Arizona Hops And Vines

Open: Year-round

History:

In the mid-1970's, a soil scientist named Dr. Gordon Dutt at the University of Arizona came to the Sonoita area after helping farmers in Yuma deal with a plant disease. Surprised to find that there were no wineries in the state, he earned a grant and after much research eventually founded our neighbor winery, Sonoita Vineyards. Since then, the area has flourished, and we feel lucky to be planting in a place that has such good soil - it's very similar to the soil composition in Burgundy, France. The warm days really develop the skin of the grapes, which ripens them, and the 20-30°F drop in temperature maintain the acidity. That balance between the ripening and acidity is the key to a great wine, and we love working our vinyards in this great climate.

The vineyard plantings are 4,500 to 5,000 feet (1,400 to 1,500 m) above sea level, some of the highest in North America. We share a lot of land with ranchers, surrounded by rolling, grass-covered hills. There are even some pine and oak forests nearby, and 30 miles or so to the South is the U.S.-Mexico border.