Beer down, Arizona! (And wine down, too)

When the University of Arizona put out the call in July 2023 for local breweries to create a UA-branded beer, Pueblo Vida Brewing Company jumped in.

The brewery, started in 2009 by UA Eller School grads Kyle Jefferson and Lynette Antillon, specializes in the hoppier IPAs, but for their Wildcat Cerveza, they went the amber route.

“We wanted to make a beer that was a little bit more inclusive so we went with this lighter amber lager,” Jefferson said.

The folks at UA’s Trademarks & Licensing loved it and signed a two-year licensing deal.

That deal got Laura Little, the department’s associate director, and her people to thinking: Why not create a program for local makers and companies with ties to the UA to collaborate with the university?

“When we started working with (Pueblo Vida), it was kind of this realization that a lot of companies kind of see the university as maybe intimidating or not knowing how to work with the university,” Little said. They started thinking, “How do we grow this and where are we missing in our standard licensing of our local companies?”

In July, the UA launched Old Main Mercado, an initiative to collaborate with Tucson businesses to create branded products like Los Gatos Wildcat Sauce from Si Charro (parent of El Charro, The Monica, Charro Steak & del Rey, Charrovida and Charro Chico) and a line of scented candles from Cicada Candles, which is in its final design stage.

“When you walk on campus (the candles) take you back to walking on the mall or the orange blossoms in the spring,” Little said.

Cicada Candles owner Stacey McClure said they expect to begin production in January.

Early this month, Callaghan Vineyards in Elgin uncorked the UA-branded version of its Arizona La Osa 2019, an intense and tasty red wine made with 100% estate Grenache that won a silver medal at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle’s 2023 Wine Competition.

Vineyards founder and winemaker Kent Callaghan said a friend of his wife Lisa suggested they pitch La Osa to the UA given the family’s ties to the university: four generations of graduates from Lisa’s family (her parents, herself and her daughter), two from Callaghan’s (his mother and his daughter).

The family also had deeper tangential ties through the groundbreaking research of UA soil scientist Gordon Dutt, who studied the region’s soil and viticulture to see how adaptable it was to growing wine grapes.

Dutt went on in 1973 to plant Sonoita Vineyards, the first commercial vineyard in the Elgin-Sonoita region and the official birthplace of Arizona wine. That opened the door for Callaghan and his parents, Harold and Karen, to plant their first vineyards in 1990. When his parents left the business in 1996, Callaghan took over.

The UA, with input from Callaghan Vineyards, designed the Arizona La Osa label, which tells the university’s and the family’s story through a historical timeline that starts with Lisa Callaghan’s great-grandfather J.C. Kinney. The early 20th century prominent businessman, politician and local rancher — he owned La Osa Cattle Company, which inspired the wine’s name — was instrumental in launching the Fiesta de los Vaqueros Rodeo. He’s also the namesake of Kinney Road, where you will find the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Old Tucson.

The label also features a drawing of a cowboy on horseback and another swinging a rope, and the original Wilbur with cowboy boots and hat.

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Kent Callaghan said they have 200 cases of the wine, which is available at several restaurants and bars, including Feast, Parish and Tap & Bottle, and for retail sale at Plaza Liquors, Time Market, Westbound, Arizona Wine Collective and Plaza Liquors. Phoenix-based GenuWine Arizona also carries it.

It should retail for $35 a bottle, Callaghan said.

Companies licensed by the UA sign a two-year contract; in the first year, they pay a flat fee of $500, followed by 20% of wholesale sales in the second, Little said.

“Obviously there always is a goal to create revenue for the university, but on this it was more having the community involved and supporting ‘buy local’ and supporting the Tucson economy,” Little said.

“Definitely, having the U of A brand tied to companies helps elevate them,” Little added. ”The general sense of when someone sees the U of A logo on the product, they automatically think ‘this is high quality’ … and there is a certain level of confidence with that brand.”

That’s what Jason Robinson and his TimberTote partner Chelsea Adler are hoping for when they launch their UA-branded wooden handbags in the next few weeks.

“This gives us incredible exposure and credibility and lets our community be proud,” said Robinson, who, along with his wife, graduated from the UA; their son, Avery, is now a student. “This is born-and-bred in Tucson.”

Robinson and Adler, both Tucson natives, launched TimberTote in January after becoming friends when both opened businesses in Proper Shops, 300 E. Congress St. Robinson owns the woodworking brand Sport Class Customs, while Adler creates her own line of women’s clothing at her shop Desert Mariposa Boutique.

Adler has since moved her boutique to a brick-and-mortar at 6538 E. Tanque Verde Road.

The pair’s handbags are made with a woodworking technique using a high-powered laser to make a series of staggered cuts that create a living hinge, making the wood pliable enough to bend without breaking. The purse is lined with cloth.

TimberTote will launch its UA collab with three designs, which will be set on the inside lining: a Wildcat face, an overview of the inside of McKale Center, and the ubiquitous block A. The outside of each will feature an engraved block A.

Robinson said they are taking orders now on their website, timbertotepurse.com.

Little said companies interested in being licensed through Old Main Mercado have to be based in Tucson or Southern Arizona and align with the UA’s mission and values. For information, visit licensing.arizona.edu/old-main-mercado.