Where we Started
The History of Old Pueblo Cellars
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; that’s how we discovered the vineyard.
Despite years of neglect, we decided to harvest the fruit and try our hand at winemaking. 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.
When we moved, we carried our passion with us. After purchasing our current vineyard in northern Tucson, we began searching for the best varieties to grow in the desert.
We discovered that the University of Arizona was studying which varieties thrive best in the desert, so we decided to choose the six grape varieties we liked the most.
Our staff
Meet our winemakers
Tasting room manager
Alessia
Born in a quaint Sicilian town, Alessia grew up with wine all around her. Attending culinary school and moving to Germany, she met Toby and immigrated 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.
Wine maker
Mark
At the age of 34, 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.
Operation manager
Tobias
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 and his wife Alessia helped open to the tasting room the following spring and both 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.
Willcox vineyard manager
Lance
Lance Pelton is a third-generation wine professional. Graduating from Texas A&M with a degree in biology, he moved to Willcox to manage and expand the Old Pueblo Vineyards. Now a full-time vineyard manager, Lance continues the family legacy while bringing a fresh perspective. In his leisure time, he enjoys fishing and hiking in the beautiful wilderness surrounding the vineyard and developing new skills in carpentry and welding.
Groundskeeper
Jim
Jim Phillips was born in Pittsburgh, PA. After working for 25 years in bars all over Los Angeles I met Roger and started to work for him in the sign business. Later he moved with him to Texas and started managing Roger’s ranch. In 2021 he joined our team in Tucson, now he became the groundkeeper and participate to St Philips Plaza Market on the weekend sponsoring our business.
Tasting room server
Jocie
Jocie was born in Phoenix. She attended NAU, graduating later with a degree in education. She spent 13 years teaching in the White Mountains of Arizona. She returned to Tucson where she taught for Marana Schools. In 2022 after retiring from teaching, she joined our team and started to work in the tasting room, later she started managing our gift shop.