Zaca Mesa 2004 Z Cuvee Santa Ynez Valley Red Wine

Zaca Mesa Winery is located in Santa Ynez Valley on an 750 acre estate whereof 244 acres are planted vineyard. The winery was founded in 1972 and was one of the first in Santa Ynez Valley since the prohibition ended. It was originally planted with varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, etc. In the early 1990's it was determined that Rhone varietals such as Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Viognier, and Roussanne grew best on the site, and it was decided that these were the varietals the winery would focus on. Since 2002 an additional 100 acres have been replanted with new clones of Rhone varietals.
All grapes used in their wine is grown on their property with sustainable wine growing as the goal.
An interesting trivia is that their Syrah was served in the White House by President Clinton to the French President Chirac.

The Zaca Mesa 2004 Z Cuvee Santa Ynez Valley Red Wine is a Chateauneuf-du-Pape style blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah and Cinsaut. The different varietals were fermented and barrel aged separately for 7 months. They were then blended and aged an additional 9 months in French oak.

This dark ruby red wine shows raspberry, sweet vanilla, cherry and a hint of strawberry on the nose. Once in your mouth the palate reveals soft raspberry, cherry, blackberry and a big kick of peppery spice at the end. The finish is at first fruity but is soon overpowered by the earthy, tart tannins.
This wine did not make me jump with joy but neither was it totally off. I wish it was more balanced and had softer, more integrated tannins for a smoother finish. The vanilla on the nose was also slightly overshadowing the fruit.

You can order this wine direct from the winery for $18. Or you can find it for as low as $13.95 at both Wine-Searcher.com and Winezap.com.


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Foxen 2002 Foothills Reserve Santa Ynez Valley

The Foxen 2002 Foothills Reserve Santa Ynez Valley is a Bordeaux style, red table wine, made from 44% Cabernet Franc, 41% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.

It has a deep, dark, red/purple color in the glass and provides dark cherries and currant with spice on the nose. On the palate, dark cherries, prune, black currant, and a hint of lingonberry and peppery spice shows off. Moderate acidity and firm tannins carries the dark fruit and berries into a long finish. It shows great fruit throughout but also has a nice structure.

A good effort from Foxen! I had this bottle with friends and we all enjoyed it. I thought it would be hard to get a hold of but there are several web sites that carries it. Best deal was at Wine-Searcher.com from $31.05.


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Rideau Vineyard In-Circle Cellar Club, Iris' Estate, Bon Temps Vineyard Syrah

We bought this wine when visiting Rideau Vineyard last summer. I pulled it from the wine fridge tonight anticipating a good match with the BBQ flank steak and Santa Maria style salsa I was preparing.
This wine has a dense, dark, inky purple color in the glass. Looking at the color you expect massive dark fruit and berries, and it sure delivers. Greeting you is a big punch of black pepper, dark berries and black currant. Sipping it, the ripe, dark fruit hits you again with a hint of vanilla. Big, soft tannins and black berries finishes this wine.
This is a voluptuous, big, maybe even huge, naught, naught syrah. But oh so good!

It worked to a certain extent with our meal. The pepper and big body was perfect, but it was a bit to ripe and fruity. Still, we had a great meal and a great wine. Perfect match or not....
Robert Parker gave this wine 90 points. I bought it for $58 at the winery. Searching the web I could not find it for sale. If you do run across it, grab a bottle or two. It is worth the price.


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Bonaccorsi 2002 Red Monkey Syrah

This is not my first time reviewing a Bonaccorsi wine, one of my favorite wineries in Santa Ynez Valley. Read more about the history and their Pinot Noirs here and here.
The Bonaccorsi 2002 Red Monkey Syrah is made from fruit primarily from the Sanford & Benedict Vineyard, with some Fiddlestix Vineyard blended in. It has a a dark red/purple color. At first a burst of plum, cherries and raspberries greets you on the nose. After letting it sit for a couple of minutes, tea and vanilla reveals itself. On the palate not to ripe, dark fruit and berries, with some spice to it. Great acidity and notable tannis, medium long finish.
I am a big fan of Bonaccorsi wines since several years and this wine is no exception. We got several bottles of this wine about 2 years ago for $30 per bottle (a great price for a great wine). We have opened one of them about every six months and today we really thought it was at it's best so far. We have one bottle left and are looking forward to enjoying it in the near future. Today you can find your own bottle from $44.99 at Wine-Searcher and WineZap.

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Video: Longoria 2003 Fe Ciega Vineyard, Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir

A new tasting and review of a Pinot Noir from Santa Ynez Valley, the Longoria 2003 Fe Ciega Vineyard Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir . Do not miss this one!

Episode 9: Tasting of Longoria 2003 Fe Ciega Vineyard Pinot Noir


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Rideau Vineyard

Rideau Vineyard Tasting Room

During our weekend in Santa Barbara we took a little trip up to Santa Ynez Valley to do some wine tasting. Our favorite during this tour was Rideau Vineyard which was founded in 1997 by New Orleans native, Iris Rideau (at photo to the left). The tasting room is a historical 2 story Adobe built in 1884. Through the years it has served as stagecoach stop, a famous inn, a guest ranch, and a working ranch. Iris Rideau bought it in 1995, after the property had sat abandoned for 10 years, and restored it to it's current condition.
The estate grows exclusively Rhone varietals and we decided to do the Reserve tasting at a $15 cost per person.

