As our white Sprinter van rumbles along the red, rocky dirt road in rural Sonoita-Elgin, Arizona’s wine country, we search for the only signs that we’re headed in the right direction: a ” red door” leading to “a blue metal roof.” The sparse direction proves sufficient, and as we pull up to Vino Stache Winery headquarters – a secluded barn on 54 still unplanted acres – owner Brooke Lowry Ide hops out of her sunny yellow forklift to greet us in her Carhartt overalls. stained with grapes.

“Welcome to the middle of nowhere, where I love to make wine,” she says as she leads us through the most magical tasting room I’ve ever seen. A garage-style roll-up door frames views of golden fields reminiscent of savannah prairies, with the Mustang Mountains in the background. Trish and Rap, two seductive neighbor horses, are trotting for our attention, or more likely, hoping for MOG (“non-grape matter” – the leftovers from fermentation, like seeds and stems, which they like to nibble on) .

The middle of nowhere—or more accurately, about an hour’s drive south of Tucson—isn’t where I’d expect to find a thriving group of winemakers. Arizona, in general, seems like an unlikely place for grapes to thrive, instead conjuring up visions of the sun-scorched Sonoran Desert where only the resisters survive, including giant saguaro cacti that reach for the sky.

But it turns out that Arizona is home to more than 120 wineries and tasting rooms, concentrated in the state’s three major American wine regions, or AVAs: Willcox (largest), Verde Valley (newest) and here in Sonoita-Elgin (the oldest).

This region is blessed with the right conditions: the higher elevation (an average of 5,000 feet above sea level) equates to cooler temperatures; the soil is said to rival that of Burgundy, France; and when it rains, it rains (summer is the monsoon season).

There’s also another key ingredient: a sense of close-knit community among winemakers here. If you take your souvenir wine glass from one Sonoita-Elgin tasting room to another, chances are you’ll get a discounted sample. It is a gesture of mutual aid between local winegrowers, who speak to each other as if they were close friends.

“Todd and Kelly Bostock of Dos Cabezas WineWorks – they’re my people,” says Ide, calling one of Arizona’s best-known wine labels, which has a tasting room and a laid-back back patio to Sonoita to sip their popular sparkling rosé and other pours. .

“Kent Callaghan of Callaghan Vineyards, who is my mentor – they are my people,” continues Ide, naming one of the region’s pioneers. Callaghan planted grapes in Elgin in 1990 and has won accolades ever since. This makes its vineyard the second oldest in all of Arizona; bring your own picnic when you visit for an outdoor wine tasting.

“We are all very supportive of each other,” says Ide. “We have to be, I think, to move an industry forward.” Although the Sonoita AVA was founded in 1984, the region still has the energy of a scrappy start-up, which is reflected in startups like his. Founded in 2019, with the first vintages available last June, Vino Stache is essentially a one-woman show, from crushing to barreling.

Grapes aren’t grown here yet, but that’s in the plan. For now, Ide sources from three vineyards in Arizona, including a few a few miles away. “There are two retirees who have vines but do not make wine. They’re like my best friends,” says Ide, who turns their fruit into reds to sip on a summer terrace, like The Boss, a 100% Graciano.

Practically around the corner and down the road, Los Milics Vineyards is also a relative newcomer but already stands out as a worthy destination for a road trip. Part of the draw is winemaker Pavle Milic’s culinary reputation: He’s co-owner of famed restaurant FnB in Scottsdale, where he championed an all-Arizona wine list long before he decided to try his hand at his. Initially, he produced his Los Milics label in conjunction with Dos Cabezas – again, the Sonoita-Elgin camaraderie – before establishing these vineyards in 2018.

As we arrive at the steel-vaulted Quonset Hut of Los Milics, the first detail that catches my eye is “the biscuit” (the local nickname for Mount Bruce), looming in the distance. The second is what looks like a modern Stonehenge in the making: an angular arrangement of monolithic columns some 6 meters high, concealing what will be a tasting room/restaurant among the vines, due to open this year . Beyond this architectural novelty, Los Milics will also soon innovate on casitas in a quiet corner of the vineyard, ideal for tourists looking for a chic crash pad.

“Sonoita-Elgin is somewhat underserved when it comes to lodging and dining,” says Milic, who was drawn here by the bucolic beauty that has somehow escaped intense attention (until now). “It’s just not a place you think of,” he explains, but when he started coming to the area a dozen years ago, the sense of calm reminded him of another destination: “I had this feeling evoking what I felt going to Napa Valley,” he explains.

“I really believe and love what is happening here in this part of the world. And as I have told other winemakers, the idea behind this project is to raise the tide for everyone,” says Milic. “That’s one more reason people will want to come and take a look.”

Writer Wing Sze Tang traveled as a guest of the Arizona Tourist Boardwho neither reviewed nor approved this article.

If you are going to

How to get there: Air Canada operates direct flights from Toronto to Phoenix. From there, it’s about a two-hour drive to Tucson, and about another hour to Sonoita-Elgin Wineries.

Where to stay: In Tucson, traditionalists will find quiet, homey rooms at the Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort and Spa, a hacienda-turned-resort in the Sonoran Desert. The Citizen Hotel just opened, described as “Tucson’s only wine hotel”: the lower level houses the new winery/tasting room of Sand-Reckoner, an Arizona winery.

Where to dine: Tucson was named a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2015, so the options are endless. Find real tacos and fiery micheladas at Boca Tacos y Tequila, or mesquite-smoked Southwestern bistro fare at Tito & Pep — the chefs of both were recently announced as 2022 James Beard Award semi-finalists.

What else to do: Get to know the distinctive landscape of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Family Museum, which is not a stuffy institution (as the name suggests), but a botanical garden/zoo/outdoor attraction.

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