rancho rossa vineyards

What to say... the wine tasting experience was just one great wine after another. These are very fine wines and as a member of a wine club and having tasted a number of good wines, these are very much at the top of my list. It just was somehow unexpected, and that all the wines come from their 25 acre estate makes it even more amazing. These are all estate wines. Their production is limited to about 1,000 cases (12,000 bottles) per year, so a profit of $10 per bottle would yield a modest income of $120,000 a year. But, then, few make money from wine production. If you can find the dusty road to the estate, don't pass by. This place is a treasure.

Rancho Rossa is only open 3 days a week for a few hours, so plan accordingly. When we arrived to their large tasting room, it was much different than most of the other wineries we had been to that day, not crowded at all. There was another couple and group of ladies. While we were there, no one else showed up. Large room with lots of rock 'n roll memorabilia. Nice bar with fun fish tank behind. They will only use their glass, but you don't have to purchase it to taste, tasting was $8 and you can add the glass for $4 more. Tastings are in order and there is a nice description on the list and also the lady behind the counter was very informative and friendly. Although the majority were not my favorite of our weekend, I did really enjoy the CSM and we bought a bottle for home.

My wife and I drink wine 3-4 night a week. We consider ourselves fairly knowledgable about wine, at least we thought we did. We had been to the wineries in southern Arizona a few years ago and were not impressed with any of the wines. On this trip, we stopped at a couple of wineries that we missed on our first trip. The first two wineries were marginal, and then we stopped at Rancho Rossa. Upon arrival we were greeted by their Basset Hound, Shadow. The tasting room walls were covered with lots of cool rock-n-roll posters, and behind the bar was an amazing salt water aquarium. There were 4 other people in the tasting room with a noise level a lot lower than the other places we visited. The wines were poured in a cool crystal glass and to our amazement, they were good, really good. The wine maker was pouring our wines and he told us that there was a last minute cancellation for the afternoon's wine class and offered the slot to us. Sounded like fun and we seized the opportunity. We returned later that afternoon after having a great lunch at The Cafe in Sonoita. The class was limited to 20 people and started off with a short walk through the vineyard with an explanation of the grape growing process. Sounds like a lot of work. Upon returning to the tasting room, we were given 7 or 8 samples of wine, some with food and some without. What really stood out is that they showed us how to really taste wine. No other winery any where had ever bothered to do that and tasting properly made a huge difference. The class was about an hour long and was extremely educational and fun. Everyone was impressed. I understand that they only offer this class a few times a year, attend one if you get the chance. The best wines in Arizona and a great tasting room Duo. A must stop if you like great wine.

Since we've visited all the other wineries in the area except this one, we decided to give it a try on our last visit to the area. When we entered with our wine glasses from another area winery, we were immediately told - in a nice way albeit - that they no longer gave a discount for bringing in a glass from another winery because they wanted us to have the best wine tasting experience which required us to use their nice crystal glasses. And should we want to keep those glasses, that would add another $4 each to the cost of the wine tasting. While I respect the right of the owners to have that policy, it really seems to violate what all the other owners in the area do to support each other and the entire area. It felt as if they were trying to give the impression that they are somehow superior to everyone else in the area. That could explain why they were not very busy on a day all the other wineries in the area seemed to be packed.So admittedly, we felt kind of put off even before we started tasting the wines. The wine tasting itself was actually pretty good. The woman who was pouring was quite knowledgeable and answered all our questions. Compared to most of the other wineries in the area, the wines here are much more mature - most of the wines they served were 2007 vintages. They were pretty decent overall (which is the only reason I even gave them an average rating), but no better than many of the other wines we've tasted in the area. So as far as we're concerned there is really no reason for us to return here in the future.

Great wine and a marvelous charitable act by this vineyard. Not only did they donate 50% of the price of each bottle of wine sold they also paid for the adoption fees of the critters on hand. Kudos.

This tasting room is down a shared single lane gravel road and easy to overlook. Don't! The owners are pleasant folks, as is the dog. (The dog doesn't drink wine, but I'm told enjoys an occasional beer.) The tasting room is comfortable and a museum of classic rock (check out those autographs). As the grapes that grow best in Sonoita are best for producing DRY wines, don't expect sweet wines here.NOTE: As with all the Sonoita wineries, the price of a tastings (and bottles) have skyrocketed over the past few years. Keep the cost down by purchasing a glass as the first winery you visit and bringing that glass with you to the remaining stops, as the tasting prices will be discounted.

The tasting room is bright and welcoming but what makes this place great is the owners. They were friendly and engaging and they also had a vey cute dog! The wines were well crafted and very appealing. They are not available by the glass so we purchased a few bottles and enjoyed them at home!

The wine was very good, and we really enjoyed visiting with the owners at this tasting room. And yes, we bought wine here as well !

After a couple of not so good wineries in the Elgin area, we stopped in at Rancho Rossa Vineyards. The tasting room was clean, full of rock-n-roll posters and had two of the nicest dogs we've ever met. All of the wines that we tasted we well crafted and priced right. We enjoyed our time there and recommend that anyone traveling to the Elgin area, stop in for some of the best Arizona wine out there.