Sonoita Vineyards

Specialties

The oldest commercial vineyard and winery in Arizona, Sonoita Vineyards was started in 1974, opened in 1983 and now includes over 50 acres of vines. Aided by the unique growing conditions of the Sonoita Appellation (AVA — American Viticultural Area), the winery consistently creates award winning wines, including a Cabernet Sauvignon chosen by national wine critics to serve at a Presidential Inauguration Gala. Perched at an elevation of 5,000 feet among rolling grasslands, the vineyard is surrounded on three sides by soaring mountain ranges.

The staff is small making each vintage of wine a one of a kind experience. The small staff does all the production and vine care under the guidance of Lori Reynolds, our Winemaker and granddaughter to our founder Dr. Gordon Dutt and Robi Reynolds, our Vineyard Manager.

Every bottle of wine is hand bottled, labeled and capped in small batches at less than 2,000 bottles per vintage. Our grapes come no further than the Southeastern Arizona Region with the majority of wines being vinted from estate grapes.

History

Established in 1983.

Dr. Gordon Dutt, founder and original winemaker at Sonoita Vineyards and now retired soil scientist from the University of Arizona, along with Blake Brophy established the first experimental vineyard on the Ignacio de Babocomari Ranch in Southern Arizona back in 1973. The results of their tests were very compelling. Dr. Dutt, expected the grapes for red wine to bleach in the intense Arizona sun and produce wines with poor color and low acidity. Much to his delight the results were quite the opposite, resulting in red wines with brilliant color and acidity. He planted Arizona’s first commercial vineyard in 1979 and opened the winery in 1983. Starting with an annual production of 300 gallons, Sonoita Vineyards is now producing over 10,000 gallons per year.