Start Your Escape
VINO, VINYL & VIBES
Looking for a summer escape that pairs fine wine with unexpected vibes?
Set your compass for Old Town Cottonwood this summer and step into the multidimensional world of Maynard James Keenan’s Wine Empire, where Merkin Vineyards and the artisanal Caduceus Cellars converge in a sensory playground of taste, sound, and soul.
Start at Queen B Vinyl Café
Start at Queen B Vinyl Café, the newest addition to the Merkin Vineyards universe. This genre-blending space offers more than just wine. It’s a record store, live music venue, barber shop, and coffee roastery, all in one. Sip limited pours from Merkin and Caduceus Cellars, flip through vinyl, and join the Queen B Coffee Club for exclusive small-batch roasts.
TAKE A GUIDED TOUR
Head up to Merkin Hilltop Winery & Trattoria for guided tours of the vineyard, greenhouse, and barrel room, available Thursday–Monday, 12–5 PM. Stay for a fresh, seasonal lunch and don’t miss a taste of the latest, including the Caduceus’s Airavata and Merkin Vineyards Chupacabra. Want more? Join the Velvet Slipper Wine Club for rare quarterly releases.
Inside the Vault
Inside a reimagined 1920s bank in Old Town Cottonwood, Four Eight Wineworks began as Arizona’s first winemaker cooperative—an incubato,r where rising vintners once refined their craft with the assistance of Maynard James Keenan. Though those early winemakers have since graduated to their own locations, the story lives on. Today, guests can taste rotating selections of experimental and small-batch wines in a space that blends heritage with innovation, right down to the original vault door behind the tasting bar.
Rockstar chicken
Take a few steps next door and enter Four 8 Fried Chicken & Bubbles, where comfort food gets the rockstar treatment. Crispy, buttermilk-brined chicken, spicy slaws, and locally inspired sides are served with a splash of bubbles and attitude. All based on a recipe by owner and winemaker Maynard James Keenan.
