Home Vineyards

• The Empire Ranch, once one of the largest and most propsperous cattle operations in the southwest, is now managed by the Bureau of Land Management as an antelope preserve. Now called the Empire Cienega National Conservation Area, the ranch is open to the public.

• Sonoita is home to ancient dinosaur remnants discovered in 1994 an undergraduate student at the University of Arizona. He traced the bones of Sonorasaurus up a wash to a oak-juniper ridge top to find a large piece of bone embedded in sandstone.
 


A Local Tradition Since the 17th Century

Vintners in the Sonoita/Elgin region proudly carry on a 400-year tradition. Spanish missionaries brought the custom of grape growing and winemaking to the New World at the same time they established their missions throughout Mexico, Arizona, and California. Because they needed wine for ceremonial and drinking purposes, the missionaries planted seeds that would supply the fruit required to meet their needs. The most widely grown was likely the Mission grape, which produced a hardy vine and a ruby-colored wine with a distinct cranberry nose and delightful acidity. Today, Mission grapes are grown by at least one Sonoita/Elgin vintner, who is striving to maintain a taste of Spanish history.

A Diverse and Independent Ranching Community With Strong Family Values

The villages of Sonoita and Elgin came into being when the Bensen-to-Nogales Railway arrived in 1882. This regular and reliable transportation made successful ranching possible. In fact, in the 1880's, homesteading, pioneer ranchers shipped as many as 3,000 head of cattle to markets back East.

Ranching was a hard life for early settlers, who were often plagued with Apache raids. On August 10, 1867, Fort Crittenden was established on Sonoita Creek between Sonoita and Patagonia. The fort protected settlers in the Babocomari, Sonoita, and Santa Cruz Valleys, and saw a lot of action between 1870 and 1871. The Fort closed June 1, 1873. A second settler protection strategy-he establishment of Fort Buchanan-was responsible for touching off and escalating the Indian Wars in Arizona. Opened on November 17, 1856 near Sonoita River between Patagonia and Sonoita, Fort Buchanan saw a high number of confrontations with the Apaches. The Fort's Captain Ewell launched many campaigns against the Pinal Apache. So the soldiers could fight in the Civil War, the fort was given up on July 21, 1861 leaving the local settlers alone to deal with the Apaches from then on.

Although the closure of the railways decreased the cattle industry, a number of ranches still raise beef. In addition, wineries, horse properties, goat raising, and an alpaca farm thrive in the area.