California

• Amador County
  • Shenandoah Valley
• Carmel Valley
• Carneros
• Central Coast
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• Contra Costa County
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• Lake County
• Lodi
• Mendocino
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• Napa Valley
  • Atlas Peak
  • Best of Napa
  • Calistoga
  • Conn Valley
  • Diamond Mountain
  • Howell Mountain
  • Mt. Veeder
  • Oak Knoll
  • Oakville
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  • Rutherford
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• North Coast
• Santa Barbara
  • Santa Lucia Highlands
  • Santa Rita Hills
  • Santa Ynez Valley
• Santa Cruz
• Santa Maria Valley
• Sierra Foothills
• Sonoma County
  • Alexander Valley
  • Bennett Valley
  • Best of Sonoma
  • Dry Creek Valley
  • Fort Ross/Seaview
  • Moon Mountain
  • Pine Mountain - Cloverdale Peak
  • Russian River Valley
  • Sonoma Coast
  • Sonoma Mountain
  • Sonoma Valley
  • Knights Valley

A nice, solid Napa Cabernet.  At 15.6%, this is not shy although the alcohol is not noticeable.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with cassis, cedar and spice.  Medium tannins.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this drinks smooth and easy.  Cassis notes with a touch of cedar.  Nice finish.  Drinking well now and should continue for the next five to eight years.  A nice wine with a steak or burger.  

This is a relatively inexpensive Cabernet that is a nice choice for a party or a reception.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, some cassis, slight cedar and slight spice.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, black cherry fruit.  Nice finish.  This is tasty and easy to drink on its own.  It will work with grilled meats but also worked well with chocolate.  Drink over the next couple of years.

A delightfully seductive Chardonnay that veers away from traditional, California Chardonnays, this offers deeper, richer notes of resin, honeysuckle, butter rum, light orange zest, apricot, and quince. It has a creaminess and lithe viscosity that rolls over the tongue. With only 33% new oak used on this you might think it would be more prevalent, but the fruit itself shines forth, the volcanic soils providing and earthiness and minerality. ORIGIN: Russian River Valley, Sonoma. ALCOHOL: 14.7%

Ordered off the list at Craig's in Hollywood, CA.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with lemon, lime, slight floral note and  slight  smoke.  Full bodied.  Creamy texture.  On the palate, this is dry as a bone.  Delicious.  Lemons with slight lime.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  Very food friendly.  Went great with a Veggie Burger.  Drink over the next ten years.

Cuvaison is best known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but in 2012 they launched a sparkling program. Comprised of mainly Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay, this brut was made in the traditional Champagne method. Using Pinot Dijon clone 115 planted in 1998, winemaker Steve Rogstad says these 25-year-old vines bring a “precocious beauty” to the wine, and I have to agree. This is a delicate wine with minimal sweetness, using the grace of the Pinot and the acidity and light salinity of the Chardonnay to make a very balanced, almost shy wine.

This winery specializes in unoaked wine.  As the label says, "Happy Wife, Happy Life" and Pam, the owner Roan's wife likes her wine unoaked.  This was the first time we tried the Cab.  An interesting take on Cab and a nice value at $16,  Deep garnet in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, sour cherries and a slight pomegranate note.  Light to  medium bodied with very light tannins.  On the palate, sour cherries and some cassis.  This drinks easy and is refreshing.  More "light hearted" than a typical Cab Cab if that makes sense.  Nice on its own, this is very food friendly

Another solid effort from Ron Rubin Winery who specializes in unoaked varietal wines (Ron's wife prefers her wine unoaked).  This is inexpensive and a great value.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with Meyer Lemons, some grapefruit and a bit of minerality.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, the Meyer Lemons come thru with a slight touch of lemon-lime.  Good finish.  This drinks easily on its own and will work well with lighter foods.  This would be nice with fried appetizers at a party or on the back deck.  Drink over the next few years.  

This is a very nice Sonoma County Chardonnay.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with lemons, green apples, slight vanilla, light toast, and slight buttery note.  Full bodied.  Crisp acidity.  On the palate, lots of yellow grapefruit notes with some vanilla.  Plenty of depth.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own but will work well with sea food or vegetarian dishes.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  

This is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Syrah from Sonoma County.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, black raspberries, slight vanilla, spice, leather and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this took about 30 minutes to open and then drank quite well.  Nice black cherry fruit with some black raspberries along with a bit if spice and slight cedar note.  There is some depth as it opens in the glass.  Nice finish.  This drinks well on its own and will work well with meats and chicken.  It went well with a Veggie Burger.  Drin

Small lot Chardonnay. Not many people take the time to create small batches of wine, but Cuvaison does and it opens the door into wines that are specially cared for and you can taste that. This Chardonnay is a shy, subtle Chardonnay, and even though winemaker Steve Rogstag says it’s an “iconic California style,” it’s really more a respectful nod to Burgundy. Yes, this is 100% Chardonnay, aged in both French and American oak for 18 months, with full malolactic fermentation, but the acidity and light flavors veer away from California to France.