For our last blast of wineries we took a little drive down to the Sonoita/Elgin area. Until a few weeks ago we had no idea that there were so many wineries in this area. Our first stop was Hannah's Hill Vineyard and Winery in Elgin.
Hannah’s Hill a very small vineyard that is still young in the world of winemaking. First off we blew past it, because of the direction we were headed and it literally feels like it is in the middle of nowhere. We quickly realized that all of the wineries feel like they are in the middle of nowhere here. Their driveway is just over the crest of a hill if you are coming from Sonoita, and even with the GPS we flew on by, so be aware.
The 12 acre vineyard is located on a 40 acre parcel, and is set back from the road. The winery is located among the vines themselves so it is a cool experience to drive back there. But also you begin to question if you are headed in the right direction. No fear, the path along the driveways is well marked and rest assured you are almost there.
One of the things we noticed as we drove back was that the driveway is mostly clay and gravel, so the concern would normally have about kicking up dust when driving near vines is not necessary. We kicked up almost nothing.
As you drive a little further back, there is a little red barn, a shed, a trailer (where they stay when onsite) and a porta-potty (yes this is the bathroom). Again, this is a very small winery still very young and forging its way through the industry.
We parked next to the barn and the owner, Ann, meets out front and says, “come on in”. So we go in and the barn is basically the winery, warehouse, and tasting room all rolled into one. We met their dogs, both large White German Shepherds, beautiful and friendly.
We were their first customers of the day. Ann starts to open wines as we chat with her a bit. We started with the Viognier, which we all know by now we don’t like whites, but always try a Viognier. It was pretty tasty and as a very special summer price of $19.
Hannah’s Hill offers two labels. They started with the Nog label, as in “not our grapes”. It’s a fun bright label done by a local Phoenix artist featuring a grape they call Bob (which stands for best in bunch). Ann told us it was inspired by the Chiquita Banana Lady, but honestly it reminded me of the logo from the movie Necessary Roughness. The second label is for their estate wines.
We moved down the list and the thing we found was that each wine was different from any other varietals we had tasted. The only one I did not enjoy was the Petit Verdot, it wasn’t like I expected it to be for Petit Verdot and I couldn’t wrap my mind around the difference.
They also have a Grenache they label as a blush, but it’s more of a pretty copper color. She told us it wasn’t done intentionally, it was just the way the grape skins colored the wine. It tasted like a Grenache though. Our favorite was the Aggregate blend, one of the two estate wines we sampled.
In the end we purchased two bottles of Viognier, for Mama Ruby, and one bottle of the Aggregate. Side note, all of the estate wines are named after rocks or stones since they have found so many on the property. They even line up the ones they find along the fence of the vineyard for an added ambiance.
Hannah’s Hill also collects donations for the White German Shepherd rescue,and matches all donations. I know they have raised at least a $1000 so far which is awesome.
All in all we plan to visit Hannah's Hill Vineyard again. I love that they drive down from Phoenix every weekend to work the winery and any other time that they can. They have a true passion for what they do and the dedication they have is amazing. Come and support this up and coming vineyard, you won’t regret it.
If you have not already, check out yesterday's feature on Winery 101, or check out all of our Sippin' September features here.
Living, loving, drinking, and traveling through life.
— Derek & Taunya
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