High on a mesa off Foxen Canyon Road, where the elevation lifts the vines into the sun and the Pacific still sends its cool air twenty-five miles inland, sits one of the founding wineries of Santa Barbara County. Long before this was famous wine country, Zaca Mesa was already here, taking the risks that made the region.

Where Santa Barbara learned to make Syrah

Zaca Mesa was founded in 1973, when Santa Barbara County had barely any wineries at all. Its boldest move came in 1978, when it planted the first Syrah in the county, a wild bet at a time when everyone else was chasing Burgundy’s Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. That gamble made Zaca Mesa the pioneer of California Rhone wines on the Central Coast, and the old Black Bear Block, planted in 1978, still grows today.

Just as important is who came through its cellar. In its early decades Zaca Mesa was a training ground for a remarkable roster of winemakers who would go on to define the region, among them Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat, Bob Lindquist of Qupe, Ken Brown, and Adam Tolmach. Few wineries anywhere can claim a teaching legacy like it.

The county’s first Syrah, and the school where its legends learned. The history is in the soil here.

The wines

Zaca Mesa is, to its core, an estate Rhone house. Its high-elevation vineyard sits in the sweet spot between cool and warm, ideal for the Rhone grapes it has championed for nearly fifty years: Syrah above all, along with Grenache, Mourvedre, and the aromatic white Viognier. These are estate-grown, single-vineyard wines that taste of one specific, hard-won place.

The winery dates to 1973, when John Cushman and five friends bought the high mesa above Foxen Canyon and bonded only the third winery in all of Santa Barbara County. There was no playbook for the region yet, so experimentation became the house style, and the Zaca Mesa cellar turned into an unofficial school for Central Coast winemaking, the place where a generation of now-famous names first learned the ropes.

The early bet on Rhone grapes paid off in public in 1993, when the Zaca Mesa Syrah became the first Central Coast wine to crack Wine Spectator’s Top Ten, landing at number six. It was proof that this windy, sun-baked mesa could make Syrah worth arguing about, and it helped pull the whole Santa Ynez Valley into the Rhone conversation.

Since 1997 the estate has stayed estate-grown and firmly Rhone-focused, and today head winemaker Kristin Bryden, in the role since 2016, keeps the work pointed at terroir rather than flash. Expect Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and white Rhone varieties like Roussanne and Viognier, all grown on the property and made to taste like the place they come from.

What to drink it with

The estate Syrah is built for the grill: Santa Maria style tri-tip, lamb chops, or braised short ribs, where the wine’s black pepper and dark fruit meet the smoke and char head on. The Grenache, softer and red-fruited, loves roast pork or duck, and the Viognier, full and floral but low in acidity, is a natural with roast chicken, pork loin, or stone fruit and a soft cheese.

Plan your visit

Zaca Mesa pours at its estate on Foxen Canyon Road, a scenic drive out of Los Olivos, with picnic-friendly grounds and a longtime giant outdoor chess set among the oaks. It is also a popular setting for weddings and events. Reservations are recommended for tasting flights.

Frequently asked questions