Sally, she of Sonoita, and I exchange emails frequently. Last month, she sent me some photos of Los Milics Vineyards and they seemed so unusual, I we wanted to visit the place. So we arranged to meet Sally, and her husband, Bryce, there later in the month.
I had made reservations for lunch at noon and we met Sally and Bryce who had arrived just before us. From our home in the Tucson Mountains, it was an hour and 15 minute drive.
Los Milics is located just off the Upper Elgin Road about 8 minutes east of the Sonoita intersection of Hwy 83 and 82. At first sight, this place is exactly as Sally’s photos suggested: ultra-modern and very different from any of the other wineries in this area or any other that we know of, except perhaps Deep Sky Vineyard.
I wondered how these vintners decided on this strange, almost surreal architecture for their winery. I was answered by reading their website, which states:
“They enlisted the renowned Chen + Suchart Studio architectural firm to design these facilities in harmony with the beautiful landscape framed by the Mustangs and the iconic Biscuit.” Indeed, “The Biscuit” is well represented in the presentation.
As the main seating area was very noisy, we opted for a cubby hole in the back. Most people won’t care, but we are getting older and losing our hearing, at least in crowded, noisy rooms. (Ms. Karen thought it was noisy as well and she says her hearing is just fine.)
We still had a window with a view of the vines, but it was much more pleasant for conversation. The vines, by the way were heavy with grapes. Barring bad weather, they should have a great harvest.
Menus were on the table, one for wine and the other for food. The food menu was limited, understandable for a winery. Few wineries even serve food. There were several items listed that I did not comprehend, but the garlicky pork cutlet I got. It was a sandwich served with Barrio bread, which we really like. I also ordered a sampling of their wines, as did Ms. Karen. Sally and Bryce had been here recently and they ordered glasses of the wines of their choice.
I’ll let Ms. Karen tell you about her experience.
“Friday, Jim and I drove out to Sonoita to meet our friends Sally and Bryce who happened to live in Sonoita or close by anyway. Jim had made reservations for noon and surprisingly did not have to put down a deposit for the table as I had read on the website.
Yes, They served lunch. A short menu. I ordered the Nicoise Salad which I love. Everyone makes it differently, but the most common are Potato slices, lettuce, and tuna. This one was coated in oil but was fresh and tasty. Surprisingly, it did not taste oily. Somewhat of a treat were some humongous beans, perhaps Giant LIMA? Thankfully they were marinated. There was very little tuna, so I could not tell if it was fresh or not, but the sparsity did not bother me at all. It was a tasty salad, however, Sally and I agreed that leaving the stems on made it a bit more of a challenge to eat politely
I think we will need to go back to some of the old favorites of our Tour days and see how they have progressed. We will give ourselves a tour. Or Perhaps call Michael Foltz of Reisen Arizona Tours? We will let him drive but we will pick the vineyards. There are several “New” ones to try. We will be back soon. The summers here are long and outdoor living limited.”
