Zaca Mesa’s Modern Movements

It’s the morning after a welcome rainstorm in early January, and through the rows of Zaca Mesa Winery’s spindly winter vines, we can see the top of Figueroa Mountain, dusted with snow. As a nearby chainsaw attacks an ancient oak branch that toppled the night before, winemaker Eric Mohseni, associate winemaker Kristin Bryden, brand ambassador Dane Campbell, and I are bracing against the cold as we talk about viognier, roussanne, grenache, syrah, and other grape varietals originally from France’s Rhône Valley that do so well on the property.

The Mesa vineyard blocks, where we’re standing, are around 1,500 feet in elevation, much higher than most vineyards in Santa Barbara County, and the entire 750-acre property — including the Cushman, Mariposa, Chapel, and Foxen blocks down canyon — straddles the confluence of the Los Alamos, Santa Maria River, and Santa Ynez River valleys, so fog and coolness come from three directions. “In cool years, it’s much cooler here,” said Mohseni, who’s been with the brand since 2001 and took over as head winemaker in 2008. “And in warm years, it’s much warmer.” Explained Campbell, “That’s why the Rhônes work here. They can swing between the extremes.”

For Santa Barbara wine country, Zaca Mesa is hallowed ground. Founded in 1973 by a group of investors, it became the county’s first place to grow the now-ubiquitous grape syrah when the Black Bear Block was planted in 1978. Its cellars, nicknamed “Zaca U,” have also been a training ground for the region’s most influential and celebrated vintners: Ken Brown, Jim Clendenen, Adam Tolmach, Bob Lindquist, Lane Tanner, Daniel Gehrs, Chuck Carlson, and Benjamin Silver, to name a few. And it’s still owned by one of the original investors, commercial real estate magnate John Cushman, although he put the property on the market last fall for $32 million and patiently awaits a buyer who will continue to respect and elevate the brand.