A Visit to Tucson: The Arizona Inn and Regional Wine and Beer Tastings
CrushBrew Editorial · Travel · 8 min read
Key Takeaways
A historic base — The Arizona Inn, built in 1930, is a family-owned resort in midtown Tucson.
Drink on-site — Its dining room holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
Local whiskey — Tucson’s Whiskey Del Bac smokes its malt over mesquite, not peat.
Wine country — The Sonoita trail, an hour away, has Arizona’s most wineries.
Craft beer too — Tucson’s breweries, from Borderlands to Dragoon, round out the day.
In This Article
Why stay at the Arizona Inn?
Created in 1930 by Isabella Greenway, the Arizona Inn was built not only as a peaceful resort but to give disabled World War I veterans steady work, making furniture for the new hotel during the Depression. That altruistic streak still shows generations later: it remains family-owned, with gracious, attentive service and an air of unhurried calm. Luxurious, nostalgic rooms come with private patios, original art, and spacious layouts.
The grounds are the draw, all flower-lined paths and a swimming pool with mountain views, plus a lush library with Tiffany lamps, a dining room with cathedral ceilings, and the open-air Audubon Bar. It is elegant relaxation in a serene setting, and its central location makes it an easy launch point for the surrounding wineries, distillery, and breweries. The Inn can even set you up with a bike to explore nearby.
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What can you drink at the Inn itself?
The Inn’s Main Dining Room is a fine place to begin. Its eclectic wine list, which spans many regions and includes award-winning Arizona wines, has earned a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, and the kitchen pairs locally sourced fare with thoughtfully chosen bottles. If wine isn’t your mood, the bar pours craft cocktails and local spirits, including Whiskey Del Bac, the mesquite-smoked single malt made right in Tucson.
American Single Malt Whiskey
American single malt is whiskey made entirely from malted barley at a single distillery, in the tradition of Scotch but with a homegrown twist. Tucson’s Whiskey Del Bac smokes its barley over mesquite wood instead of the peat used in Scotland, giving its flagship Dorado a campfire-and-cocoa character all its own.
That whiskey comes from Hamilton Distillers, founded by woodworker Stephen Paul in 2006 and the first craft distillery in Southern Arizona since Prohibition. Its west-side tasting room offers flights and tours, so a glass at the Inn is a natural prelude to visiting the source.
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Which Tucson-area wineries should you visit?
You can start tasting Arizona wine without leaving the city. Sand-Reckoner’s downtown tasting room pours wines made from grapes grown in the high desert of southeastern Arizona, an easy in-town stop. About thirty minutes out toward Vail, Charron Vineyards, a small family winery established in 1995, offers tastings on a patio with views of the craggy Santa Rita Mountains. It is best known for its award-winning White Merlot, alongside a rotating range of reds and whites.
Sonoita AVA
The Sonoita AVA, southeast of Tucson, is an American Viticultural Area, a federally recognized wine region. It was Arizona’s first, sitting around 5,000 feet amid grasslands and mountains, where warm days and cool nights suit wine grapes. It now holds the largest concentration of wineries and vineyards in the state.
Drive about an hour from Tucson and you reach the Sonoita-Elgin trail proper. From Kief-Joshua Vineyards and its smoky Tempranillo to the acclaimed Callaghan Vineyards, whose wines have been served at the White House, the area pours a wide variety of distinctive bottles from Arizona-grown fruit.
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Where’s the best craft beer in Tucson?
Beer lovers can taste right in town. Borderlands Brewing, an easy ride from the Inn, is known for infusing local ingredients into its Southwestern-inspired beers, most famously its Prickly Pear Wheat, made with locally grown prickly pear. A bit farther west, Dragoon Brewing Company, open since 2012, is one of the city’s most respected breweries, especially beloved for its flagship IPA.
Prickly Pear
Prickly pear is the magenta fruit of the prickly pear cactus, a Sonoran Desert staple with a sweet, watermelon-like flavor. Tucson brewers and bartenders use it for color and a distinctly local sweetness, as in Borderlands Brewing’s Prickly Pear Wheat.
Between them, Tucson’s brewers lean hard into the desert pantry, prickly pear, mesquite, local pecans, and Sonoran chiles, which gives the city’s beer a sense of place you won’t find anywhere else.
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How do you spend a perfect tasting day?
With the Inn as your anchor, a full day of tasting comes together easily. Linger over the gardens in the morning, sample Arizona wine in town, tour the mesquite-smoke distillery in the afternoon, make the scenic drive out to Sonoita, and circle back for beer and a desert sunset.
Returning to watch the sunset light up the pink adobe of the Inn makes a fitting end to a day of tasting Tucson’s wines, beers, and whiskeys.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tasting in Tucson
🍷 Tucson Tasting at a Glance
A quick map of where to drink, from the Inn to wine country.
| Stop | Details |
|---|---|
| Where to stay | The Arizona Inn, a historic resort in midtown Tucson. |
| Drink at the Inn | Award-winning wine list, craft cocktails, and Whiskey Del Bac. |
| Local distillery | Whiskey Del Bac (Hamilton Distillers), mesquite-smoked single malt, west Tucson. |
| In-town winery | Sand-Reckoner’s downtown Tucson tasting room. |
| Closest vineyard | Charron Vineyards, Vail, about 30 minutes out. |
| Wine country | The Sonoita-Elgin AVA, about an hour southeast: Callaghan, Kief-Joshua, and more. |
| Craft beer | Borderlands Brewing (midtown) and Dragoon Brewing (west side). |
| Best ending | Sunset back at the Arizona Inn. |
