A monthly look at Arizona wine with Valley dining impresario Pavle Milic.
There’s a specific spot on Highway 83 in the Sonoita-Elgin area when the valley opens up and everything goes quiet. The golden grass, the sky doing what it does out here, and suddenly you understand why people rearrange their entire lives around this place.
Brett Wagner has been having that moment since he was 5 years old, riding behind his dad on a motorcycle.
He grew up in Vail, just down the road. His father rode 83 on weekends and Brett rode with him, and somewhere along the way the landscape wrote itself into him. He didn’t move to Sonoita to become a winemaker. He became a winemaker so he could finally live here.
Ten years in law enforcement and behavioral health came first. Then he hooked on at Flying Leap Vineyards, four years learning the craft from the ground up. Then he fell into winemaker James Callahan’s orbit, then Twisted Union, then Sunset Ride Vineyeards. He took UC Davis satellite courses along the way, because hands-on only gets you so far and Brett wanted the theory to match the instinct.
And then, because the valley doesn’t let you off easy, he started a construction company to fund the winery he always knew he’d have.
That winery is Rancho Castillo Winery, named after his father-in-law’s 26-acre property in Sonoita proper. His wife, Autumn, and her family are his partners. The label art is his actual house. There’s something deeply right about that.
Brett’s first release – five wines, maybe six – will drop just as this issue hits your doorstep. Tannat is the anchor. Also, Blaufränkisch from High Lonesome vineyard in McNeil. A Graciano-dominant field blend. A Chenin Blanc-Chardonnay. His rosé leans dark, on purpose.
Private barrel tastings are bookable now through Rancho Castillo Winery on Facebook. The tasting room comes later, but the wine is ready.
So is Brett.
9 Curly Horse Rd., Sonoita
520-241-9278, @brettwagner87winemaker
