Mazette Wines,'Community Cuvée', Grenache,

Unless you’ve had your head in the sand for the last 12 months, you’ve probably heard the increasingly deafening buzz around Zach Petersen. I don’t recall a new, one-person “micro garage” winery catching fire in the way that Petersen’s MAZETTE wines have in California in 2026. I often kill time by scanning my favorite California restaurants’ wine lists, and while doing so recently, I noticed that almost all are currently pouring MAZETTE wines: the iconic Chez Panisse, David Chang’s Majordomo, Venice Beach’s incomparable RVR, Thai mecca Anajak, sustainable seafood superstar Found Oyster, celebrity magnet Hermon’s etc., etc. These super limited, hand-bottled wines are almost impossible to find, unless you’re dining at top restaurants on the West Coast. It’s a remarkable accomplishment for a 30-year-old farmer-winemaker with no employees, corporate backing, or marketing apparatus. And what’s the secret? Well, Zach Petersen is a true generational talent. We don’t have much to offer today, but I implore you to experience this wine!

Few grapes expose a winemaker quite like Grenache. It is a generous variety by nature, but also notoriously quick to become blowsy, overripe, or burdened by heavy-handed winemaking. The finest examples instead achieve something much rarer: soaring perfume, featherweight texture, and remarkable aromatic intensity without sacrificing freshness or lift. That elusive balance explains why bottles like Château Rayas have become objects of near-mythical reverence for veteran wine professionals like me. While California has produced many powerful Grenaches over the years, wines that genuinely capture Grenache's haunting transparency remain uncommon. Today’s 2025 MAZETTE "Community Cuvée" is one of those rare exceptions, a wine that seems to float rather than march across the palate, offering all of the grape's exuberance while remaining strikingly restrained and effortlessly drinkable.

The person behind MAZETTE is every bit as compelling as the wines themselves. Before becoming one of California's most exciting young grower-winemakers, Zach Petersen hand-built surfboards for discerning customers around the world, worked as a professional craft brewer for top producers in Mexico and California, and eventually found his way back to Santa Barbara, where farming became his true vocation. Today, he spends his days organically and regeneratively farming wine grapes for Santa Barbara County's top cult wineries while crafting his own wines at night. Time spent at Domaine de la Côte, Alain Graillot, Clape, and Gonon has clearly left an unmistakable imprint, but Mazette never feels derivative. Instead, Petersen has developed a style that marries the precision and transparency of Europe's great artisan growers with the sunshine and vitality of coastal California.

The 2025 Grenache “Community Cuvée” is an ideal introduction to that philosophy. Drawn from organically farmed Santa Barbara County vineyards and fermented largely with whole clusters, the wine relies on native yeasts, restrained extraction, minimal sulfur, and no fining or filtration, allowing Grenache's naturally expressive character to remain front and center. Rather than chasing sheer concentration, Petersen emphasizes energy, perfume, and texture, producing a wine filled with vivid raspberry, wild strawberry, blood orange, rose petal, dried herbs, and crushed stone. The stems contribute gentle spice and lift rather than rusticity, while the wine's vibrant acidity keeps every sip remarkably fresh and mouthwatering. But perhaps most impressive is how joyful the wine feels. There is obvious craftsmanship beneath every detail, yet nothing about it seems labored or self-conscious. Like the finest Grenache from the southern Rhône, or its sister variety Cannonau from Sardinia, “Community Cuvée” combines serious complexity with irresistible drinkability, becoming more aromatic and expressive with every passing minute in the glass. Serve it lightly cool alongside grilled lamb chops and a group of close friends around a long table. It is the sort of California red that quietly changes expectations—not because it tries to imitate Europe, but because it demonstrates just how elegant, transparent, and profoundly delicious California Grenache can be in the hands of a truly gifted farmer and winemaker.