Cellars Market

Tucson welcomes its own boutique winery

BY VALERIE VINYARD

It’s no secret that Tucson o ers a wealth of things to do and see.

Until April, however, a boutique winery wasn’t one of them.

Normally, winery lovers would need to drive out of town, often to Elgin or Sonoita, to get their winery x.

Now oenophiles have a chance to visit a working winery called Old Pueblo Cellars, located near the end of an unpaved road in Northwest Tucson.

Don’t worry, the road isn’t too rough. However, be sure to wear closed-toe shoes, or else a chunk of jumping cholla might adhere itself to your foot as you’re walking to the tasting room.

Old Pueblo Cellars owner and winemaker Roger Pelton boasts years of experience working with wine. It all started in 1974, when he and his wife purchased property, called Mockingbird Ranch, in Mariposa County, California.

Decades earlier, a vineyard was planted by Italian immigrants on the land of the ranch, so Pelton had the grapes harvested and tried his hand at winemaking. Pelton said that was the spark that inspired them to create their own winery. to create their own winery.

Pelton made wine for family and friends until the 1990s, when the couple moved to Texas. He took a break from winemaking while there.

However, when they moved to Tucson in 2008, they bought an 8.25-acre parcel of land and started planting heat-loving grape varieties. Pelton said he received consulting help from Golden Rule Vineyards, a winery in Willcox.

The rst planting in the vineyard was in 2013, with bottling starting in 2016. Pelton is serving 2016 and 2017 vintages in the distinctly Southwestern-style tasting room.

It’s a gorgeous walk to the winery and its lush tasting room. When you take a seat at the bar or settle into one of the plush chairs or couches, Pelton will hand you a tasting sheet that features descriptions of the six wines on one side and a helpful “Wine Tasting 101” guide on the other.

The winery grows four red grape varieties and two white. If you try the tasting ight of six wines, you’ll start with malvasia and viognier, both white grapes. You’ll then move on to sangiovese, malbec, petite sirah and nish o with the tempranillo.

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Sand-Reckoner

510 N. Seventh Avenue, No. 170 833-0121, sand-reckoner.com, sarah@sand-reckoner.com, 433-2082

The cost varies; six-bottle or 12-bottle shipments every summer and winter.

The Willcox-based, family-owned and -operated winery works with four other family-owned vineyards ranging from 4,300 to 5,000 feet in elevation. Its only tasting room is in Tucson. Sand-Reckoner is planning to move out of its Seventh Avenue tasting room into one at The Citizen, a Downtown hotel that’s opening this summer. The next pickup will be in July. Club members can choose a halfcase or case in the summer and winter, with a one-year commitment.

Total Wine and More

5870 E. Broadway Boulevard, 4370 N. Oracle Road membership@totalwine.com

The options are classic ($50 for six months), signature ($119 for six months) and premiere ($179 for six months).

Total Wine’s membership program be-

Pelton says 13 tons of grapes from his winery were processed this year, with the potential for 15 tons next year. He also sources grapes from Vigneto de Nannini, a boutique vineyard in Northwest Tucson.

Foothills resident Frank McGinley, a retired Southwest Airlines manager, and his wife, Susan, were recently enjoying their rst visit to Old Pueblo Cellars.

“We think Roger is an excellent host,” he says. “It’s really lovely inside and out. The vines are right outside the door.”

Susan McGinley echoes her husband’s praise.

“The atmosphere here is beautiful,” she says. “This landscape is beautifully curated.”

McGinley says they have visited “a ton of wineries” in California. The retired UA science writer for the College of Agriculture describes Old Pueblo Cellar wines as fuller avored than other Southeast Arizona wineries in Elgin and Sonoita.

“I think the quality of the wines are very high,” she says. “The wines have a vivid taste.”

When it comes to creating the wines, Pelton does things di erently.

The wines undergo cold fermentation, so they aren’t ltered. Sul tes aren’t added, and Pelton uses organic fertilizers and pesticides.

“This is an unbelievable wine,” McGinley says as he sips a glass of tempranillo. “I’ve had tempranillo from Spain, and this rivals any of those.

“You’re tasting world-class wines without the world-class prices.”

Old Pueblo Cellars

10088 St. Patrick Road 551-1011, oldpueblocellars.com

gan a couple of years ago. Each tier includes two bottles (usually one white and one red) and a choice of gift bag. Firsttime members will receive an additional bottle of bubbles. Classic level wines retail for about $10, signature wines retail for about $15, and premiere wines retail for about $25. It generally takes only three or four months for members to get their money’s worth. Members will receive an email the rst of each month with details about the bottles and the bar codes to give cashiers when they visit the store to pick up their bottles.