Zotovich Cellars Wines By Winemaker Ryan Zotovich

At 27 years old, Ryan Zotovich is young by any count. In the world of winemaking, he's barely past infancy.

But Zotovich has already put in time at Sea Smoke and Palmina, and since 2007 he's been making his own wonderful wines from grapes grown in his uncle's vineyard.

With a new tasting room in the Lompoc Wine Ghetto and expanded distribution, the up-and-coming winemaker's Zotovich Cellars label is building much-deserved buzz and a dedicated following.

A graduate of Cal Poly's viticulture program, Zotovich does his winemaking more in the field than in the cellar, priming the family vines to produce the best possible fruit.

The cellar's newly released vintages–all available at Rosso Wine Shop–show how great a payoff well-tended vines can produce. The Pinot ($40) is meaty, the Syrah ($45) appropriately smoky and pepper-spiced, and the lightly oaked Chardonnay is redolent of crisp apples and slate.

This Saturday, Zotovich will be in Glendale to pour these new wines at Rosso (4 to 8 p.m.; click here for more info). For $10 you can taste all three, and for an extra $10 you get a plate of the Syrah and Pinot's most natural pairing–coleslaw and Santa Maria-style tri-tip.

Rosso Wine Shop, 3459½ N. Verdugo Rd., Glendale; 818-330-9130 or rossowineshop.com