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™ - Sunstone Winery Sauvignon Blanc

2020 Sunstone Sauvignon Blanc ($28)

When the Rice family moved in 1989 from Santa Barbara to a peaceful 52-acre Santa Ynez ranch to grow wine grapes, little did they know that they would be stewards to the first organic vineyard estate in Santa Barbara County. 

Sunstone has been committed to growing wine grapes without the use of herbicides, pesticides, or synthetic fungicides since the initial planting in 1990.

Named after the exposed sun-dappled shale and stones of the vineyard estate, Sunstone winery is located on the California Central Coast, just 35-minutes north of Santa Barbara.

This Sauvignon Blanc is a pale gold in color with a medium-low nose of pear and apple. On the palate, this light-bodied wine is dry (14.5% RS) with medium acidity and flavors of pear and apple. Some research shows that Sunstone puts their Sauvignon Blanc through Malolactic Conversion which converts the sharper malic acid (found in green apples) into softer, smoother, creamy lactic acid (found in milk). This would explain the soft and smooth mouthfeel of this Sauvignon Blanc. It finishes nicely with just a bit of tartness.

This Sauvignon Blanc from Sunstone Winery is a terrific wine that is available at a great price. This make it a nice fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

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The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2015 Foggy Veil Hillside Selection Santa Barbera County Red Blend ($13)

This red blend is 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, in a traditional Rhone style. And the California Central Coast, Paso Robles and Santa Barbera, are doing tremendous Rhone blends.  This one is full-bodied with big fruit flavors of plum, fig and blueberry. It needed a bit of time to breathe in the decanter, but smoothed-out and was quiet enjoyable. This appears to be a Trader Joe's wine and a great value worthy of being featured in Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Behind the Cork ™ - Wine of the Week

2014 Foggy Veil Hillside Red Blend ($13)

This blend of 75% Syrah and 25% Grenache from Santa Barbara County is another unexpected winner. In the Rhone tradition, this blend has the big fruit, medium tannin characteristics of the Syrah with the Grenache adding its big fruit flavors and moderate tannins to yield a smooth medium-bodied blend.  Flavors include strawberry, black currant, black pepper and vanilla. This blend has excellent balance and a velvety finish. The winery suggest $25 for this bottle and it stands up as a $20+ wine, yet it's yours for just $13.  A terrific wine at an equally terrific price!

Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week

Nielson by Byron Santa Barbara County Chardonnay ($13)

This Chardonnay out of Santa Barbara County was an unexpected delight. While being a great value, it is lightly oaked so as to not be over-powering and lets though the wonderfully bright fruit flavors including fig, honey and brown spice. But what makes this Chardonnay unusual is it's minerality that is most often found in French wines.  You may also find this one with "Byron" as the main name on the label. Which ever way, this is a Chardonnay well worth trying.