Arizona: Sonoita: Sonoita Vineyards

Sample the wines at Sonoita Vineyards

29th Annual Blessing of the Vineyards Fesitval

As families and consumers tighten their budgets, luxury industries such as the wine industry have struggled through the economic downturn. However, instead of shrinking back to ride out these lean times, one local winery is pulling out all the stops to make the 29th Annual Blessing of the Vineyards Festival the largest ever. This April 25th, Sonoita Vineyards is introducing a new event called Taste of Sonoita featuring wine pairings and gourmet offerings from local farms, inns and restaurants. Additionally, the annual Blessing of the Vineyards will feature new and affordable family events such as balloon rides, baby goat bottle feeding, horseback rides and book signings in addition to the traditional blessing, live music, dancing and wine tastings and tours.

The oldest commercial winery in the region, Sonoita Vineyards opened in 1983 and now includes over 20-acres of vines.

Aided by the unique growing conditions of the Sonoita Appellation, the vineyard consistently creates gold medal winners, including a Cabernet Sauvignon chosen by national wine critics to serve at a Presidential Inauguration Gala.

Perched at an elevation of 5,000 feet amid rolling grasslands, the vineyard is surrounded on three sides by soaring mountains. The Varieties grown on the estate today include the Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Mission, the same variety the Spanish Missionaries brought in the 16^th Century.

Upcoming Wine Events:

April: Blessing of Sonoita Vineyards: On April 25, 2009, Sonoita Vineyards will host its annual Blessing of the Vineyards Festival while kicking off the new Taste of Sonoita event, which features wine tastings paired with gourmet offerings from local farms, inns and restaurants. Open to the public, the Blessing of the Vineyards Wine Festival is the celebration of this year’s grapes and the release of five new wines with wine tastings, gourmet food parings, winery tours, hot air balloon rides, live music and dancing, horseback rides, picnics, winery tours with Sonoita’s award-winning wine maker Fran Lightly, book signing by Starley Talbott author of “Four Corners vineyards and Wineries,” and family events such as the bottle-feeding of baby goats from a local farm.

Sonoita Vineyards holds three annual festivals each year at their winery. For more information, please call Sonoita Vineyards: 520-455-5893. (Mention you saw their promotion on EMOL.org).

August: Augustfest

November: St. Martin’s New Release Festival