Pavle Milic and his wife Carla are co-owners, growers, and winemakers for Los Milics Vineyards, the newest winery in Elgin, located at 423 Upper Elgin Road near Highway 82.
“We chose to build a Quonset building for its efficiency and curvature and softening quality,” Milic said.
In Mid-May the winery began offering tastings on the crush pad Thursday – Sunday from 11:00a.m. to 4:00p.m., with a view of the Mustang Mountains and the 12 of 20 acres of Milics’ vines swaying in the breeze. They also planted 13.5 acres of wine grapes at their property in Elfrida called Jenny’s Vineyard and have plans to expand to 68 acres next to Jenny’s. Milic’s current focus is completing the tasting room and from there, probably building lodging on the property.
Milic has been a successful restauranteur in Arizona and California for the past 34 years, having entered the restaurant business at the age of 15 at his dad’s restaurant. While working in Napa Valley, Milic, in his own words, “embraced the interconnected relationships between food and wine, and farmers and winemakers.” Returning to Arizona in 2007, he became the general manager at Prado in Paradise Valley. The journey continued when he connected with longtime friend Charleen Badman. She and Milic opened their own restaurant “FnB” (food and beverage) in Scottsdale. Food & Wine Magazine described FnB as “the epicenter of creative Arizona cuisine.” FnB was also highlighted in the New York Times, Travel & Leisure Magazine, and Forbes Magazine and was nominated in 2017 by the James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Wine Program and in 2020 for Outstanding Beverage Program.
Over the years, Milic dreamed about the time, when his kids were grown, that he would move to wine country and become a winemaker. That dream became reality when the Garfinkle family, who dined at FnB, offered a partnership to achieve that goal. As Milic put it, “the rest is history!”
When asked why he chose the Sonoita-Elgin wine region, Milic stated, “I could have gone to Verde Valley or even Willcox, but as soon as I got off I-10 onto SR 83, it reminded me of the calmness I always felt driving down Jameson Canyon into Napa Valley. Sonoita-Elgin has a very unique landscape and weather systems, temperate summers, cool evenings, and distinctive wine grapes. I also wanted to be near Todd and Kelly Bostock and Kent and Lisa Callaghan, winemakers I admire.”
Milic describes himself as a husband to one of the coolest ladies he knows (who is also a winemaker), dad to great kids (Renato, Lorenzo, Oliver, and Hannah, ages 11 to 22), a cat and two dogs and one who has a penchant for good food and wine and family.
For more information about Los Milics Vineyard, visit https://losmilicsvineyards.com