One of the state's oldest wineries has gone up in flames, sending ripples through the thriving wine industry it helped develop.
Established in 1984, Arizona Vineyards was off the Patagonia Highway northeast of Nogales.
"I've lost everything," owner Tino Ocheltree said Monday as he walked through the ashes.
He estimated the worth of the lost wine, museum and equipment at $2 million. Ocheltree does not intend to walk away.
"I will build again," he said.
The Nogales Fire Department said 80 percent of the winery burned to the ground Thursday night and Friday morning. Three fire departments sent 31 firefighters to battle the blaze, containing it two hours after they arrived on the scene, said Battalion Chief William Sanchez.
Nogales police arrested Alfonso Obregon, 43, a former California resident who has lived in Nogales for about two years. Detective Jose Pimienta said police arrested him Friday afternoon and booked him on charges of arson of an occupied structure and aggravated criminal damage. He remains at the Santa Cruz County jail.
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Several witnesses saw Obregon leaving Arizona Vineyards after the fire started, Pimienta said. No one was injured.
Police are still investigating a motive.
Pimienta said Obregon has a criminal history in California but wouldn't disclose specifics because of the investigation.
"If Tino isn't able to recover, we're losing yet another one of the pioneers in the industry," said winemaker Gary Reeves, owner of Village of Elgin Winery. "And that kind of experience you can't replace. The reality is it's a blow to the business."
Reeves said it will be difficult for Ocheltree to recover. Winemakers begin crushing their grape harvests in August, and Reeves said he doubts two months would be enough time for Ocheltree to buy new equipment, get new building permits and rebuild his inventory. He estimates it would cost about $500,000 to replace the lost equipment.
Nestled in grassy hills between Patagonia and Nogales, Arizona Vineyards was known for its Old World, museumlike feel. The winery boasted giant wooden wine casks that were stacked to the ceiling, was decorated with quirky antiques, sculptures and paintings, and produced such only-in-Arizona vintages as Desert Dust, Rattlesnake Red and Coyote Red.
Rod Keeling of the Arizona Wine Growers Association said Arizona Vineyards was one of four vineyards — including Sonoita, Village of Elgin and Callaghan — that came into their own in the 1980s and for several years served as the entire Arizona industry. A few more vineyards came along in the 1990s, and in the past few years there has been an explosion, Reeves said.
Arizonavinesandwines.com lists more than 30 active wineries.
"The guys that laid all the groundwork for the Arizona industry have shared essentially everything they've learned with the new guys," Reeves said.
Fran Lightly, winemaker at Sonoita Vineyards — the state's oldest continuously operating winery — said Arizona Vineyards was a charmer.
"It was a real novelty kind of place," Lightly said. "Anybody who had been there always had interesting comments about the kinds of souvenir-type things they found there.
"I think they had a reputation because they had these wines with all these names like Rattlesnake Red and Desert Dust — interesting names," Lightly said. "I guess they did something for everyone. They had 15 or 20 different types of wines to choose from. They tried to produce something that appealed to all different kinds of tastes."
DID YOU KNOW
The first vineyards in Arizona were believed to have been planted by the Jesuits in the 17th century. Commercially, Arizona wines were sold from the late 1800s until Prohibition went into effect in 1920.
Read more about the history of Arizona winemaking in Tales From the Morgue at go.azstarnet.com/ winehistory
