Los Milics winery in Elgin, Arizona is an architectural marvel

(Image credit: Courtesy of Dan Ryan)

published 25 April 2024

Like a modern-day Stonehenge, the weathered-steel panels that surround the tasting room at the Los Milics winery, set among the rolling grasslands of southern Arizona, dominate the expansive horizon, their beauty ever-shifting according to the season. The sculptural structure offers a testament to the region’s evolving identity as a top-tier wine destination, and is designed to work in harmony with the stunning natural landscape and elevate the wine-tasting experience.

The Los Milics vineyard was set up in 2018 in Elgin, at the foot of the Mustang Mountains, by entrepreneurs Pavle Milic and Mo Garfinkle, who first connected at FnB, a highly acclaimed, award-winning Scottsdale restaurant that is co-owned by Milic. What initially began as a modest wine label soon blossomed into the expansive vineyard that exists today, with the pair cultivating an impressive selection of grape varieties, including Petit Verdot, Grenache, Tempranillo, Petit Manseng, Vermentino and Montepulciano. Milic and Garfinkle then enlisted Chen + Suchart Studio – a local architectural firm known for its minimalist approach – to design a tasting room.

Los Milics winery is an Elgin marvel

‘Its location within this unspoiled landscape served as a constant reminder of our duty to design something that enhances rather than detracts from its surroundings,’ say Thamarit Suchart and Patricia Szu-Ping Chen Suchart, the husband-and-wife duo behind Chen + Suchart. ‘In our collaborative process, one typically initiates a concept for the other to refine. Initially, the design leaned too heavily towards a conventional building. Through iterative dialogue, we reimagined the structure as an abstract form harmonising with the natural terrain.’

The steel panels line the entranceway to the tasting room itself, a 3,400 sq ft glass box which offers indoor and outdoor seating, the latter on a sheltered patio. Here, over a glass of wine, you can far-reaching views across the vines to the Mustang Mountains, whose domed top is known locally as ‘The Biscuit’. The decor is a blend of modern and rustic, courtesy of the Sucharts and interior designer Vivian Ullman, and highlights include a lengthy bar for wine sampling, a glass-walled nook, and a small-plates menu overseen by Spanish-born chef Ana Borrajo, who creates tapas-style dishes with an Arizonan twist.

‘The tasting room offers distinct zones to cater to different experiences,’ say the Sucharts. The main room is an airy open space with multiple configuration options, great for public tasting sessions and large private events, and there is also a smaller private tasting room. The minimalist interior palette, meanwhile, allows the natural landscape to be the star, with walnut detailing and dark tones softening the space.

Also in the pipeline are nine lodges, or ‘casitas’, for overnight guests. Scheduled to open later this month, they will offer the dedicated oenophile the opportunity to wake up amid the Arizona vines.

Los Milics is located at 423 Upper Elgin Rd #824, Elgin

losmilicsvineyards.com, chensuchartstudio.com

A version of this article appears in the May 2024 Milan Preview Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

Sofia de la Cruz is the Travel Editor at Wallpaper*. A self-declared flâneuse, she feels most inspired when taking the role of a cultural observer – chronicling the essence of cities and remote corners through their nuances, rituals, and people. Her work lives at the intersection of art, design, and culture, often shaped by conversations with the photographers who capture these worlds through their lens.