Sonoita

Sonoita, AZ 85637, USA

On an scenic drive from Tucson to Sonoita along Highway 82 the desert slowly gives way to grassy ranch land, and the incessantly hot temperature dips just enough to provide some relief. The town itself is a small, quiet, cowboy establishment reminiscent of the old west. The country surrounding Sonoita exudes a calmness where the sounds of abolutely nothing can be heard unless you listen for the wind winding itself around the mountains, through the grass, and creaking the wheels of the many windmills that dot the land. There’s 25 miles of windy road to explore along Highway 82 between Interstate 10 and Sonoita.

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Slow Down around Sonoita

On an scenic drive from Tucson to Sonoita along Highway 82 the desert slowly gives way to grassy ranch land, and the incessantly hot temperature dips just enough to provide some relief. The town itself is a small, quiet, cowboy establishment reminiscent of the old west. The country surrounding Sonoita exudes a calmness where the sounds of abolutely nothing can be heard unless you listen for the wind winding itself around the mountains, through the grass, and creaking the wheels of the many windmills that dot the land. There’s 25 miles of windy road to explore along Highway 82 between Interstate 10 and Sonoita.

Raise Your Glass

Perhaps the perfect conclusion to a trip filled with active adventures requires no more effort than pouring a glass of wine from one of the state’s vineyards. Spanish missionaries sparked Arizona’s romance with winemaking in the 17th century, but a group of passionate vintners have recently rekindled it. You can taste their surprisingly good varietals and blends by visiting the state’s three wine trails—Sonoita/Elgin, Verde Valley, and Willcox. More than a dozen wineries have sprung up southeast of Tucson in Sonoita. Its lovely rolling grasslands offer a mile-high terrain underlain by red clay soil akin to that of some of Europe’s famed growing regions. The Verde Valley Wine Trail is two hours north of Phoenix in Cottonwood, where four local tasting rooms line the town’s charming main street. Many of the grapes used in Arizona wines are grown near Willcox, in the foothills of southeastern Arizona’s rugged mountains. Deeper, loamier soil here produces more wine grapes than the other two regions combined, and the area also offers several tasting rooms.

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