Behind the Cork™ - Zaca Mesa Z Cuvee

2019 Zaca Mesa Z Cuvée ($15)

Zaca Mesa Winery & Vineyards was founded in 1973 by John Cushman and five friends, who purchased the property the year prior.

As the third winery established in Santa Barbara County, experimentation was an integral part of Zaca Mesa’s early days. Several different varieties were planted to see which grapes would be the best suited to the estate’s unique terroir. After many trials, Zaca Mesa’s first winemaker, Ken Brown, planted Syrah in 1978, establishing Zaca Mesa as the first to plant Syrah in Santa Barbara County. This block of Syrah remains the oldest Syrah block on the Central Coast and is now known as the Black Bear Block.

These grapes were purely estate-grown across unique blocks. Syrah comes from the high, flat tabletop of the Mesa Block (1,400 feet elevation). Grenache is harvested from the sloped, shale-loam soils of the Cushman Block. Old-vine Mourvèdre and Cinsault are selected from the Chapel and Mariposa blocks respectively.

Each of the four varieties was harvested, de-stemmed, and fermented separately. After primary fermentation, the separate lots were transferred into neutral French oak barrels. The wine rests in these barrels for 15 months. After the aging period, the winemaker blended the components together to create the exact 57% Mourvèdre, 29% Grenache, 11% Syrah, and 3% Cinsault ratio.

Zaca Mesa Z Cuvée (which means “blend”) is medium ruby in color with nice aromas of cherry and red currant. On the palate, this medium-full bodied wine has flavors of black cherry and boysenberry. The tannin is medium-low resulting in a wine that’s drinkable right out of the bottle and leads to a smooth, balanced and somewhat spicy finish. [ABV: 14%, TA: 0.59 gm/100 mL, pH:3.55]

This Zaca Mesa Z Cuvée is a really nice wine (I went back for more!) that’s a great value, too. That makes it a perfect fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Faustino Rivero Ulecia Reserva

2019 Faustino Rivero Ulecia Reserva ($10.99)

Bodegas Faustino Rivero Ulecia is part of a five-generation winemaking family that started back in 1899.

The winery was founded in 1899 by Olegario Rivero. It operated locally for decades selling bulk wine. Then, in the 1940s, the winery, known as Bodega Rivero, was passed to the third generation: brothers Amador and Faustino Rivero. Faustino and his brother had the intuition that bottled, branded wine was the future. When the family finally purchased their first bottling machine and officially launched their signature label in the late 1960s, they named the winery in honor of Faustino. The name follows the traditional Iberian naming structure, combining paternal and maternal surnames to preserve family lineage: Faustino - The given first name of the pivotal third-generation winemaker. Rivero - The paternal family surname, and Ulecia - The maternal surname introduced into the family line.

To produce this wine, the estate relies on their "soul winemaker," Rodrigo Espinosa. Espinosa used a unique regional blend of 75% Bobal and 25% Tempranillo for this red blend. To achieve the "Reserva" status, he aged the wine for 24 months in medium-toasted French and American oak barrels, followed by bottle aging for a total of 36 months before shipping.

This Faustino Rivero Ulecia Reserva is medium ruby in color with aromas of red fruit. On the palate, this medium-bodied wine has flavors of cherry, black cherry and plum. Its tannins and acidity are medium-high, but the oak aging does not add heavy flavors. While good right from the bottle, it could use 30 to 60 minutes in a decanter.

This 2019 Faustino Rivero Ulecia Reserva from Spain is a tremendous value that makes it a great fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Lisboa Bonita Red Blend

Lisboa Bonita Red Blend ($19)

Casa Santos Lima is a multi-generational, family-owned winery that stands as one of Portugal's most prolific and highly decorated wine producers. Based at its primary estate, Quinta da Boavista in Alenquer (just north of Lisbon), it has evolved from a historic family trade into a global powerhouse.

