When I was a university student in the Ozarks back in the day, I definitely enjoyed Missouri's local wine industry! I honestly haven't found any others I've liked since moving away.
I feel like Arizona wines are in the same place you describe - I want them to be better than they are! Though the few who are starting to get their groove are producing heavier wines than I generally like (eg Stronghold's Tempranillo) and that may be what we're going to get in a relatively hot region.
Canadian wine drinker here and having been on those Niagara wine tours, I never go that route anymore. They tend to go to the more 'accessible' wineries (i.e. affordable and mainstream). I rarely came home with wines for our cellar on those tours. However, there are many, high-quality wineries and wines in Niagara, you just have to know where to look (and it's rarely found on those wine tours unfortunately). I have also found drinking local wines has helped me become more connected to the area. I start to learn why certain wines do better in one location, but not as well just 30km down the road. I think there is something worth exploring between 'terroir' and 'urbanism'.
Addison - I think you’d find this article interesting about Missouri wine
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/man-saving-americas-forgotten-grapes-180983239/
When I was a university student in the Ozarks back in the day, I definitely enjoyed Missouri's local wine industry! I honestly haven't found any others I've liked since moving away.
I feel like Arizona wines are in the same place you describe - I want them to be better than they are! Though the few who are starting to get their groove are producing heavier wines than I generally like (eg Stronghold's Tempranillo) and that may be what we're going to get in a relatively hot region.
Canadian wine drinker here and having been on those Niagara wine tours, I never go that route anymore. They tend to go to the more 'accessible' wineries (i.e. affordable and mainstream). I rarely came home with wines for our cellar on those tours. However, there are many, high-quality wineries and wines in Niagara, you just have to know where to look (and it's rarely found on those wine tours unfortunately). I have also found drinking local wines has helped me become more connected to the area. I start to learn why certain wines do better in one location, but not as well just 30km down the road. I think there is something worth exploring between 'terroir' and 'urbanism'.