Our friend Sally was out and about in her neighborhood last week and discovered Sunset Ride Vineyards Tasting Room. Sally was helping a friend set up her pottery display for the Second Saturday event. It is now held at the tasting room every Second Saturday where you can sip wine and peruse the Arts, Crafts and What not that they have displayed for that month. Sounds like a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon in the countryside.
Sunset Ride Vineyards is relatively new in Sonoita. Their vineyards are in Elgin. The tasting room is in the building I recall as Overland Trout, a great restaurant that was simply before its time in Sonoita. The North facing windows offer a wonderful view of the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area grasslands. You may even see pronghorns munching away or sipping a drink from a puddle left by a recent rain.
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On this day for the Second Saturday event, there was music, food trucks, wine tasting as well as local arts for sale. Sally took some pictures for us. Sally writes about the owners of the Vineyard and The Coop Chris and Lori.
Owners Chris & Lori Johnson moved to Elgin from Northern California in 2016. Lori studied agriculture in college and Chris grew up on a ranch so country living was the lifestyle they loved. They bought their house in Elgin that included a deserted vineyard. They pulled everything out and replanted it with 11 acres of new vines. They opened their tasting room in April 2022 and say they thoroughly enjoy all of the wonderful people they have met at their tasting room. Chris and Lori are very grateful for all of the support from the community and from the wine community as well.
Sonoita, Elgin and Willcox are growing destinations for wine, wineries and tasting rooms. Viticulturists are coming from California, Northern Arizona and beyond. The Southern Arizona wine country is growing. Both Sonoita and Willcox have wineries that have cropped up like, well, wildflowers, in the past few years. We will venture out to the grasslands when it warms up a bit. It has been a not-so-great winter, except for the wildflowers, of course. We are enjoying those.
Sunset Ride Vineyards
Tasting Room
3266 Highway 82
Sonoita, AZ 85637
520-600-7433
