It’s 2 a.m., and we’re standing in the course of Los Milics’ vineyards exterior Elfrida, Arizona. The cuadrilla (crew) began harvesting simply after midnight, and they’re working steadily down the rows. Above us, the celebs are in contrast to something I’ve seen earlier than. Constellations hint by the darkish evening sky, dimly illuminating the bustle of harvest. Round me, I can hear the low hum of bugs, the rustling of canine zigzagging by the vines, the clang of grapes dropping into plastic buckets, and the stomping ft of the crew as they run up and down the rows. However at daybreak, because the solar peeks up over the Chiricahua Mountains to the east, all the things quiets. The grapes are loaded onto a truck, and we drive an hour west to the Los Milics vineyard in Elgin. 

Pavle Milić is Yugoslavian and Colombian, born in Medellín, Colombia, earlier than transferring to Queens. His stepfather was a cabdriver and bartender in New York who adopted the restaurateur he labored for to Scottsdale, Arizona. Milić grew up there, caught the hospitality bug working as a busser at his dad and mom’ eating places, then was launched to winemaking in Napa Valley. He returned to Arizona and opened his restaurant, FnB, in 2009 with chef Charleen Badman. They serve hyperseasonal meals (“no peach cobbler in December,” Milić says) and are identified for a surprisingly deep listing of Arizona wine. That award-winning listing captured the eye of diners — together with one Mo Garfinkle, who would later develop into Milić’s enterprise accomplice in Los Milics.

Milić lives in Scottsdale and repeatedly does the three-hour drive right down to the southern fringe of Arizona, the place his vineyard is. That is the Sonoita American Viticultural Space, an “itty-bitty ecosystem that doesn’t appear to be the rest in Arizona,” Milić says. “There’s 175 levels of sky right here.” The Sonoran Desert that surrounds Sonoita is probably the most lush desert in North America, with strong aquifers and a three-month monsoon season to feed them. Its undulating grasslands, 5,000 ft above sea stage, are surrounded by the Mustang and Santa Rita mountains. When Milić first visited Sonoita 15 years in the past, he was instantly captivated.

“I had this bizarre déjà vu feeling,” he says. “To go to Napa Valley, I take Jameson Canyon Highway. You get off this massive California freeway onto a two-lane, quiet freeway flanked by vines.” That feeling of as soon as once more being surrounded by vines and mountains was what grabbed him, the sort of synchronicity he at all times appears to be like for. Milić’s reward is discovering connections, between dates, names, birthdays, languages, and tales. He has an uncommon capability to create constellations of magnificence and that means from seemingly disparate issues.

There are 17 grape varieties planted in Los Milics’ 70 acres of vineyards, an eclectic combine together with Grenache, Syrah, and Tempranillo, together with lesser-known varieties like Teroldego from northern Italy and Vranac, a crimson grape native to Montenegro that harks again to Milić’s roots. “One of many lovely components about making wine in Arizona is that we’re not beholden to custom or any guidelines,” he says.

Sonoita was designated an AVA in 1984. When he arrived, Milić talked to native winemakers to search out out what may thrive within the Sonoran Desert. “I stood on the shoulders of the winemakers who discovered what varieties work right here,” he says. That turned out to incorporate Petit Manseng, an obscure grape from southwestern France. “This grape is sort of a freaking Volvo,” Milić says. “It’ll say, ‘Rain, eff you,’ and provide the hen.” Given Sonoita’s monsoon season, which often hits simply earlier than or throughout harvest, that rot-resistant hardiness is essential. Petit Manseng additionally has loads of puckery tartness, which Milić makes use of in blends so as to add a pop of brightness — simply as you’ll add lemon to a soup that’s sort of flabby, he says.

Grenache additionally does properly however might be extra finicky. “Age it too lengthy, and it turns into a philosophy trainer driving a convertible Saab and smoking a pipe — actually stoic.” For Los Milics’ award-winning Ita’s rosé (named after his spouse and fellow winemaker, Ita Milić), he picks Grenache early to showcase its pure acidity and mitigate any threat of solar overexposure. “It’s like consuming a cloud,” he says.

