Tool’s Maynard James Keenan growing his Arizona wine empire with new tasting room
Oct 29, 2022, 5:45 AM
Maynard James Keenan (Getty Images and Twitter/@Four8Wineworks Photos)
(Getty Images and Twitter/@Four8Wineworks Photos)
PHOENIX – Rocker Maynard James Keenan’s Arizona wine empire is growing like well-tended grapevines.
The singer for Tool, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle is opening a new tasting room, Four Eight Wineworks, in Old Town Cottonwood.
The wine bar is set to debut Nov. 16 at 816 N. Main Street. Cottonwood is about 100 miles north of Phoenix, between Prescott and Sedona.
Blocks away from Keenan’s Merkin Vineyards Osteria, Four Eight Wineworks will offer a variety of wines and a limited food menu.
The 1,500-foot venue has space for 40 guests plus a shop offering seasonal items such as olives, apple butter and jam from Merkin Gardens & Orchards along with house-made gelati and sorbetti.
It will be open seven days a week, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
Four Eight Wineworks has evolved into a brand after starting as a cooperative venture to help small Arizona winegrowers establish themselves.
“With all of its tenants having graduated or moved on, Four Eight Wineworks has now transitioned into a standalone wine label,” Keenan said in a press release.
“The wines are made by me and Tim White using Northern Arizona fruit. And since the co-op narrative is no longer applicable, the messaging has become far more playful and tongue in cheek. Strap in.”
Keenan also heads up Arizona’s Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars wineries. His ventures include a Merkin Vineyards wine bar in Old Town Scottsdale and Caduceus Cellars and Four Eight Wineworks tasting rooms in Jerome.
