2009
Hannah's Hill Vineyard and Winery
By:Hannah Marie* Gardner
When my Dad was in college he worked at Badger Liquor. The owner's policy was that his employees would know what they were selling. So twice a year he would hold a tasting with wines from the shop. He soon became interested in wine and started doing his research. He kept records on all the wine he tasted. When he and my mom moved to Arizona they started looking at property in the Southeast. There were a couple of interesting places but he didn't buy one until the year 2004. The property ended up being a 40 acre piece with a great view of the defining mountain of 
Sonoita, The Biscuit. Before you laugh take a look at the pictures of the property, It is a very beautiful mountain that could inspire painters everywhere. It took ten months to get the contract through the former owner. In celebration of the momentous occasion we planned a christening party to open the new chapter of Hannah's Hill vineyard. About 50 people were present that October night. All we had on the property was a port-a-potty and a tent for the party. At that time the property was zoned as vacant agricultural land, which is pretty expensive on taxes. But until we had planted a vine in the ground it would remain "vacant."
So the dream began. My Dad and Mom saved their money and fixed up our old Garage to be a winery. They bought Lab equipment, Tanks, Tables, Chairs, Beakers, Pressers, Destemer/Crusher,etc... You name it, it is there. So my Dad bought some Grapes from California and began experimenting on a grape called Petite Sirah. His first lot was very sucessful! So he decided to do it again with new grapes, Grenache and Mourvedre. They were sucessful too.
While this was going on my mother was working on building permits. Getting thru the building permit people took a little bit of running and time but we pulled through it and began building a barn with a water line hook up. When the barn was finished, the grapevines had been ordered, and the tractor was bought the labor work began. With some of my Dad's friends, he started to rip the land and move the rocks. When that had finished they put in long poles exactly 20 feet apart and put in the irragation hose. When the vineyard was ready for the volunteers the party preperations began. Then in May an overwhelming number of people came to help us out and worked very hard in the sun
to help the dream come true. They planted two acres of land in one day. Thank you everyone who helped us, and a special thanks to those who helped extra! 2008