lightning ridge cellars

967MB

We always leave with a good red and dessert wine. A nice small family run operation that always provide time to interact. Great wine!

dme3

Of all of the wineries we visited, this one has the absolute best views. Just look out the tasting room windows the mountains and sky and clouds-so peaceful and beautiful! Very nice tasting room, decent wines, but none that caught my attention and that wanted to come home with me. Our server was decent, but not overly helpful nor talkative. We did find some other visitors to chat with that took up our time. No seating anywhere in the tasting room, standing only. Didn't spend any time outdoors. Nothing caught my attention and screamed that I had to have it, so we did not buy wine, but we will gladly come back to visit, check out what's new and that amazing view!

ColoradoJ

On a one-afternoon wine tasting tour of the Sonoita/Elgin area, we visited Dos Cabezas Wineworks, Lightning Ridge Cellars, Sonoita Vineyards, and Callaghan Vineyards. While I have visited many wineries and have a fairly good base of comparison, I haven’t visited any others in the Sonoita area and thus can’t compare these to other Sonoita area wineries.Lightning Ridge has the most beautiful setting of the four wineries we visited. The tasting room is an attractive and fairly new building in the middle of fields of vineyard, with panoramic views of the surrounding mountains. It's worth a visit just to soak up some of the ambiance. You can also sit outside or even play bocce ball on their sand courts out front, although both the tables and the bocce ball courts are in the sun.While I wouldn't say the wines were a disappointment, they didn't quite live up to expectations set by the surroundings. The Lightning Ridge wines were OK -- I'd say about average of the wineries I've visited in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas -- but they were definitely not the best we tasted in the Sonoita area (Callaghan was the best, followed by Dos Cabezas).

OregonJohn97338

We were visiting the Sonoita wine country with transplanted fellow wine buffs who recently moved to the Green Valley area. Of our three stops, we enjoyed the wines of Lightning Ridge the most. This was the only place where I bought wine to take back to Oregon -- a zinfandel made with grapes from the Paso Robles, CA region (home of Linne Calodo, our favorite California producer).The Arizona grapes show promise -- vintners just need to figure out the soil, microclimate, varietal puzzle.

brianf24

Great back room for a meal that you bring in. Really good wines. Buy a bottle or two, ask for the Bocce balls have a game enjoy. really nice guy behind the bar. a must stop winery

NikiD56

This wine cellar is on the far end of the Sonoita wine trail, but worth the excursion. Winemaker Ann Roncone grows Italian varietal grapes, and her wines taste as if they came straight from the terroir of Italy. Her tasting room is sparse, clean and classy, with classical music piped in while visitors take in views of the surrounding grassy hills through huge windows.

ExploreAZ

Participated in the grape stomp at the end of August. The path was designed to run around and through their vineyard - what a pleasant surprise. Friendly staff and volunteers. Very pretty area. The run ended with samples in their tasting room - what a pleasant surprise.

DesertBeachLover

This was our second visit to this winery and my wife and I really enjoyed both visits. Even though it had been a very busy day, the owner was very personable and informative. We found his honesty about his wines to also be quite refreshing - he admitted that it had taken them several years to get their dry Moscato to where they wanted it to be after getting some outside help.My wife and I are not Moscato drinkers at all since we don't like sweet wines, but we really liked the dry Moscato as well as the bold red wines that they produce, especially the Zinfandel. These are some of our favorite wines from the area and they are reasonably priced for the Sonoita/Elgin area. This has become one of our favorite wineries in the area and it is well worth driving a few miles out of the way to get there.

Ashleybethy

Great wine and the hospitality director Bruna ( a Great Dane) made us feel right at home! The fudge with the port was super fun!

DeniseAZ

Lightening Ridge was the first stop on our Sonoita adventure this past weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of their wines. In fact, I had to ask incredulously "these grapes were grown here?" Their Montepulciano is outstanding, and we really enjoyed the 100% Cab, too. We'll definitely be back once we run out!

SylviaR896

We stopped in this past weekend to this extra-special winery in the Elgin-area. As mentioned, a bit out of the way, but the most intense, fabulous wines. We never visit here without buying several bottles of their finest. The estate offerings change as the winery is comparatively small. This autumn they have an estate bottled Cabernet which is still a bit young, but I will hang on to it for six months, because if it is complex, intense right now, just think?? The dessert wine this year is different from other years as well, try it with a piece of their home-made fudge...a little piece of heaven. The owners are so friendly and so proud of their efforts and their " horse/dog" is the greatest! The setting is beautiful, serene, bucolic. Bring your glass for a discounted wine tasting and if you enjoy your Arizona wines, buy a wine travel card (available at most wineries) for the year and receive a further discount (10-15%) on wine and even some shopping/eating establishments. A class act, through and through.

vcgeno

Staff was very friendly and made the tasting room a fun experience. Wine was very good. You should try it.

HornsAndTail

The wines are rich in flavor and variety. The owners are very pleasant. The wines grown on the estate are Italian varietals (the Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, and Malvasia are my favorites). This is a small winery and what is available varies greatly from visit to visit. Check out the bocci ball courts.Ask the owners to show you the "dining room". Apparently the room can be rented for special events.Reminder: All Sonoita area have significantly hiked their prices for tastings (and bottles). Reduce the impact by bring the first glass you purchase in the region to the remaining wineries, who will offer a discount on tastings.

871ChristineS

Beautiful scenery, great wines to taste, super hospitality! One of my favorite stops in wine country.

jonb273

Ann and Ron are the real deal. The grapes are grown here, the wines are made here and are truly represents the "Terroir" of the only designated AVA in the state!