Those searching for Arizona wine already can find a handful of tasting rooms in Old Town Scottsdale. But this spring, one of the state's most famous winemakers will put down roots in the popular dining district.

Maynard James Keenan, lead singer of rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle and Puscifer, will open a tasting room for his northern Arizona wineries, Merkin Vineyards and Caduceus Cellars, in downtown Scottsdale this spring. He's aiming for early March.

The joint tasting room — the singer's first tasting room in metro Phoenix — will take over the space that most recently housed Counter Intuitive cocktail bar.

Currently, at least four other Arizona wineries have tasting rooms in the area, though all pour wines made in the state's southeastern wine-making region.

"There's a bunch of locations down in that area, so I just felt like it was a good move to create a little bit of a wine trail in that area," Keenan tells The Republic. "I just wanted to bring some of the northern Arizona (wines) down to that area to be there with the Sonoita and Willcox wines."

An array of northern Arizona wines

Merkin Vineyards Old Town will pour all of Keenan's wines, including Caduceus Cellars, Merkin Vineyards and Puscifer canned wines.

In additional to introducing customers to his products, Keenan hopes to whet people's appetite to venture up north to visit the wineries themselves. Keenan has been a vocal and effective advocate for Arizona wines since launching his Caduceus label in 2004.

"We'll offer a few different things than we offer at the other locations but still keeping in mind we want you to come north, since that's where the grapes are grown," Keenan says. "It's best to come check those things out."

The tasting room also will feature wines from Four Eight Wineworks, the wine cooperative Keenan owns and founded in Jerome, as well as those from other Arizona producers approved by the Arizona Vignerons Alliance. Keenan is one of eight founding members of the organization, which certifies Arizona-made wines for quality.

Selection of Italian tapas

On the food side, Keenan says the Old Town tasting room will lean "a little bit more toward Italian tapas" than the Merkin Vineyards Osteria in Cottonwood, which specializes in fresh pasta.

The menu of small plates will include grilled vegetable dishes, cheese and salumi and perhaps one pasta dish, Keenan says.

Like the northern Arizona tasting room and restaurant, much of the produce for Scottsdale will be grown by Keenan's father and team, who oversee several greenhouses, gardens and raised beds.

"We should be able to supply quite a bit of that to the new Merkin Vineyards Old Town location," Keenan says. "So sweet peppers, shishito peppers, any kind of pepper that can walk talk or scream along with some of our greens."

Anything that can't be grown or can't be economically produced by the team will be sourced from producers around the state.

PHOTOS: CELEBRITIES WHO INVESTED IN ARIZONA'S FOOD SCENE

A richly storied space

The Scottsdale space itself was a draw for the musician and winemaker. In addition to being Counter Intuitive's home from 2015 to 2018, the building has housed two of the Valley's best restaurants of the past three decades:

In 2007, chef Nobuo Fukuda earned the coveted James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest for his work at Sea Saw, once located at 7133 E. Stetson Drive.

Before moving to its current location nearby in Craftsman Court, James Beard Award-nominated chef Charleen Badman's restaurant, FnB, also called the small space home.

Keenan will look to Badman and her business partner, Pavle Millic, a winemaker himself, for inspiration.

"To be able to kind of cut my teeth on a space where things began for their concept is kind of inspiring because I love what Charleen is doing," Keenan says. "She's an absolute genius with food, so to be able to step into that old space and be inspired by her ghost is going to be great."

His new tasting room is on the high-profile corner where long-running restaurants Cowboy Ciao and Kazimierz World Wine Bar operated before closing suddenly in late 2018. Scottsdale restaurateur Peter Kasperski once owned both restaurants, as well as Counter Intuitive.

The wine bar is slated to reopen under new ownership as Kazimierz Wine and Whiskey Bar on Thursday, Jan. 24.

As for the former Cowboy Ciao space, a restaurant liquor license application has been filed with Maricopa County for a business named Old Town Tiki Bar at 7133 E. Stetson Drive, records show.

MORE FOOD & DINING:

WATCH: WHERE TO DRINK WINE IN PHOENIX