Winemaker Notes
We're rightly proud of our Syrah, since Zaca Mesa was the original winery of Santa Barbara County to pioneer planting this flavorful grape in the late 1970s. Now we boast the oldest vineyard blocks in the region, and that's just one of the reasons our Syrah continues to be among the brightest gems in our vineyard's crown. Our 1993 Zaca Vineyards Syrah launched a new era for Syrah at Zaca Mesa. This wine was our first widely-distributed Syrah blended with the exotic white grape, Viognier. While this is the traditional blending of Côte-Rôtie in the Northern Rhône Valley of France, it had been done nowhere else in the United States until this release. Our 23 acres of Viognier give us the flexibility each vintage to vary the blend with Syrah, always keeping the focus on our Syrah's seductive dark berry character. That's why every bottle of our wine comes included with a guaranteed "Ahhhhh..."
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.