Sonoita Vineyards Blesses the Vines

Recovering from the Longview Fire

When the Longview Fire ravaged the Elgin-Sonoita area earlier this year, the Reynolds family took stock of the damage.

Candy and Josh from the Band Wanted along with good friend and photographer Kim Rego of Photos by KC Rego, and other members of the local community, worked together to organize a fundraiser to help the family recover from the damage, and help fill the gaps while they wait for the insurance company to come through.

This year's Blessing of the Vineyards Festival took on a whole different meaning, in a time when they are counting every blessing they can with an eye toward recovery from the fire.

With a little outside of the box thinking and some reconfiguration of the layout, the festival took on a whole new dimension.

Moving the Vineyard Festival Forward

"We moved a lot of the festival outside this year," winemaker Lori Reynolds told me. Even though the winery itself was not touched by the fire's flames, parts of the building was enveloped in smoke. Until it can be completely mitigated, parts of the winery are not yet open to the public.

Blessing the Vines for the Growing Season

That didn't stop the 2023 Blessing of the Vineyards from going forward. The beautiful weather cooperated with the breathtaking views to make this year's event even more memorable.

Father Greg Adolf from St. Andrews Catholic Church in Sierra Vista brought his "posse of Padres" to Bless the Vines for the current growing season.

Accompanied by a lively crowd in support of the event and a live radio broadcast on both K101 and KWCD, the event was a success.

In Vino Veritas

The Sonoita Vineyards is still hoping this season will be a good one, and they're doing everything they can to move forward while they work toward permanent repairs.

For now, if you'd like to visit the Sonoita Vineyards, the tasting room is open daily from 10:00am to 4:00pm, except Tuesdays. Learn more by visiting Sonoita Vineyards online.