I’m a big fan of Zaca Mesa winery in Santa Barbara county. From their delicious Rhône-style GSMs and Syrahs, and their beautiful courtyard, to the rolling vine-covered hills, it’s always a stop on my tasting trips.

On my last visit, I brought home 2016 Zaca Mesa Clydesdale, which is 100% Syrah from their estate vineyards. In those Santa Ynez hills and valleys, it gets super hot during the summer days and cools off at night, producing wines bursting with ripe fruit notes and balanced by bright acidity.

This lovely Syrah has vibrant dark fruit notes — like blackberries and plums — followed by more savory notes of olives and tobacco and pepper. Lots of pepper!

Since it has such beautiful acidity paired with these dark fruit and savory notes, this Syrah is perfect with a turkey pasta. I paired it with some turkey bolognese leftovers — the acidity in the wine was a great match for the tomato sauce, and the savory notes in the wine were excellent with the meat in the pasta.