A monthly look at Arizona wine with Valley dining impresario Pavle Milic.
Ten years ago this month, I sent an email to PHOENIX editor Craig Outhier to suggest that, should he ever consider adding an Arizona wine voice to the magazine, he might throw my name into the hat. The timing wasn’t accidental. I had just wrapped “Romancing the Grape,” a series I wrote for Phoenix New Times under the meticulous and discerning editorship of Amy Silverman, who now contributes to PHOENIX. I wanted to continue to share the goings-on in the world of Arizona wine – and just like that, the writing began.
I’ve always known I wanted to be part of the wine world – to immerse myself in its language, its rituals, its culture. After spending a few formative years in Napa, I returned to Arizona and realized something quietly electric was beginning to stir in the local wine scene. When Charleen Badman and I opened our restaurant, FnB, in 2009, we made a conscious decision: to champion what was growing in our own backyard and shine a spotlight on the remarkable talent behind it.
Today, I find myself literally on the ground at Los Milics Vineyards, deep in the trenches of winegrowing and winemaking, a humbling education in patience, precision, and perseverance. What I see is a community working in tandem, bound by a shared vision – to shape Arizona into a wine destination of real distinction. With more than 156 federally bonded wineries across three major growing regions, and more compelling juice being bottled every year, calling this a movement would be underselling it.
To PHOENIX: thank you for having the foresight to widen your lens to Arizona wine. And to the readers who continue to offer encouragement and thoughtful feedback – your words mean the world.
Wining Down
For more than two decades, Sam Pillsbury has been a captivating fixture in the Arizona wine scene – a ball of energy with an impish grin, a raconteur with a penchant for unfiltered playfulness. The New Zealand transplant and former filmmaker is widely credited as being a pioneer of Arizona wine, expanding its reach and respectability. “It’s about making the best possible wines we can,” he told PHOENIX in 2023. “It’s not about me, it’s about the terroir, and me respecting that and nurturing it.” In March, Pillsbury made headlines by announcing the sale of his 80-acre Willcox vineyard, with its precious terroir. “The last two years, I’ve had a diminishment in my energy and ability to do everything,” he told The Arizona Republic in a front-page story. “Nothing would make me happier than to hand this on to somebody.” As this issue went to press, the vineyard, winery building, house and other structures on the plot of land was priced at $1.45 million.
