Sonoita Elgin Wine

The Sonoita AVA, established in 1984, was Arizona's first federally recognized wine appellation and remains its most distinctive. The region occupies a 5,000-foot-high grassland plateau in the Santa Cruz Highlands south of Tucson, where golden rolling hills dotted with cattle and oak trees look nothing like the Arizona of popular imagination. The climate is moderated by elevation, with warm days, cool nights, and summer monsoon rains that arrive between July and September. The soils are decomposed granite over limestone, producing wines with genuine mineral character. Callaghan Vineyards, Sonoita Vineyards, and Elgin Winery are the region's most established producers, working primarily with Spanish and Rhone varieties that thrive in the semi-arid conditions.