Blown Away by the Cuyama Buckhorn

Bubbles by Keush

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Walking into the courtyard of the Cuyama Buckhorn last Friday afternoon, where I’d been invited to a dinner featuring wines made by Armenian winemaker Vahe Keushguerian, I was greeted by a butchered lamb, its headless body all alone for that moment under the baking high-desert sun. With its limbs splayed out on an asado grill rig, the animal’s slow-roasting fat dripped steadily into the smoky oak fire below, casting about savory clouds that gave a visceral hue to a scene already awash in Wild West vibes.

I arrived pretty confident that the Buckhorn team of GM Scott Augat, Chef Hugo Vera, and events manager Ellie MacBride was going all out for this special affair, which was also showcasing the first commercial wine made from Iran-grown grapes since the country’s Islamic revolution of 1979. But upon seeing the lamb, and then talking about its preparation with both Augat and later Vera — as he spanked the beast with an oregano bush soaked in koji-laced jujube vinegar — I knew we were about to experience an evening for the ages.

I’m certain that the nearly 30 folks who mostly came from far away to reach this remote hospitality outpost on the northeastern edge of Santa Barbara County would agree. Indeed, when all the wines were polished off and dishes wiped clean, that visually epic lamb might have somehow been the least interesting part of the multicourse affair.

The first four dishes — all happily vegetarian, given the meat we knew was coming — featured techniques or ingredients that were new to me, each of them showing uncommon though delicious flavors. Beans made into a puck-like cake, okra roasted on skewers with wildflower drizzle, beets charred with binchō-tan and glazed in zinfandel lees from the Condor’s Hope Winery, a squash soup explosive in fenugreek and tamarind. Then the sides that came with the lamb almost stole the show, until the fig leaf ice cream dessert proved to be the real thief.

Most of the dishes nodded toward Iran or Armenia, and all reflected the farming and ranching traditions of the Cuyama Valley and Central Coast. Alongside each menu and keepsake — a Persian calligraphy by Buckhorn co-owner Ferial Sadeghian — was a card that listed each of the 16 purveyors served during the dinner.

From left: Vahe Keushguerian at the Cuyama Buckhorn; Tehachapi Bocol

Then there were the wines: one white wine made from the indigenous Armenian grape voskehat, and then four — two bubblies and two still reds, one a reserve bottling — from the also indigenous Armenian grape called areni. I’d tried most of those before, when writing this article about Keushguerian, his daughter Aimee Keushguerian, and their starring role in the SommTV documentary Cup of Salvation.

I had also been sent a bottle of the Molana, the red wine that Keushguerian made from the Iranian variety rasheh, which he smuggled out as table grapes. But I’ve never opened it, and don’t plan to, thinking that it’s a bit too special to crack.

A strawberry cocktail at the Cuyama Buckhorn pool

So the Molana served by Keushguerian at the Cuyama Buckhorn was my first, and it was fascinating and fantastic. Richer than it had been described in the film, the wine matched well with the lamb. It would stand up to anyone’s red wine standards, despite its struggle to survive in a country that banned alcohol decades ago.

Despite the stunning food and wines, my highlight was finally meeting Keushguerian in person, and sitting next to him during dinner. He gave great speeches to the room about each bottling, explaining his own career and how the Iranian project came to be. Since my own wine writing career really kicked off during a visit to Armenia and the now-disbanded Nagorno-Karabakh Republic back in 2004, I’ve always felt tied to their traditions and success.

Thanks to the care and respect that the Cuyama Buckhorn put into this dinner, I feel like Keushguerian may now feel a bit tied to our own regional future. He was blown away by the middle-of-nowhere yet high-class setting, as the Buckhorn seems to be finally hitting a solid stride after many years of new investment by Sadeghian’s team. Keushguerian even remarked that the whole affair was probably the best event that he’s experienced around the release of these wines and the film.

“Having this wine from a vineyard that sits at 6,000 feet on the border of Azerbaijan in this crazy place?” Keushguerian whispered to me between courses. “This is about as surreal as it gets.”

See cuyamabuckhorn.com to sign up for future wine dinners, which are expected to become a monthly affair in the years to come.

From left: Roasted beets with the Zulal Areni 2019; Scott Augat and Vahe Keushgerian at the Cuyama Buckhorn

From Our Table

Here are some stories you may have missed:

The Ojai Mountain Estate, which I visited last fall, is having a bit of a coming out party at the Ojai Valley Inn on August 6. That gave me an excuse to interview winemaker Erich Bradley and turn my notes from that visit into this feature.
I got to check out the few film Widow Clicquot, and was happy to see a historic wine story told with accuracy and emotion. I interviewed the producer, and then wrote this Q&A. The film is showing at the Hitchcock Cinema this week.
Frank Ostini and Gray Hartley of Hitching Post Wines are being honored as the Vintners of the Year by the Sta. Rita Hills Wine Alliance at the Wine & Fire event in August. We published my Vines & Vision chapter about them to celebrate.
Here is my feature for Wine Enthusiast magazine looking at six vintners from across the state who are thinking differently about how best to grow grapes in our changing world.