The first pour was the 2006 Estate Viognier. It has not been bottled yet so this was a futures sample. Cloudy due to coming straight from the barrel this was a nice Viognier but a little bit to fruity and sweet for my taste. After this we got to taste the 2005 Estate Viognier. A year in the bottle makes a huge difference and this was much more balanced, not to sweet, and had a slight crispness to it. A really good Viognier but at a pretty steep cost of $52.
Next we moved on to another barrel sample, the 2005 Santa Barbara County Syrah. Lush with ripe, dark berries and young tannins. Followed by the 2004 Santa Barbara County Syrah. Again you could taste the difference a year in the bottle makes. The 2004 was more balanced with less jammy fruit, and the characteristic hint of peppar. Both very good Syrahs.

The 2004 Chateau Duplantier, a blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre, was my favorite red. Beautiful fruit, not to jammy or ripe, with nice balance, a hint of spice, and adequate tannins. What a great Rhone blend!

Last but not least the 2004 Petit Sirah, dark and fruit forward but a little bit more elegant than many other Petite Syrahs. A nice finish to our tasting.

Me and friends in tasting room

Did I mention the very friendly and extremely knowlegable tasting room staff?
This all adds up to a great winery to include in your next tour of the Santa Ynez Valley, and I highly recommend it.

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Lincourt Santa Barbara County 2005 Pinot Noir

Lincourt Vineyards Tasting Room

Reading the latest issue of Food and Wine on our way down to Santa Barbara on Thursday I spotted the Lincourt Santa Barbara County 2005 Pinot Noir as one of top four star selections out of 27 bottles in the article, Best American Pinot Noir. We have enjoyed Lincourt Pinot Noir many times before and since passing the winery on the way through Santa Ynez Valley we decided to drop by, do a tasting and pick up some bottles. Said and done, we walked out of there with a full case of the 2005 Pinot Noir. A great wine for $25 perfect for week night dinners, or bringing over to a friends house.
The 2005 is made from grapes from Santa Rita Hills Vineyards. This is a medium bodied Pinot with bright red cherries on the nose, and some blueberries and hints of oak. It has flavors of red berries with some spice and earth notes. The wine is rich and fruity but not a power house. It is more toward the elegant style. Find it at http://www.wine-searcher.com/ for as low as $18.45. A great price!
I will be here in Santa Barbara until Monday and I will have a ton of good food and wine to tell you about when I get back home. Stay tuned...

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Video: Authentic Swedish Meatballs

Today I've taken a new turn with my video blogging. I am showing you how to make my grandma Elsa's, authentic Swedish Meatballs. I've taken a few steps to make them a little bit more healthy without sacrificing to much taste. These are the meatballs I grew up with and that I am now making for all of my friends, and everybody loves them (or so they tell me...). Check it out, cook up a batch of your own, and serve them with the traditional Swedish sides.


Episode 8: Cooking Swedish Meatballs


Swedish Meatball Recipe

Mix together in a bowl:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork
Half a yellow onion, finely chopped
1 egg
5 tbs plain bread crumbs
1 tbs water
salt and white pepper to taste

Work mixture together with hands. Form and roll into round, small, balls. Place on plate, cover with plastic, and refrigerate for 30 min. Remove from fridge and pan fry with butter in skillet on medium/high until nice, dark brown on all sides. Transfer to bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.
Pour water or milk into skillet, scrape bottom to release brown bits. Bring to a boil. Mix 2-3 tbs of flour with water and pour into skillet while stirring. Stir until mixture comes to a boil. If the gravy is to thick add water/milk, if it's to thin add more flour+water mixture. Season with salt and white pepper.
Return meatballs to skillet and simmer in gravy for 15 minutes. The gravy will get great color and flavor from the meatballs.
Taste and season with salt and white pepper to taste.
Serve with the traditional sides of mashed potatoes, vegetable trio of green beans, carrots and green peas, and don't forget the lingonberries!

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Video: Brewer-Clifton Ashley's Santa Rita Hills 2005 Pinot Noir

A small production winery in Santa Ynez Valley, hand crafting a great wine you do not want to miss!

Episode 5: Brewer-Clifton Ashely's Santa Rita Hills 2005 Pinot Noir

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Video: La Vie Vineyard 2004 Pinot Noir Rasta Rita Santa Rita Hills

A new video! Do not miss this fantastic Pinot Noir!

Episode 3: La Vie Vineyard 2004 Rasta Rita Santa Rita Hills

Fess Parker Mackie's Blend Syrah 2002

The Central Coast Mackie's Blend Syrah is the least expensive Syrah that Fess Parker produce. The 2002 is less supple in fruit and more heavy on the tannins than the single vineyard Syrahs that Fess Parker makes. Raspberry and light, smokey tobacco and perhaps a hint of vanilla emerges on the nose. The raspberry follows you to the palate with tart cherry and red currant and tons of tannins that ends in a long finish. A not to shabby Syrah at $18, with nice varietal characteristics.

Fess Parker Chardonnay

One of my favorite Chardonnay makers in Santa Ynez Valley is Fess Parker (I am a long time wineclub member). We were down there a couple of weeks ago and brought some friends from the Sacramento area for wine tasting. They usually go to Napa Valley and this was their first time in "our" valley, and I believe they really liked it. We both picked up some Fess Parker 2004 Santa Rita Hills, Ashley's Vineyard, Chardonnay. It has nice crisp pear, apple and light citrus, and just the right amount of cream and oak. Rated 91 by Wine and Spirit it is not to bad of a deal for $28, join the wineclub and get if for only $22. www.fessparker.com