Zaca Mesa Viognier 2008

D and I love the Rhone Valley varietals. Syrah is the staple red grape along with Grenache, while Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne make up the bulk of the white wines, with some rare Picpoul or Clairette Blanc as well as Clairette Ronde which is the same as Italian Trebbiano.

Zaca Mesa is without a doubt our favorite winery with Schramsberg in Calistoga a close second since they are, aside from one Cabernet Sauvignon, a sparkling wine producer and are in a category of their own.

I have to take credit for finding ZM in Santa Ynez. D and I try and hit at least one winery we haven't tried whenever we make it up North and I (through dumb luck I will admit) read through ZM's offerings and thought it sounded good with all the Rhone.

ZM is a very approachable winery. Everyone is extremely helpful and accomadating. Their tasting room is top notch and if you are part of their Cellar Club you have access to your own special room, free tastings, as well as bottles not available to non-members. Swanky I know. It makes me feel special to walk through those golden doors. Well, maybe not golden, and maybe a little more like wooden barn doors since it is actually housed in a converted barn. I said it was homey right? D and I fit right in.

D and I opened up this the other night to have with Mabo Tofu, a spicy dish, thinking that the acidity would cut through the heat. This same pairing works well with an IPA where the bitterness is a nice offset to the Cock Sauce(Sriracha) flame. Yes, that's right Cock Sauce Flame, you heard me. Unfortunately, D, who had so wonderfully agreed to cook the Mabo(she hates mabo) found out that we were out of the sauce! I admit I had a brief moment where I thought she had hidden it somewhere but it proved to be untrue. SO what did we do? Well, what did my wonderful fiancee do? She whipped up probably the best Japanese curry we have had yet. Amazing. And the Viognier? Perfect with the dish. It had a really bright opening, effervescent acidity, lemon, lime, lychee, and a little bit of peach. SOOOO good! This could make a possible appearance at our wedding. More on that later, and more on ZM in posts to come. I have stacks of accolades for them. They are a MUST if you are in Santa Ynez.