Zeka Vineyards

Beautiful day for a Rosé.

Made in Southern French style with a California flair.

We did a side by side tasting comparison between our Zeka Vineyards 2018 Pinot Noir (91 points) and Domaine Serene 2018 Members Limited Edition Willamette Valley Pinot Noir ($75) that got 97 points.

First impressions:
They both had true bright red colors typical of Pinot Noir. Domaine Serene had good amount of acid, tannins, strawberries and blackberries in front with some Rainier cherries on the palette. And some forest and spice notes at the end. Med light body.

Zeka Vineyards had balanced amount of acids and tannins, notes of dark Bing cherries, plums and forest and spice notes. Medium body.

Both wines are high quality examples of their respective terrior. The Zeka shows darker Sonoma fruit but with a lighter balance then is typical of Sonoma pinots especially the 2018 vintage. The Serene is riper and a bit hotter while still having Willamette characteristics of red fruits and higher acids.

They are both very comparable in quality in my opinion and would pair very well with any foods, typical of Pinot Noir. We had muahroom truffle raviolis with Bolognese sause and zuccini sides. I personally like the Zeka paired with our food better.

We are currently selling our Zeka 2018 at $55. Contact us for to discover and explore our 2018 and other award winning Pinot Noir.

Here at Zeka, our passion is to create Old World style Pinot Noir with a California flair, for our table and yours.

Springtime at Zeka Vineyards! -

Springtime at Zeka Vineyards! We hope to welcome you as our guest at the vineyards — come join us for a memorable adventure discovering and exploring our single vineyard Pinot Noir. Whether you're curious about our wines, eager to learn about food pairings, or simply want to soak up the vineyard atmosphere, there's something e...

This year marks 50 years since the legendary Judgment of Paris. To celebrate, we’re beginning a journey through five decades of Chateau Montelena memories, stories that defined a legacy and still inspire today.

Pictured here is a young Bo Barrett in the vineyard. Since his family assumed ownership of Chateau Montelena in 1972, Bo has been involved in every single vintage, guiding each season with the same dedication, curiosity, and commitment to excellence that define Montelena today.

Yummy chirashi for dinner paired with our 2019 Zeka Pinot. The structure, balance and earthiness in the Pinot works so well with Japanese and other Asian foods! Keeps up so well with the asian spices.

Thanks to our partners Clarence and Quan who carries our Pinot Noir and Rosé de Pinot Noir.

Sake tasting at Nishiki Market in Osaka Japan. They produce their own sake and shoyou (fortified plum wine). The Japanese sake grade system is just as complex as the European wine grade system i think. Junmai, Ginko, Daiginko, Junmai Daiginko all represent different grades and flavors and degree of rice polishing before making the sake.

It was a fun and focused experience to try all difference grades from all difference places, even from 7-11. (The most expensive of¥600 [$4] was not drinkable even with food.) At the end of the trip I have settled on a grade and style that I like.

A gem that I discovered is amasake, which means the mother of sake. This is the fermented rice drink prior to the alcoholic fermentation process to make sake. We tasted some of this from this producer and it was amazing. Flavorful and not too sweet. And loads of probiotics. I can drink this all day.

We have so far eaten our way through Japan, Kyoto Osaka, Tokyo and Niseko Hokkaido. Tried tempura from tourist style to bar to haut cuisine. Same food but what an amazing difference.

On the last leg of our Japan trip, flying from Tokyo to Sapporo, the airline lounge had all sorts of drinks. Alcoholic and non non-alcoholic but they had no food. This is what I managed to buy at their convenience store at the airport, the same place you'd get snacks, books or souvenirs. Just amazing.

For my beer experience in Japan, so far I have tried Kirin NA, Sapporo Classic (only available in Japan), Love Beer (Hokaido local brewery) and I like the Hokaiddo Love Beer the best. Very mild but flavorful. Kirin NA was amazing in that because I don't read Japanese I didn't even realize it was NA until I finished the Beer. Sapporo very much in the same Beer flavor of Tsing Tao. Bit of hop but as the result not as clean to me.

I would even drink the Kirin NA if it is available in US if it weren't for all the carbs. 🍺👍😊

Can't say it better.

There is more philosophy in a bottle of wine than in all the books. -Louis Pasteur