Sometimes, you just need to get out of town. I work from my home which makes it hard to pull away. This weekend, I just needed to get out and, apparently, so did Dave. When he came up to me and said, “I am not teaching Friday. Do we have any plans for the weekend?” I knew just what he was thinking. Road Trip!
Although tamed down and classed up, we hit the road with all the same zeal of a college road trip. Arguably, there are few better places for road trippin’ than Arizona which is partly why we live here. This time, we pointed south to a small part of Arizona we had yet to explore but had heard a lot about, Sonoita and its wine country.
Sonoita is about a 90 minute drive south of Tucson, east on I-10 and then south on highway 83 into town. Follow the road along into Elgin and from there you can make a loop through 10 or so wineries for tastings and buying.
The area around Sonoita (pronounced So-noy-ta; although it’s so much prettier when pronounced So-no-ee-ta), looks a lot like Montana with its grassy plains and tall mountains all around. The fact that they were snow capped added to the similarity. I grew up near Montana, so it was like a road trip of youth.
If you’ve ever been to Napa or Sonoma on a wine tasting trip, this is different. It’s a good difference, though, if you open your desert eye. It’s an Arizona difference – a little rugged, straight forward, good value and pleasing to the taste buds.
Just so you know, I adore wine but don’t really know a whole lot about it. I know what I like and that’s okay with me. If someone pours me something that they think I’ll like, and they are correct, it makes me very happy and makes them a connoisseur.
We entered the small oasis of Elgin with its grapevines dotting the landscape and the very unique wineries that offer up some very interesting wines. Tastings are generally Friday through Sunday beginning around 11 a.m to 4 p.m. It takes about half a day to visit a majority of the wineries. Bring a light snack because restaurants are scarce on the loop. When you are comfortably numb, head back to Sonoita and another great Arizona story, The Steak Out.
What started as The Sonoita General Mercantile in the 1940’s was added onto in the 1970’s with The Steak Out Restaurant and labeled the areas ‘last chance to boogie’ for miles around. Along with what must have been a really great place to party, The Steak Out gained notoriety through their fully stocked bar, live country music and, of course, their steaks. This is cowboy country, folks. Give me a bone-in rib eye grilled on an open mesquite fire with a big ole baked potato, a glass or two of the local wine; and I am one happy girl. It’s a fun joint, and you can fill up your car at the same time.
As far as the wine goes, we had a great time stopping in all of the spots on the map. The wineries ranged from a shed heated by a wood burning stove to a gorgeous, new suburban style home. Revel in the simplicity and be patient with the wines and you will find a gem. Most of the wineries only grow on 20 or so acres and are expanding at about an acre a year. For such small properties, they hedge their bet by growing a wide variety of grapes. As a result, there is not much of a yield, so they supplement with juices imported from CA. It is a young industry, but from what I understand there is real potential here.
I bought a bottle of this really yummy Tempranillo from Kief-Joshua Vineyards. I’m sure it will taste gorgeous with the steaks I’m making this weekend. Anybody got any mesquite chips?
The Arizona Wine Growers Association has more on Arizona wines. Click here to learn more.
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