"Highly favorable Wine Advocate reviews have brought national attention to this vineyard’s wines, but moreso, Kent Callaghan enjoys the local support that wine lovers have given to each new vintage.

“It means a great deal to me that they come back year after year and buy the wines,” Callaghan said. “Eighty-five percent of our business is done here. People come in to meet you and have you explain about the wine.”

Somewhat shy, he admits he’s more comfortable working in the vineyards than in the tasting room, but his wife Lisa enjoys the contact with their wine fans and tourists who come from Tucson during the snowbird season from November to April, as well as Tucson and Phoenix residents who travel south there to escape the scorching heat in the summer.

A philosophy major in college, Callaghan was more of a beer drinker than a wine aficionado when his father asked him to join him in establishing a vineyard in 1988. After taking some viticulture classes at the University of California at Davis, as well as Arizona State University extension courses, they dove into creating a vineyard featuring Rhone varietals. Callaghan’s mother Karen decided to open a restaurant at the same time and feature food and wine pairing.

“I learned that you don’t ever do that,” Callaghan said of the experience, which was stressful. “The one good thing that came out of it was that I was the wine buyer for the restaurant and I had to taste a lot of wines to create the list. I learned about wine by tasting so many varieties at events hosted by distributors. I still do that, trying wines from around the world. You have to have an outside frame of reference.”

After the restaurant closed, Callaghan and his father planted vines in another location in 1990, starting with 17 acres. They leased a building at the established Sonoita Vineyards for 10 years for winemaking; opening their own winemaking building and tasting room in 2000. The Callaghan Vineyard’s 1993 Chardonnay was the highest rated Arizona wine of all time, earning a 94 from Wine Advocate’s Robert Parker, who called the vineyards “one of the best kept wine secrets in America.”

Callaghan describes himself as a “pretty conventional” guy who likes to spend time with his wife Lisa and two daughters Caitlin, 15, and Claire, 12.

All of the women in his life have wines named after them. The 2004 Claire’s blend of Mourvedre, Syrah and Petite Syrah was one of the highly rated ones, and was served at the White House for the retirement dinner of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Another woman gave Callaghan reason to smile – former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano named the vineyard a “state treasure.”

Although Callaghan said he doubts that his daughters will follow him in the business, if either did in the future, Callaghan said he thinks it would be Claire.

“Claire likes to help me in the harvest, punching down the reds,” Callaghan said.

Callaghan enjoys drinking various wines each day, but if he had to choose one wine to drink, right now it would be a bottle of 2003 Clos des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape, “ a Burgundy that reminds me of a really fine Pinot,” Callaghan said.