Dubbed “The Heart of Arizona Wine Country,” Elgin, Ariz., showcases distinctive wineries all offering a large selection of wines with a vast bouquet of flavors. Located an hour southeast of Tucson, Elgin’s vineyards back rolling hills and cascading mountains. Rows of colorful grapes line endless fields, plump with juices soon to become wine—a vision often reflective of California’s wine region. So how is it that Arizona’s dry, arid, sometimes windy climate produced a selection of award-winning wines?

At an elevation of 4800 feet, Callaghan Vineyards is a family-owned and -operated, award-winning vineyard. Their Web site tells the family’s first years as a vineyard and the many lessons they would soon learn. The area’s excessive heat and extremely dry climate were ultimately the tipping factors in changing the grapes they would later bottle. Today, according to the vineyard’s Web site, “Mediterranean and Spanish varietals—tempranillo, mourvedre, petit verdot, petite sirah and grenache are the basic building blocks for our red blends, while viognier and riesling are blended for our estate white wine.” These exquisite grapes help pepper the family’s 25-acre estate. www.callaghanvineyards.com.