California

• Amador County
  • Shenandoah Valley
• Carmel Valley
• Carneros
• Central Coast
  • Edna Valley
  • Mt. Harlan
  • Paso Robles
• Contra Costa County
• El Dorado County
• Lake County
• Lodi
• Mendocino
  • Anderson Valley
  • Yorkville Highlands
• Monterey
• Napa Valley
  • Atlas Peak
  • Best of Napa
  • Calistoga
  • Conn Valley
  • Diamond Mountain
  • Howell Mountain
  • Mt. Veeder
  • Oak Knoll
  • Oakville
  • Pope Valley
  • Rutherford
  • Spring Mountain
  • St. Helena
  • Stags Leap
  • Yountville
• 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

This is an inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles that delivers for under $20.  Purple in color with some ruby hues.  The nose has black cherries with some spice.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is an easy drinking wine that would be good to serve for an outdoor cookout.  Flavors of black cherries.  Moderate finish.  A nice choice with a burger off the grill.  Drink now.  

This is a blend of 81% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, and 9% Carignane.  A middle of the road style of Napa Zinfandel.  Deep ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black cherries, slight raspberries, bramble, gravel and spice.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this drinks easy.  Some depth.  Flavors of black cherries, cherries, slight cranberries and spice.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This is nice on its own and will work well with foods off the grill.  Drink over the next five years.  

This is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 7% Petite Sirah, and 5% Malbec from Napa.  It is a big wine (15.5% abv) but not over the top.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has cassis, black cherries, boysenberries, char, chocolate and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Good balance despite the alcohol.  On the palate, this is tasty.  Flavors of cassis, black cherries, some milk chocolate, char and spice.  Some depth and complexity.  Long finish.  This should drink well for another five to eight years.  Great on its own, this would work well with a steak or burger.  

This is a blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Syrah, 18% Malbec and 16% Merlot from Napa.  The grapes are fermented separately and then blended for further ageing.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, cassis, black pepper, black cherries, chocolate and spice.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  On the palate, this is drinking well.  It has some depth and (varietal) complexity.  Flavors of black cherries, cassis, black raspberries, chocolate and char.  Good finish.  This drinks well on its own and will work with lots of foods.  A nice steak wine but also

This is a blend of 87% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 2% Carignane, 1% Alicante Bouschet from vines averaging 75 years old.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, brambles, gravel and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, this is a middle of the road Zin.  Not a monster, but not a claret either.  It has depth and some complexity.  Flavors of black cherries, slight cherries, spice and slight bramble.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and would be great with a burger off the grill.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  

For nearly 25 years, Rhys has been quietly making wine out of the underappreciated Santa Cruz Mountains. There is a delightful, earthy quality to this Pinot suggesting subdued fruit, green and black tealeaf and pomegranate. The acidity is spot on supporting the fruit along with the mild use of oak and the wines’ inherent tannic structure. However, this deviates from a lot of traditional bright-fruit-dominate California Pinot Noir because the Santa Cruz Mountains brings forth a brambly, earth equality that most other regions cannot attain. Their Mt.

This is a fun wine from a "pirate" themed bottle.  It is a blend of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Grenache, Petite Sirah and Cab Franc.  Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is nice with black cherries, black raspberries, some plums, gravel, vanilla and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Plush texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this has some varietal complexity.  Some depth.  Easy drinking.  Flavors of black cherries, black raspberries and plums.  Good finish.  A nice wine on its own, this worked well with a variety of home made pizzas.  Seems at peak right now

This is the inaugural vintage of this wine which tries to offer a bit of price relief while producing a quality Pinot Noir.  For the most part, they succeed.  It is a lighter in style Pinot.  Pale ruby  in color with slight blue hues, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with cherries, cinnamon, spice and just a slight menthol note.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  On the palate, cherries, bitter cherries and slight spice.  Moderate finish.  It lists 13.8%abv on the label.  This is nice but better with a bit of food.  It should work nicely with fried appetizers.  Drink over the next five yea

A blast from the past.  100% Grenache made into a full throttle dessert wine.  This spend a long time in barrel prior to bottling.  18.5% abv and NOT fortified.  At age 21, this was singing.  Mostly brown but with some red hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has raspberries, dark chocolate and a bit of spice.  Full bodied.  Viscous.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet.  Deep and complex.  Contemplative.  This seems like its at peak but should have some time left.  Really a special wine.  Congrats to Tim Spear.  

Loved this wine!  It is a blend of 68% Syrah and 32% Mourvedre.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, black cherries, plums, black pepper, roasted meats and herbs and slight dried flower notes.  Full bodied.  Lovely texture.  Great energy.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Flavors of black raspberries, roasted earthiness, plums, spice and white pepper.  Long finish.  Good balance.  This is drinking well now but still youthful.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.  great on its own, this would wo