Maynard's vineyard

Maynard James Keenan, the singer-songwriter for those overlords of hard rock and prog metal known as Tool, as well as a few other bands (A Perfect Circle, Puscifer), has been engaging in another arena: winemaking. The same intensity, intelligence, and lust—or better yet, thirst—for knowledge that characterized albums like “Ænima” and “Lateralus” are very much evident in Keenan the owner-vintner of Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards. Pioneering (along with a ragtag group of winemakers) an unlikely wine country in the historically severe, arid landscape of Arizona, he likens the Sedona Verde Valley to the music he makes: “thick, dense, rich, complex, engaging, emotional, spiritual” for some, for others something of an “acquired taste.”

Beginning on Sept. 16, Keenan and partner Eric Glomski embark on a different kind of tour, appearing at Whole Foods Market locations to promote the debut releases of this latest collaboration, a wine label known as Arizona Stronghold Vineyards (ASV). Ever philosophical, infinitely perspicacious, Keenan shares his ongoing education (the will to “LISTEN,” as he puts it on the Caduceus website) in oenology, the difference between music-making and winemaking, and taking Eucharist from a sports god.

How did you come to invest some of your energy in wine?
I’ve lived in Arizona since about ’95, and I got into wine shortly before that. Having traveled around and seen some of the wineries around the world, it just kind of resonated on some level that this area could be perfect for grapes, in addition to having seen these nice little solid communities that were bulletproof economies and areas of self-sustainability.

What distinguishes Arizona's vineyards, say, from vineyards in Napa or other places in Europe?
I think it's a more hostile environment here.

What effect does that have on the process and the product?
It’s the difference between Jimi Hendrix and Tiffany. Can I even use Tiffany now? Who’s the new, slushy, easy-to-digest…

We’ll run a note. I read that you're the largest producer of wine grapes in Arizona.
Currently that’s true, but that will probably be a temporary title as there are a lot of people planting. Down in Southern Arizona, we have 66 planted, 80 acres total. Up north, we have roughly 20 planted. I’m about to plant 41 acres more in the new year.

What about the origin of the Caduceus name?
A friend of mine, Romero Rodriguez, is a painter. He had a painting that I purchased from him many years ago—it was called “Caduceus.” It was a figure underwater with another body wrapped around it, kind of like a serpent. I was considering doing a bottled water company, and I thought it would be great to do a CGI-style image on the bottle with this underwater figure. But it was going to be quite the endeavor—a lot of legal stuff. I’d already started down the wine path, so I figured I would use that name for the winery.

The “Nagual” wines [Nagual Del Sensei and Nagual De La Naga] have a hint of [Carlos] Castaneda. How do you come up with the names?
Well, we’re in the Southwest, so a lot of [the mysticism] really applies. There are a lot of spiritual elements to the wine, but also to the area. We’re next to Sedona, so you can’t walk through a field without tripping over a crystal or a tarot reader. A lot of [the naming process] has to do with a journey. We’re trying to get this wine industry started, we’re relatively blind and on our own. We can say the area is really similar to Spain and Italy and Sardinia, but until we start growing the grapes, we have no idea what that really means. So a lot of those names have to do with looking to a spirit guide.

What is the purpose of the tour? Why the collaboration with Whole Foods?
We had been doing more intimate tastings at wine shops that have their A-list of people that come in [with developed palates] and are very much into wine. Once you tell them a little about the wine, that’s—I don’t want to say an easy sell—more of a captive audience that understands what you’re talking about. With Whole Foods, [it's] an education process. It’s not only to expose what Arizona has to offer people at a relatively affordable way, it’s also to expose would-be wine lovers in an accidental way.

Do you anticipate more music fans coming in to become wine enthusiasts? Or wine enthusiasts who will become music fans?
They’re music fans that may not even drink wine. And that’s why we’re doing it. I think it’s an important transformation for those fans to see. I think our society doesn’t allow artists to express themselves outside the marketing plan. This is my way of trying to open their minds in directions that lead them to other things that David Bowie did other than records.

How is Bowie an influence?
Because he’s an actor, a painter, a businessman, a musician—he’s all those things. A Renaissance man.

How do you manage music-making and winemaking, creating sound versus composing taste?
For me, music-making has more to do with listening than it does with actually making sounds; winemaking in the same way has more to do with smelling and tasting and looking rather than trying to create the situation. A great song and a great bottle of wine [both require] that ability to understand nuances, and also to understand when to stop and just let it be what it is.

Are you still a partner in the restaurant Cobras & Matadors? What is your role there?
I call up Steven [Arroyo], and I go, “Hey, I didn’t get a check!” [Laughs]

How often do you dine there when you’re in town?
When I get into town, I pop in there for sure. I have a Temparanillo in barrel right now from Arizona. I’m waiting to get that in a bottle so that I could present it to the wine buyer and get it on the list.

When I think of wine, I also think of figures like Bacchus and Dionysus. Is wine a sacred or a hedonistic drink?
I think it can be both, just like a hammer can be used to build something or to smash a head in. It all depends on how you implement it. But as far as what it is, in and of itself, it’s a divine manifestation of spirit, if you will.

One of your onstage avatars was the Rev. Maynard. Have you thought about the fact that some of the earliest producers of wine were monks and abbots?
I hadn’t really put that together, but I’ll be using that in the next interview. [Laughs] Thank you for that.

Is there anyone from whom you would take communion?
Gee…um…Michael Jordan. Unless, of course, you want to say Michael Phelps, but that’s almost been beaten into the ground at the moment. We’ll wait awhile on that one. I’ll take communion from anyone named Michael.

What should people know about the events Whole Foods is hosting?
If this is going to be read by fans, we prefer that they don’t bring any music material to be autographed. This is all about the wine. Leave your cameras at home. Just bring your wine palate. Come down and support us in what is a very, very expensive endeavor pioneering a wine industry in Arizona. We really need the support for what we’re doing with the wine. The music—there will be a time for that.