan (lead singer of both Tool and A Perfect Circle, big-name rock bands) who has opened his own wineries out in Arizona, about 30 miles west of where we ended up staying in Sedona, AZ. The first one we visited was called Caduceus Wineries, located up a windy road in the small "ghost town" of Jerome, AZ. I attached a picture of how the town looks, sort of, but it doesn't quite capture the steepness and how cool the town looked. Lots of small shops. The winery itself was pretty expensive, you could do a tasting, buy bottles or other merchandise, or just enjoy a glass of wine at their stand-up bar area. I opted for a coffee, which they did have. I am not a fan of Tool OR A Perfect Circle, and since I was the designated driver, I did not partake. I did buy one of their coffees from their adjoined coffee/espresso shop. That was good. My co-travelers tell me their wine was good, although expensive. To me, this joint had an air of pretentiousness. The second stop, a town over in Cottonwood on their Main Street was called Merkin's Winery, which is a place I loved. It was a more laid-back, bar/grill-style place that offered their wines but also a food menu. While again, I did not drink any wine, but I did get to enjoy an iced tea and an amazing tomato-basil-vegetable sandwich with home made potato fries. I was SUPER impressed with this place after visiting the pretentious Caduceus winery place. This place was relatively inexpensive, you could also do wine tastings if you chose, and all of their breads are baked on-scene daily AND their vegetables are farm-fresh from their own garden. Dang! AND the bartenders/wait staff were all extremely down to earth, friendly, and no air of pretentiousness whatsoever. Are you a fan of Tool or A Perfect Circle? Do you ever do wine tastings? Have you ever visited a celebrity's business?
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