Sonora Wines has been awarded the prestigious ‘Double Gold’ and ‘Best in Class’ titles. 2023 Sunset International Wine Competition For 2018 Real de Terrenate Red Blends.

it beat some 3,000 bottles of wine According to a Sonoran Wines news release, the jury awarded the vintage 97 points, commenting on the vintage’s “impeccable quality, complexity and expression of the Sonoran Desert terroir.”

“I think this really highlights that we should continue to do what we’re doing,” said Demion Klinko, who runs Sonora Wines with partners Lisa Wagenheim and Michael Facet. said. “We are extremely proud to represent Arizona and the Arizona wine industry.”

Sonora Wines is one of thousands of Sunset International winners, most hailing from Sonoma and Napa Valley, California.

At the foot of the Chiricahua Mountains, on a secluded 15-acre (10-acre under vineyard) location along the banks of Turkey Creek, Sonora Wines won the 2018 Real de Wine Award at the 2023 Central Arizona Wine Competition. May’s honors came after winning the gold medal in the Telenate. In March, it also won four other statewide awards, including silver for 2020 Mourvèdre and 2016 Petite Sirah.

Tucson-based Klinko and its partners launched Sonora Wines from established vineyards in Cochise County that it acquired in 2019. The winery releases four or five vintages a year in limited lots of 75 to 150 cases and sells them through its website. SonoWines.comIt is also sold at a handful of Tucson retailers, including Tucson Hop Shop, Rum Runner, and Arizona Wine Collective.

Sonora wines are also served at many venues and restaurants in Tucson.The list is posted in the winery website.

“We’re really proud of the quality of the wine we make,” said Klinko, who is from Tucson. Klinko is a Tucson native who works in his family’s medical business and runs the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation.

Klinko said part of Sonora Wines’ mission is to shine a spotlight on Southern Arizona’s rich agricultural traditions, including winemaking that dates back to the arrival of Father Kino in 1687. Kino was the first to introduce vines to the region, planting vineyards in the legendary Mission Gardens he founded in the Sonoran Desert.

Klinko, along with himself and his partners (Wagenheim is an attorney and Fassett is a doctor based in Tucson and California), sees southern Arizona as a dominant player in the nation’s wine industry. Told.

“After over 30 years of great pioneers working on this wine, it’s really taking off and we’re really excited to be a part of its next chapter,” he said. He predicted that the state’s wine industry was on track to equalize. It will become even more robust in the next 10-20 years.

Several wineries in southern Arizona have won awards in statewide competitions, including Callahan Vineyards, who won the prestigious Governor’s Cup and Growers Cup awards at the 2021 Mourvèdre.

Others include Deep Sky Vineyards, Dos Cabezas Wineworks, Bodega Pierce, Deep Sky Vineyards, Pillsbury Wine Company, Loon Wines, Vino Stash Winery, Soaring Wines, Strive Vineyards, 1764 Vineyards, Bars and Barrels Vineyards, and Carlson Creek Vineyards. , Four Tales Vineyards, Laramita Cellars, Omphalos Winery, Passion Cellars, Saekram Cellars, James Callahan’s Brigand Wines, Los Myrix Vineyards, Twisted Union Wine Company.