Callaghan Vineyards, Elgin AZ - Live Love Drink Travel

Onward we go! Today’s Sippin’ September feature is Callaghan Vineyards in Elgin Arizona. The award winning winery is located in the middle of the string of Elgin Road wineries.

Owners Kent & Lisa Callaghan founded the vineyard in 1990. Kent planted their Buena Suerte Vineyard that spring, along with his parents. As luck would have it, it was in the middle of a heat wave. The 105℉ heat that summer is extreme for the Sonoita area. They ended up with a bit of a viticulture massacre, losing quite a few vines.

The initial planting did allow them to attain the mindset of replanting and adapting as necessary. Over the years they changed their original Bordeaux themed mindset. Migrating to Mediterranean varieties over time, they have great success in growing Graciano, Mourvèdre and Grenache. Although their Petit Verdot and Tannat also do well and acclimate well to the Arizona climate.

Callaghan Vineyards wines are crafted in a way to maximize complexity and provide deep flavors. This often comes at the expense of texture, so their wines should have a food pairing or require appropriate cellar storage. Like most tasting rooms their menu varies, but this can be seen during the tasting so keep this in mind.

As far as the winemaking, their approach is fairly simplistic. They take an old school approach, use lots of barrels, aging on lees and do little racking. As Kent puts it, they use “no gizmos”.

Kent Callaghan was also the original winemaker for Dos Cabezas when it was founded in 1995 by Al Buhl. They maintain a close relationship with Dos Cabezas and with current owner and winemaker Todd Bostock to this day.

Over the years, from their first 1991 vintage to today, Callaghan Vineyards continues to receive awards and acclaim. Former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano called Callaghan Vineyards “one of Arizona’s Treasures”. Their wines have been served at several White House dinners hosted by George W. Bush, Clinton and Obama.

This year, Callaghan Vineyards was only open by appointment when we visited Sonoita for Sippin’ September. However last year we really enjoyed our tasting. I really liked their tasting room and the people we met were friendly and informative.

My favorite is their Buena Suerte Cuvee, a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Last year we may or may not have taken a few (or six) bottles home with us.

I wish I could give you some more recent personal insight. Given the times, quite a few wineries are requiring appointments, which gets hard to manage. Unfortunately we were unable to visit this year to get a more current perspective, but assuredly we will be visiting them again.

We are two thirds through Sippin’ September already. Where does the time go! We have only 10 days left, so please check out tomorrow's article featuring Sand-Reckoner Vineyards. You can read yesterday's article on Dos Cabezas WineWorks, or see all of our Sippin’ September articles here.

Living, loving, drinking, and traveling through life.

— Derek