The winery was established in the late 19th century by Joaquim Santos Lima, who was already a prominent producer and exporter of Portuguese wine to the UK and Brazil.

In 1990, his great-grandson, José Luís Santos Lima Oliveira da Silva, left a successful career in banking and finance to take over the family estate.

This Lisboa Bonita red blend is produced from Castelão (25%), Caladoc (25%), Tinta Roriz (20%), Alicante Bouschet (15%), and Touriga Franca (15%) grapes. It is a beautiful deep purple color with nice dark fruit aromas. On the palate, this full-bodied wine has lots of dark fruit flavors such as plum, blackberry, and blueberry, while the oak aging infuses notes of chocolate and vanilla. The tannins are bold and benefit from an hour in a decanter. 

This Lisboa Bonita red blend is a tasty one from Portugal. And, at this price, it’s a great value too, which makes it this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Vitis Ridge Pinot Gris

2023 Vitis Ridge Pinot Gris ($16)

The Vitis Ridge winery was originally founded and operates as an equal four-way partnership between two couples: Chris and Sharon Deckelmann, and Bruce and Sally Eich..  What started as a hobby in the garage over 20 years ago has evolved into one of the North Willamette Valley's most popular wineries.

Established in 2005, Vitis Ridge is producing about 3,000 cases annually. They focus on unique wines and specialty blends and are currently offering 30 varietals.

Their Estate vineyards are comprised of nearly 150 acres and include Pinot Noir, Maréchal Foch, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay, and Muscat.  They also bring in grapes from vineyards throughout the Northwest to provide a broader range of offerings and interesting terrior differences.

This Vitis Ridge Pinot Gris is sourced from their estate vineyards located in Silverton, Oregon. It was processed entirely in stainless steel tanks. It is a beautiful medium salmon color that comes from an extended period of skin contact (4 to 24 hours) with the grape skins that are actually a dusty purple in color (hence the name Pinot Gris which means means ‘gray pinecone’).

This wine has subtle aromas of green apple and pear. On the palate it has flavors of mango, peach and pear without the sharp “bright” acidity normally associated with Pinot Gris. This is apparently due to their approach of making this a “semi-dry” wine, meaning that it has a bit higher residual sugar.

Vitis Ridge keeps their prices affordable so you can open the bottle you want to drink anytime...not just for the special event. That makes this Vitis Pinot Gris a perfect fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week! Next time you are in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, stop in at Vitis Ridge and meet their Tasting Room Manager, Brian Everest, to check out all their great wines. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Alta Vista Brut Rose

Alta Vista Brut Rosé ($18.99)

Alta Vista was founded by Count Patrick d’Aulan, heir of more than 250 years of winemaking tradition. With an enterprising spirit, he arrived in Argentina in the 1990s looking for the best regions of Los Andes.

The winery is located in Chacras de Coria, Mendoza. Having been built in 1890, it is a local heritage site of Mendoza.

Count Patrick d’Aulan and his family, former owners of Piper Heidsieck, one of the oldest Champagne Houses, developed the project and started the restoration.

This Alta Vista Brut Rosé is produced from Malbec (50%) & Pinot Noir (50%) that was sourced from the Albaneve estate vineyard. Using the Charmat method, the second fermentation took place in a pressurized tank.

This Brut Rosé is pale salmon in color with aromas of cherry, strawberry and floral notes. On the palate, this light-bodied wine has citrus notes, bright refreshing acidity and medium bubbles. While being on the sweeter end of the “Brut” range, the citrus and acidity combine to create agrapefruit-like finish with a combination of tartness and sweetness. [ABV: 12.8, TA: 7.6 g/L, pH:3.0, RS: 11 g/L]

This Alta Vista Brut Rosé is light and refreshing - a great sparkling wine that combines Alta Vista's French heritage with Argentina's unique terroir. That makes it a perfect fit as this week's Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Media Sample Provided by Alta Vista Wines via Kobrand Wine and Spirits