At Los Milics, hospitality, intentionality, and embracing the pure world are paramount. The attractive single-story tasting room sits in the course of the property winery. Whenever you arrive, Milić says (in true Milić type), “You’re confronted with this cavalcade of monoliths that hopefully do what good artwork is meant to do: make you ask questions, make you emote and say, ‘What the hell is occurring?’”

Guests can keep the evening in casitas comprised of transport containers outfitted with kitchenettes and loos — they sound spare however are surprisingly lovely. Constructed on an angle by the winery, they create a constellation main again to the center of all of it: the vineyard’s tasting room and its restaurant, referred to as The Biscuit, headed up by chef Trevor Routman. There, you’ll discover a shifting menu of chic, wine-friendly dishes which may embrace a easy salad of potatoes, tomatoes, and preserved tuna, which pairs completely with Los Milics Ita’s rosé, and heartier dishes like tomatoey, ham-flecked Pollo al Chilindrón — impressed by founding chef Ana Borrajo’s dwelling of Granada, Spain — that requires strong reds. Basic cocktails and a brief listing of benchmark wines from all over the world spherical out the menu. “In a 20-mile radius, I promise you,” says Milić, “you’re not going to search out one other Vesper Martini, or Negroni, or glass of Raveneau Chablis.”

Now that Milić is seven years in, with a maturing winery, elevated wine manufacturing, a busy tasting room, and newly launched lodging for friends, he’s centered on “operational homeostasis.” 

“The wine world grabbed me in a manner, because the workplace was not a desk; the workplace was exterior,” he says. “In wine nation, you’re in a fantastic a part of the world, nearly at all times. There’s good meals and a conviviality with wine people that’s actually inclusive.” That confluence of making one thing lovely and elevating visitor experiences retains Milić striving, he says. “And although this mission retains me up at evening, I attempt to do my best possible in order that we’re making the entire state look good. We’re attempting to supply an extra story in that entire trajectory of Arizona wine.”

Los Milics — and Milić himself — is simply simply getting began. Arizona’s wine trade is only some a long time previous. However the desert and the mountains, the celebs above and the rocks beneath — these are historical. And on lengthy days, you’ll discover Milić sitting on the prime of his property winery, glass in hand, reflecting on the way it all comes collectively.

Arizona wineries to go to

Dos Cabezas WineWorks (Sonoita)

Todd and Kelly Bostock are early trailblazers of wine-making in Sonoita, and they’re mentors to Milić. Dos Cabezas provides a sturdy menu of Italian-inspired dishes at their tasting room. “Don’t depart with out attempting the lemon pizza,” says Milić: It’s topped with burrata, snap peas, preserved lemon, and herbs. “Wash it down with their zesty home white: a kitchen-sink mixture of Picpoul, Viognier, Petit Manseng, Malvasia, and some others.” The canned glowing rosé served with caviar and potato chips can also be a can’t-miss.

Callaghan Vineyards (Elgin)

“With 34 vintages beneath his belt, Kent Callaghan stands as one in all Arizona’s pioneering winegrowers,” says Milić. Callaghan’s wines are extremely acclaimed and have been served on the White Home. When visiting the tasting room, attempt Lisa’s White (named after Callaghan’s spouse), a refreshing mix of Marsanne, Roussanne, Malvasia, and Clairette. “Whenever you go to, ask Lisa to pour you Waverly’s Grenache,” says Milić. “Its quaffability is off the charts.”

Rune Wines (Sonoita)

Go to Rune’s “off-grid” tasting room, located beneath a cover in the course of the vineyards with gorgeous mountain views. Arizona’s distinctive terroir is imbued into each facet of winemaker James Callahan’s mission, from the photo voltaic vitality used to energy the vineyard to the top-notch wines. The balanced Viognier pairs completely with Rune’s housemade muffuletta, says Milić. “One other standout is his Graciano, a varietal proving to be well-suited to Arizona’s terroir that yields a deeply hued, dark-fruited, daring wine,” he provides.

Queen of Cups (Patagonia)

“Queen of Cups is definitely worth the hunt,” says Milić. The boutique vineyard is tucked away in an alley in Patagonia, a captivating city simply quarter-hour from Sonoita. They make use of low-intervention winemaking on grapes sourced from Arizona and Mexico to make vibrant wines that embrace zippy Picpoul Blanc and structured, elegant Tannat.