It Started with Lemons

Wines Offered 2006 Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Viognier 2005 Cabernet Franc 2005 Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Merlot Prices range from $17 per bottle for the Viognier to $29 per bottle for the Merlot.

It all started when Kief Joshua Manning brought a bottle of homemade lemon wine to his parent's house for dinner one night in Tempe, Ariz.

Unsatisfied with his film production studies at Arizona State University, Kief had recently decided to drop out.

While sitting around the table, sipping on Kief's lemon wine, he and his parents started to discuss his talent in wine-making. In a spur of the moment decision, they decided to start a winery.

"He has so many hobbies," said Charlene Manning, Kief's mother. "It was just another one of his hobbies that he took up and learned about."

The family immediately started looking for land and in October 2003 purchased 20 acres in Elgin, Ariz., for $140,000. By the time escrow closed three months later, Manning was enrolled in an undergraduate wine program at Monash University in Australia. He graduated from Monash in 2006 with a degree in wine technology management and marketing, then went on to the University of Melbourne to earn a graduate degree in wine technology and viticulture in April 2008.

Since then, Manning has been running Kief-Joshua Vineyards with the help of his parents and sister.

As an Arizona Winery, Manning is part of the Arizona Wine Growers Association and Wine America, a nation-wide industry advocate.

Manning, 26, decided to make his winery completely eco-friendly because of the abundance of green wineries and vineyards in Europe and Australia, where he went to school.


Feast, 4122 E. Speedway Blvd., carries one of the Keif-Joshua Vineyards wines.

"We don't bring anything in, unless it's good," said manager Bill Snyder. "We are kind of a wine geeky place."

The restaurant started carrying the wine right after a similar popular Spanish wine became unavailable, Snyder said.

The restaurant has been carrying the wine, the 2005 Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, since September and has sold numerous bottles. Feast retails each bottle for $20.

"It tastes great, it's incredibly food friendly, it's really accessible. This is something that somebody who is really into wine and likes the more esoteric stuff would like, but it's also something that your grandma could drink, be it with food or without food," Snyder said. "We definitely try to support local places, but at the end of the day we got the wine because it's good."


Manning talks about the holistic approach to his winery


Where Kief-Joshua Wines Can Be Found


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