Stream ‘Vintage Arizona,’ a new documentary on the state’s wine industry

The Arizona wine industry is featured in a new documentary, “Vintage Arizona: The Heart of Winemaking”. Locally made and produced, this documentary is now available for streaming on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.

Kellie Mendoza, the producer and Sean Oliver, the director of the documentary joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the journey of the production of “Vintage Arizona.”

“Our passion of winemaking comes from 2019, we were doing some video commercial work for a large-scale wine company and through that it just made us think these winemakers are so real, they’re so authentic, there’s so much hard work that goes into the process,” Mendoza said.

Oliver says a special part of the journey was when the filmmakers got to relive the interviews and footage when editing with their “tight-knit crew.”

Mendoza said they took a risk by reaching out to the four top winemakers in the state based on a competition in 2022 called “The Arizona Governor’s Cup.” They all agreed! That began the year-long filming process that turned into “Vintage Arizona.”

“Sometimes when we talk to people, they anticipate that they’re getting the grapes from somewhere else and they’re just pressing them here, but these are Arizona-grown grapes to make truly Arizona wine,” Oliver said.

He says he was surprised by the lack of competition between the winemaking companies, but instead they are a community.

The documentary explores Arizona’s wine industry while showcasing the challenges and triumphs of winemakers in a harsh landscape. Set against the dramatic backdrops of Arizona’s wine regions, this film explores the unique journey of winemaking in one of the most challenging environments in the world.