Inside Maynard James Keenan's new Arizona wine country tasting room: 'Good for conversation'

Maynard James Keenan, the vocalist for Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer is opening a new tasting room in Old Town Cottonwood. "We have been trying to make the Four Eight Wineworks a stand-alone brand," said Keenan, who owns Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars.

Four Eight Wineworks, named after Arizona, the 48th state, started as a cooperative wine-making program through which Keenan offered space and equipment to up-and-coming winemakers in Arizona, including Chateau Tumbleweed, Bodega Pierce, Saeculum Cellars, Heart Wood and Oddity Wine Collective.

Now that the wineries have established themselves and left the proverbial nest, Keenan aims to make Four Eight its own brand, starting with a tasting room in Cottonwood that opened on Nov. 16.

Keenan is having fun with the brand, getting cheeky and weaving tales about Four Eight's origin story. So, don't be surprised to read on the website that aliens first brought grapes to Arizona. “State last. Grapes first. The Truth is in here.”

An Arizona wine destination:This stunning vineyard is getting a new tasting room. Here's how to visit

'Arizona makes incredible world-class wines'

Since he first started planting grapes in the Verde Valley in 2000, Keenan's mission has been to showcase Arizona wine.

"Arizona makes incredible world-class wines," he said. "The goal has always been to present these in different lights."

Keenan's wines are products of 110 acres of vineyards in the Verde Valley and Willcox. Whereas Caduceus offers more exclusive wines, with prices ranging from $50 to $250, Merkin wines are more moderately priced from the mid-twenties to mid-forties. Four Eight is somewhere in the middle, with bottles ranging from $29 to $66.

Four Eight is debuting a red blend called Legion. "At the beginning and end of the season, vineyards might be producing grapes that take longer to ripen. So, we just let them hang," Keenan said. "Over the course of the year, we gather these lingering red grapes and make a statewide blend from all of our sites."

Though Keenan jokingly calls it their Frankenstein of wines, Legion is very complex and limited, with only 400 cases produced annually, split into four different labels with a different artist designing each label.

Four Eight Wineworks also produces a variety of sparkling Puscifer canned wines using red, white, rose, cider and mead.

"We are doing a soft rollout, because we want to get it right," Keenan explained.

A new Cuban bar:Tropical vibes rule at this Cuban-themed Phoenix bar from the Rough Rider crew

What's on the menu at Four Eight Wineworks?

The 1500 square-foot tasting room on Cottonwood's Main Street can accommodate up to 40 people. Guests can taste Four Eight and Puscifer wines by the glass, bottle, can or as flights.

The prices range between $10 and $18 per glass and from $29 to $66 per bottle. Fights cost $12 for three 2-ounce pours of Four Eight white, red and pink or three 2-ounce pours of Puscifer orange Malvasia, rosé and red.

The food menu is composed of charcuterie boards, bruschettas, gourmet popcorn and twaffles — tater tot waffles developed by Keenan's wife — topped with tomato jam and onion chutney. Eventually, they plan to add a hot chicken kitchen.

The Cottonwood storefront sells local goods from Merkin Gardens & Orchards, such as olives, apple butter, jam, gelati and sorbetti made in-house from seasonal ingredients.

"We've created a space good for conversation and good for people coming to town to discover Arizona wine."

Details: 816 N. Main St., Cottonwood. four8wineworks.com.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday to Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

'Zero tolerance':Popular downtown Phoenix bars oust co-owner accused of sexual harassment

Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Maynard James Keenan of Tool opens Four Eight Wineworks in Cottonwood