Sonoita Vineyard AugustFest Weekend

August 2nd & 3rd, 2008.

Josh and I headed down to Sonoita to attend Sonoita Vineyard's annual AugustFest! We arrived Friday night and stayed at the Sonoita Inn at the crossroads of Hwys 82 & 83. I believe it is one of the largest lodging establishments in Sonoita with ten rooms. We stayed in the Babacamari Ranch Room. (An appropriate venue for this venture - Dr. Gordon Dutt established his first experiemental vineyard on the Ignacio de Babocomari Ranch in Southern Arizona back in 1973). This place really has old west charm! You feel like you're staying at a ranch house (without the smell of the horses!). We were happy to find out that our internet worked in the room. I think we would've appreciated a small refrigerator or central A/C but it's quite possible that some of the charm would've been lost. We slept with the windows open and enjoyed the nice cool night air.

Sonoita Inn offers traditional continental breakfast fare with fresh fruit, various bread items, yogurt and fresh juice and coffee. From here we headed to Sonoita Vineyards. At the end of the "Wine Trail", it is really a beautiful setting. Rolling hills, blue skies and green grass. Gorgeous! A highlight of my morning was meeting Dr. Gordon Dutt. I guess you could say he's Arizona's "Robert Mondavi". At the forefront of the wine industry, Dr. Dutt, a retired soil scientist from the University of Arizona, and A Blake Brophy planted an experimental vineyard in 1973 and found that Arizona soils can produce wines "with brilliant color and acidity". The elevation of Sonoita along with the terra rosa soil (the red dirt) produces a similar climate to Burgundy, France. With the experimental success, Dr. Dutt planted Arizona's first commercial vineyard in 1979 and opened the winery in 1983. He considers the many wineries that dot the countryside throughout Arizona "his babies". He is a very passionate man and shows great pleasure in talking about his success. Thanks Dr. Dutt for getting things started!

This two day event featured vineyard tours on a tractor-trailer that was full from open to close! Megan and Mike shared how the grapes are grown at Sonoita Vineyards as we ventured into the vineyard. If you're interested - Sonoita is always looking for extra help at harvest time. Megan explained that the different varietals are harvested at different times so it's not as daunting of a task as it appears! Fran Lightly, Sonoita Vineyard's winemaker, was also giving winery tours, sharing how the the grape goes through it's transition from mere fruit to beautiful nectar. I think one of the highlights of the day, though, was the Grape Stomp. At 1:30 (both days) everyone got involved in stomping grapes. Don't worry, some guy's toe nail won't be in your wine . . . it's purely for fun, Sonoita Vineyards invites its guests to stomp grapes and gives a prize to the crowd favorite! From all the hootin' and hollerin' there was no doubt that everyone was having fun. Of course, there was wine to taste as well as some nice food to eat. SteakOut Restaurant served BBQ right off the grill. Cafe Sonoita and Gathering Grounds also served some tasty morsels to the hungry revelers.

Although it got a bit windy at the end of the day, everyone really enjoyed hanging out in the sun, drinking a glass of wine on the grass and spending the day with loved ones. Although the gang working the event couldn't have all been biological family, they sure came together as a social family. They really ensured that everyone had a great time and received anything they needed! With the economy and gas prices the crowd wasn't as large as previous years, however, we all sure had a great time and I'll definitely be back again!

The Steakout Restaurant served us a great dinner on Saturday night. One of few restaurants in Sonoita, they were busy as could be! We waited for an hour for our table but it was worth the wait. Everyone was so nice that was working that night (although they were completely slammed!). We enjoyed a beer at the bar while we waited and then mosied out to the patio to enjoy the monsoon storms passing us by. We had two filets that were cooked perfectly (as always) and enjoyed a bottle of Callaghan Buena Suerte. This is a "no frills" experience - but the food quality has been top notch every time we've dined here. Although they were out by the time we were seated, Josh's favorite prime rib dinner is served at the SteakOut. Don't miss it on your next visit to Sonoita!