The Accidental Vintner

The Vineyard We Didn't Know We Had

In 1974, we purchased a property in Mariposa County, California, known as Mockingbird Ranch. At the time of purchase, no one mentioned that the land housed an old vineyard planted by Italian immigrants many decades earlier. One day, my two kids went out exploring and came back with grapes; They asked their mom Arlene if they could eat the grapes and she asked them to show her where they came from. That’s how we discovered the vineyard that was likely planted sometime in the late 1800s. There were about 300 plants there originally and most of them were dead because they hadn't been cared for in a long time, but there were about 30 that were doing fine.

Despite years of neglect, we decided to harvest the fruit and try our hand at winemaking. We made some really bad wine in the beginning, there wasn't YouTube and there wasn't internet in the 70s so you had to read a book if you didn't know how to do something. We made wine in small batches and through experimentation we quickly figured out how to make great tasting wine with techniques we still use today at Old Pueblo Cellars. These include: not filtering the wine, using a cold fermentation process, using organic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers and not adding sulfites – all things that make a better tasting wine. That experience ignited our passion and inspired us to make winemaking a part of our lives. Although we later moved east, we longed to return to this craft and found an unexpected opportunity in Arizona.

~ Roger Pelton

Meet Our Team

Mark Phillips

Winemaker

At the age of 36, Mark Phillips is already a seasoned winemaker. Attending Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, studying wine and viticulture, he worked his first harvest in 2009. Since moving to Willcox in 2015, he has crafted wines for many brands before joining our team in 2022. Mark first met Roger back in 2015 while Roger was first contemplating a new winery venture and has remained a close friend to the family ever since. In addition to his work, Mark is a talented cook, writer, and philanthropist, working with the Arizona Community Foundation to help non-profits in the underserved rural communities of Cochise County.

Emily Spivey

Wine Club Manager / Events Coordinator

Originally from Kansas, Emily has spent her life traveling all over the country, exploring new cities and doing a variety of seasonal jobs. She wandered into the tasting room one day, sipped some wine, joined the wine club and eventually found herself with the world's best job. As a wine enthusiast she loves connecting to wine club members and helping people plan their special events in a beautiful setting. In her free time she does puzzles, spends as much time outside as possible and crochets.

Alessia Valerio

Tasting Room Lead

Born in a quaint Sicilian town, Alessia grew up with wine all around her. She attended culinary school and moved to Germany before immigrating to the US. She worked as a private chef and helped at the Tucson property before the tasting room opened. Now she is a full-time manager in the tasting room and is loved by every customer for her vivacious personality, warm hospitality and knowledge. Outside of work, she loves to travel with friends, photography, cooking and enjoys the finer things in life.

Tobias Cash

Tobias Cash joined our team in late 2020. A dual citizen of Germany and the United States, he was able to stay in Arizona and help us tend our vineyard in Tucson. He helped open to the tasting room the following spring and demonstrated great dedication to custom service and wine making process. Outside of work, Toby loves exploring the unspoiled wilderness around us and creating his own American dream.

Julie Houghton