By Erik Berg

In popular culture, beer and whiskey are the traditional drinks of the Old West. You are unlikely to see a western movie where the grizzled cowboy bellies up to the bar and asks the barkeep to recommend a nice bottle of wine–perhaps something French–that would pair well with venison and biscuits. But wine was popular on the western frontier and often promoted by establishments as a mark of quality and distinction. In Prescott the numerous saloons and merchants who advertised in the Weekly Arizona Miner frequently enticed readers with the popular promise of “Wine, Liquor, and Cigars.”