Winery History
Since 1972, we have hand crafted wines from grapes grown in our vineyards to express their distinct character and genuine quality, offering you a unique experience to share.

The Estate
Zaca Mesa Winery was the first to plant Syrah in Santa Barbara County in 1978. With over twenty-fi ve year’s experience, our estate vineyard yields intensely fl avored grapes for our elegant wines. Today we farm ninety acres of Syrah on our estate vineyard.

Growing Season and Harvest
A cool spring brought uneven berry size in most varieties, but the weather remained moderate all the way through the growing season and harvest, which gave a very evenly paced crush. With low yields and no adverse weather, 2003 gave us exceptional quality and one of the easiest harvests to date.

Winemaking
Our grapes were hand harvested and quickly delivered to the winery where they were gently destemmed and placed into open-top fermenters. During fermentation, the rising grape skins were punched down three times a day resulting in wine of intense color, rich fl avors and fi ne tannins. This wine was aged for sixteen months in French oak barrels; 25% of them were new. The fi nished wine was minimally fi ltered before bottling.

The Wine
Our Syrah displays rich blackberry, cassis and our signature sage spice aromas and fl avors. The fi nish lingers from the ripe tannins and smoky oak. This full-bodied wine should be enjoyed over the next ten years. A traditional pairing for this wine is a leg of lamb marinated in rosemary and garlic. However, a peppercorn steak or mushroom risotto would work incredibly well.