Ask winemaker Matt Dees for a local spot where he’s most likely to pick up a bottle Hiltred wine, and you answer without missing a beat: Jalama Burger. It’s not a pretty place on the central coast of California, even if Lompoc is “on the edge of the continent,” as he describes it. But this local beach shack is a legend in its own right, a hole in the wall nestled in the ocean accessible to anyone…if they know where to find it.
Dees and his employees from the winery often drive the 20 minutes or more down to Jalama after a long day at the vineyard, to unwind and grab what he calls “a rare burger and some great fries.” Sitting on the beach, they pair a burger with some vintages they keep for celebrations, or occasionally, a bottle of their syrah.
Located on the edge of Santa Barbara County, the vineyards that define The Hilt’s estate in Lompoc are some of the most unique in the region. Part of Sta. Rita Hills AVA, historic vineyards like Radian and Bentrock Vineyards get cool coastal breezes right off the Pacific Ocean so the fruit translates well into velvety pinot noir and ocean-sharp chardonnay. This blast of cold, salty air, and soil conditions such as rare diatomaceous earth, put The Hilt on the map as one of the region’s leading producers.
But alongside those two outstanding cool-climate grapes, syrah plantings are slowly emerging as the star of the winery’s portfolio. “Everything about the vineyards goes against what common sense would say is a good place to grow syrah,” laughs Dees, a former winemaker. Hilt since its inception in 2008 and its sister brand, Jonathansince 2004. “A many people in California talk about cool climate syrah. In theory, our other estate, Jonata, produces a cool climate syrah. Hilt does it’s cold– The climate of syrah. Syrah is very active and has a lot of different personality, but here it is at a very cold level. ”
Hilt began planting a few rows of syrah—less than a third of an acre—back in 2017. It was such a small amount that the winemaking team actually forgot to pick the grapes at harvest time, and the tail crop was full of low-quality fruit suffering from an encyclopedia of diseases. Nevertheless, Dees and his team chose to bring the grapes and press them, including all the stems and seeds to get enough juice, and put a small batch of syrah in the barrel. “We went back to it 12 months later, and it was one of the best syrahs we’ve ever made,” Dees said. “A lot of winemakers brag about their wines and the winemaking process, but some great wines are made by mistake. At that point we knew it was because of the site, because the shit had nothing to do with what we did to it.”
Syrah is by no means a new grape to the Santa Ynez Valley; the northern Rhône varietal is what many critics have latched onto when highlighting the region’s strengths. Pioneering families in the region, such as Stolpman Vineyards again Beckman Vineyardswork almost exclusively with Rhône wines, and syrah is the focus of both. These predecessors were part of what inspired Dees to focus on grapes first at Jonata, then The Hilt, and he’s been fighting for it. since I met him in 2023.
For three years I listened intently, swirled the wine in my glass, and waited patiently until it was time to move on to pinot noir. I did not understand his insistence that this grape was special. But after a week spent drinking shiraz (the Australian word for syrah) in the mild climate of the Yarra Valley outside Melbourne earlier this year, something finally clicked. During a tasting held at scene-y Brentwood steakhouse Baltaire this spring, I thought 2023 Hilt Estate Syrah it just stood out above the rest, replacing my usual runner-up, the Radian pinot noir.
Hilt’s syrah blend has changed a bit, too. Originally made with fruit planted in a few rows on the coldest edge of the plot, Dees chose to balance it out by planting a few more rows on the warmer edge of the site. Now, the combination of their places is a balance between these two plants and shows how they play. “The Bentrock side brings depth, red fruits, dark fruits, silk and suave, while the Radian side brings black pepper, game, and a syrah side that wants to come out of the glass and run to the table,” he explains.
The mix makes it more representative of how the entire Santa Ynez Valley works; sometimes, the wine made across this central valley is so dissimilar that continuous evolution is the only connective tissue. Sure, the abundance of variety means there’s something for everyone, but it also means a unifying narrative that explains the rise of the valley’s upper class is lacking. Lack of focus may be what is holding the village back. Hilt’s experiment with syrah is convincing enough to show that this grape may be the one that finally brings the region into the spotlight of the international stage.
“You can make an argument that syrah is the grape that delivers the highest quality pound for pound and dollar for dollar in every region of the Santa Ynez Valley,” Dees said. “Syrah is the only thing that translates. By default, it’s the only thing we grow here so far west – we’re in the western part, and we grow syrah. But then you go all the way to Happy Canyon, an hour from here, and they grow syrah. There’s nothing else that extends that far.”
Another feature Dees points out about syrah is that when this grape is grown in a cold climate, it is almost a different variety. Nowhere is this more evident than in Australia, where Barossa Valley shiraz is a bright, punchy red that many wine drinkers will see in their days buying bottom-shelf bottles emblazoned with animal labels. When you’re done, the shiraz grown in Victoria’s Yarra Valley is something else entirely—something most Americans have never tasted. Very similar to Santa Ynez syrah. The cold weather makes this grape, known for its delicious, green, peppery herb flavor, an absolute showstopper.
Or maybe it’s all a matter of taste. For those in love with syrah, chasing its subtle, sometimes mysterious flavor profile can be the journey of a lifetime. “There are restaurants and others with a wine list that say their customers won’t buy syrah because the style buzz is pushing people to order it,” explained Dees. “They don’t really know what they’re going to get, unless they spend time and invest in understanding this wine. So there’s an inner club of syrah and shiraz dorks, who are my people.”
Joining this club means letting something live through my pinot noir selection, an expansion of the palate that feels wonderful and necessary. The Santa Ynez Valley grape growing scene may be an echo of my palate, with pinot noir, and now chardonnay, taking top billing from many vineyards. But with pinot noir’s strong association with Oregon, and chardonnay as a distinctive and ubiquitous California varietal, it doesn’t seem right to describe Santa Barbara County. Syrah, on the other hand, has staying power and rarely does so.
Although Dees restaurants say guests won’t order this dish with a meal, there is probably no better wine to pair with the food. On a recent trip to Santa Barbara, I remembered his burger recommendation and couldn’t resist. Curious, I stopped by The Hilt on my way to the beach, grabbed a bottle of syrah, and brought it down to Jalama Burger for a little beach time. With a burger dripping with cheddar and losing shredded lettuce to the wind, I sipped syrah from a plastic coffee cup fished out of my trunk. Toes in the sand, no tasting notes, possibly the best wine experience of my life. And nothing has ever felt more Santa Barbara.
