Meet Breanna Hamilton | Owner + Non-profit Executive Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Breanna Hamilton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Breanna, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
As I sit down to write this and really think about it there are many things that make me happy. I’m happy when my dog is excited to see me, I’m happy when I’m baking a pie and the crust turns out perfectly, I’m happy when I make someone smile and I’m happy when I can see that I’ve made a positive impact on the world. I could go on but I think you get the gist. I think ultimately, I’m happiest when I’m making someone else happy. As for the why, I don’t know if I can truly answer that. There is nothing better or more rewarding than making someone else happy.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

To say I’m a passionate person would be an understatement. When I love something I want to share it with the world! We run 2 businesses and a non-profit from the same location and they are all tied beautifully.

Our first business, Rancho Rossa Vineyards was founded by my husband in 1999 and I took the reins when we started dating in 2014. I’m not sure he knew what he was getting himself into! Ha! In 2019, I founded our non-profit foundation + wine brand, Rescued Hearts Cellars after the tragic loss of our 4 month old puppy, George Bailey. Finally, in 2020 I started a bakery food truck that’s parked permanently at the winery. Who knows what we will come up with next.

Certainly running any business isn’t easy but when you add farming into the mix the difficulty is leveled up. We only use grapes from our 24 acres to make our wines but in 2020 we lost absolutely everything to disease. This year we are replanting 5 of those acres with brand new varietals that are disease resistant. It’s a huge setback but we’ll keep truckin’ on. While this may seem like the most challenging part of our lives, it’s not because it’s fixable. The hardest thing I’ve ever gone through in my life is losing our puppy, George Bailey.

In 2018 we adopted our sweet George Bailey. He was the most adorable 8 week old puppy! After a few weeks we noticed he wasn’t feeling good, things escalated quickly. We found ourselves driving through the night to see a kidney specialist at UC Davis San Diego. We worked with the specialist for the next month doing absolutely everything in our power to save George and heal his kidneys. He got daily doggie dialysis, when things were looking better we went to 3 times a week. We now know that George wasn’t meant to stay with us forever, he was meant to change us forever. He went to the rainbow bridge 7 weeks after we adopted him. I was absolutely devastated. In 2019, I founded our nonprofit, Rescued Hearts Cellars. I had NO idea how much support we would receive. It’s been incredible.

So what does Rescued Hearts Cellars do? It’s a 501c3 nonprofit and it’s also a wine brand of our winery that is 100% not for profit. We sell 12 different nonprofit wine labels featuring our rescue animals including, George’s wine called It’s a Wonderful Life. Plus we have other wine + animal related merch like wine bottle candles, stickers, apparel, etc. Then with all the money we raise we write grants to AZ animal rescues for extraordinary medical care. We raised over $22,500 in 2021 and plan to raise $25,000 this year. We wrote more than 10 life saving grants in 2021 to save animals like Pedro the cat, Leia the bunny, Brooks the dog and many more!

So what about that food truck? Well what goes better together than food and wine? (I mean dogs obviously!!) Baking has been a passion for me since I was little and it was always my dream to have a bakery. In 2020, I was basically without a job because we closed the winery for 6 months due to Covid. Voila, the birth of our bakery food truck! We serve up delicious sandwiches + more on the weekends. I bake bread for the sandwiches, pie, cookies, cinnamon rolls and more and Chris makes everything else from the bacon to the roast beef. It’s totally a dream come true, we have a blast together.

After all of our ups and downs I’ve learned that you can do *almost* anything with a good dose of determination and a good partner.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

Southern AZ is SO great! There are so many small businesses to support and so much to see.

Hands down my favorite spot closest to us is Parker Canyon Lake. I’d pack a picnic with wine(of course), all my dogs and head to the lake for some peaceful kayaking. The drive is absolutely gorgeous, for bonus points drive back the long way (okay, the really long way). Head over the Huachuca mountains and you’ll pop out in the Hereford area. Talk about views!!!

The next day I would head over the Cinegas and Empire Ranch for a long walk or horseback ride. The Empire Ranch is so special, it’s a historic ranch turned into an open museum that is run by volunteers. You can see the whole valley from the ranch and it’s absolutely breathtaking! I love it so much we ‘eloped’ there in 2016.

Of course we’d have to do some wine tasting and you really can’t go wrong with any of our area’s wineries. They all offer something special and uniquely them. Bonus points if you bring your dog, everyone in the area is SUPER dog friendly!

You can’t forget our neighboring town, Patagonia. Lunch at the Gathering Grounds and meandering the artsy downtown. I love the Patagonia Trading Post for all things local art and I love going to Martha Kelly’s pottery studio, Shooting Star Pottery, it’s like stepping into a magical world. I always find something(s) I can’t live without. While you are in the area I would explore the mountains, they are so beautiful.

Bisbee is nearby and one of my favorite places. The downtown is fun, funky and totally artsy. I love to go shopping in the galleries and antique stores. I could get lost in those for hours! The Copper Queen mine tour is another cannot miss activity! There are so many restaurants and you really can’t go wrong with any of them. But for dinner, do yourself a favor and make reservations at Cake Roka.

You could spend an entire week in the Tucson area exploring but some of my favorites are the Reid Park Zoo and the Desert Museum. Get up really early and head to the Desert Museum and be sure to pack walking shoes, you’ll be doing quite a bit of it! They do such an excellent job showing our beautiful desert with an emphasis on conservation. Then head to El Minuto for fantastic Mexican food. The Carne Seca Cheese Crisp is my go to. After refueling, head to the zoo and check out Yebonga the Rhino and Penzi the baby Elephant, my two favorite exhibits. I absolutely love the zoo, so much so that we have a non-profit wine just for them! Their dedication to conservation and teaching the next generation is so inspiring!

Whatever you choose to do this area has SO much to explore.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

First and foremost, my husband, Chris. He is my cheerleader, my best friend, my business partner and the love of my life. When I wanted to turn half of our business into a non-profit he encouraged me to go full speed ahead. He meets my passion with even more passion. I could not have accomplished any of this without him!

Secondly and arguably the most important, our fans. We have THE best fans. When I decided to start our non-profit we had (and continue to have) an overabundance of support from our fans. They are the most giving, the most loving and just the all around best people. We couldn’t run our businesses or non-profit without them. We are immensely thankful for all the support we receive.

Website: https://ranchorossa.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ranchorossaandrescuedhearts/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ranchorossaandrescuedhearts/

Image Credits
Hollie Hansen Jenelle Bonifield Kristin Bendigo