ZXQ VINEYARDS
15454 Highlands Crest Way, Escondido, CA 92025
Phone: (619) 736-3230
Online: www.zxqvineyards.com
Email: info@zxqvineyards.com
Tasting Room Hours: Saturday – Sunday, Noonish until near sundown (weather and daylight permitting)
Reservations: No reservations needed
Food: Food may be brought in. No outside alcohol per state law.
Wine club membership available
The hills of Highland Valley in Escondido were once covered in avocado groves but now grow excellent Bordeaux varietals. ZXQ Vineyards is a stellar example of bottling what nature has provided. Come for the versions and vintages of Cabernet Franc and stay for the cheerful and kicked back environment.
Eastbound on the beautifully scenic Highland Valley Road I take a quick right and up a slope to enter the grounds. A large, open-faced tasting room looks out onto an outdoor patio seating area with color block umbrellas. Flanking the tasting room are vineyards on bouldery slopes. There is a colorful charm to the winery that sets my mood to taste good wine.
I enter the tasting room and am greeted by the host, Janis, who shows me the tasting options. Wines are available by the glass for $13.50 or in a flight of five 1-ounce pours for $22.50. There is also a spritzer of Rosé of Cabernet Franc and soda for $11.50. . A large selection of wines is available (17 on my visit) due to a Coravin preservation system, so large that there is a selection wheel one can spin on the tasting counter if one is undecided. Cabernet Franc is the signature wine from the vineyards here and one can try it in oaked and unoaked version of different vintages as well as the Rosé. Janis suggests the Rosé along with an oaked and unoaked Cabernet Franc. I choose from amongst the red blends the On Belay, a mix of four Bordeaux varietals with Cabernet Sauvignon presiding. I finish with the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
I immediately understand why Cabernet Franc is the thing on this property. The lighter body of the unoaked version allows the berries to pop. One could compare 2015, 2016, and 2017 vintages of both versions as a form of vineyard time travel. The Reserve Cabernet is proof positive that Highland Valley excels with this grape: plush, yet with quiet tension, acid structure and herbal punctuation. I am floored by the On Belay red blend, a wine that could be a daily forever-sip for me. The Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot of this blend each make their fruit-filled announcements on my palate.
The owner and winemaker, Andrew (Andy) Klotz joins us in the tasting room. He shoots from the hip in relating how winemaking and growing is both an arduous process and, with a dedicated team, something magical. He is always quite surprised by what emerges from a bottle when the entire process is finished.
After working as a veterinarian for decades, Andy moved to Highland Valley in 2002 when many properties were awash in avocado groves. In 2007, the Witch Creek and Guajito fires brought all that to the ground and, after attempts to rebuild the avocados on his property, Andy decided to plant vineyards instead. The decision has resulted in flourishing blocks of the Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot along with Zinfandel and Petite Sirah. Andy probably never guessed that the Viticulture and Enology coursework he took as an undergraduate at U.C. Davis in 1977 during his pre-veterinary studies would come back later in life to guide him in planting grapes and creating a winery.
The wine is made with an intense conscientious about sustainability and utilizing as few natural resources as possible. He even has goats help recycle some of the green waste by munching on pre-fermentation grapes and stems or leaves and shoots from edging.
When I ask Andy what he enjoys most about the winery. He answers: “Vineyard time is frequently solitary and relaxing and there's nothing like watching the sunset from high points in the vineyard. I enjoy meeting new people at the winery, and it attracts a diverse clientele with diverse life experiences so it's always fun to chat with the customers.” He adds that “the property also attracts some interesting wildlife.”
Before exploring the outdoors grounds of the property, I check out an upstairs art gallery and seating area with ample room for board games. Everything in the winery is bright and decorative and conveys a happy spirit. A curious CD case, disguised as an Egyptian sarcophagus, dates back at least to the 1990s. Overall, an excellent place to wind down the week.
I want to return soon to try one of the many other red blends, some of which come and go depending on supply. I usually enjoy single varietals over blends, but minds can change, especially when the varietals sing together as they do at ZXQ. As Andy puts it, “It’s magic.”
MAKE SURE TO TRY: On Belay Red Blend, 2017. 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc, 6% Petit Verdot.
Boysenberry, cocoa, violet, and tomato leaf come together in a lightly tannic structure. A gem of a wine.