What are two words that come to mind when I think of Hamilton Cellars? Solar Power. Yep, that's right Solar Power.
Hamilton Cellars (http://www.hamiltoncellars.com/) is a very modern winery and the winery is solely run on Solar Power, from the lighting to the hot water, how cool is that!? AND! They are looking into using Phase Change for heating and cooling, you know what that means, right? I would do a horrible job at trying to explain it but I *think* the technology is like those hand held heater things, where its clear and it has a silver disc in it, you bend the silver disk thingy and the little container heats up. Then you have you have to boil it to "reset" it. Hope that makes sense but not sure if its the same! Check out the link if you are interested ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-change_material)
Since Hamilton Cellars is 100% solar power, the winery is NET ZERO. Net zero is, put simply, the process of end-using – or “netting” – zero fossil fuels. To achieve net zero, Hamilton Cellars must have the ability to generate power, and must consume the equivalent or less of what it generates. Lucky for them as they never have to pay for electricity again! Another energy "perk" is they also have a car charging station, which is awesome for all of us who have cars that need to be plugged in.
If you like uber (yeah I wrote it! ) modern, this place is a must see. Hamilton Cellars' tasting room has been open since August and is built to host events. Couples, this is the perfect venue to host your wedding! The owner's house is right next to the tasting room, but the downstairs is a guest area. It's a pretty sweet set up for weddings if you ask me! What else can I tell you about this winery? Their bathrooms are European style (No bidets), which could be fun if you are single, getting elegantly crunked, and looking to chat it up with a single co-ed while you wash you hands.
Check out their website, everything I was told during my impromptu visit is on the website including their tale of finding a site to build the tasting room, and that is a story worth reading!
I met the owners Stacie and Russ, and of course the winery dog, DJ who is a cockapoo. Stacie seems like one of those people who gets along with anyone, like a long time friend. I felt as if I could have kept my chat box going with her for hours. If you want to know anything and everything about solar power, Russ is your man!
 |
| The European Styled bathroom |
 |
| Wine club member sitting room |
Wine Awards!
 |
| Milton the Wine Guy |
 |
| Russ, Stacie, DJ |
Even though this was not scheduled stop, I had a really good time tasting the wine and meeting both of the owners. As you know, my impromptu stops have ended up with most of the wineries ending up on the B List, so this was a refreshing and welcomed change! If you like bold, modern, fun, and non traditional, this is the place to be! One look
at that huge purple wall...and you know...this winery isn't like any
other on Red Mountain.
Cheers!
Melanie
