We are getting ready to submit wines into two major international wine competitions. Last year we received three silver medals for our wines. This year we are hoping for gold at Zion Vineyards. We have been making wines for more than 10 years, and the tasting room has been open for business since May of 2023. We have had guests from across the United States, Canada, France, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Australia. Guests from around the world come to our tasting room and try our wines, and the response has been fantastic.
Harvest is now finished. It is the time for our winemaker, Robert Cec, to process the wine. Since harvest and after the crush, he has been carefully monitoring the must (that’s the juice, skins, and seeds), which impart color in wine, optimize flavor, and create tannic structure. This may include flavors of strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, and cherry. Laying on its skins and seeds also provides the tannins in wine. Tannin adds both bitterness, astringency, and complexity. It is most often found in red wine, although some white wines have tannin too.
The longer a wine lays in contact with the skins and seeds, the deeper and darker the color and the more complex the berry flavors. This is because the skins contain polyphenols, which create color and tannins in wine. Skin contact increases the wine’s flavor and also increases its viscosity, or “body.” This refers to its mouthfeel. Viscosity describes the thickness or texture of a liquid—for example, water is less viscous than syrup. Many of our wines are fruit-forward and full-bodied with complex character and velvety tannins. These tannins cut through the intense, meaty protein of a well-marbled steak, permitting subtler flavors of both wine and food to emerge.
The owner and vintner, Michael Jackson, considers this his legacy. He has had a love of wine most of his life, and Zion Vineyards is a dream fulfilled. Our winemaker, Robert Cec, is self-taught, and he has created some amazing and award-winning wines for you to enjoy—reds with depth of character and bold style, and whites with medium to high acidity and well-balanced fruit and citrus notes.
Come and visit us at 5 Hidden Valley Rd. in Leeds, Utah, just off I-15, 12 miles north of St. George. Input Zion Vineyards in Google Maps, and it will bring you right to us.
