Summer Wine Guides 2021: WhitesWinemaker’s Notes:On the nose, this wine shows white flowers, orange blossom and stone fruits. On the palate, you’ll find a generous burst of Meyer Lemon is backed by pineapple with hints of brioche and vanilla, all interwoven on a long, succulent finish driven by vibrant acidity.

Summer Wine Guides 2021: WhitesWinemaker’s Notes:This Chardonnay is energetic and balanced with notes of lemon zest, sourdough bread and a hint of mustard seed.

Summer Wine Guides 2021: WhitesWinemaker’s Notes:Aromas of orange blossom, warm pear and ruby red grapefruit with integrated flavors of white peach, pomelo, crisp apple and baked lemon tart on palate. Balanced acidity and texture invite your next sip.

Summer Wine Guides 2021: WhitesWinemaker’s Notes:This wine is meticulously blended from nearly all parts of the Anderson Valley: from the Skycrest Vineyard located on the eastern ridgetop at 2200 ft. elevation to the softer soils at Ferrington Vineyard on the valley floor near Boonville. And to far reaches of the Anderson Valley appellation of the historical Dupratt Vineyard up high on the western ridgetop at 1600 ft. elevation

Merlot - Always Friendly, Never One to Tout Its PopularityInky dark in color with a nose smellng of dark chocolate and eucalyptus, this is an incredibly polished yet very, very powerful Napa Valley wine. Chalky but fine tannins focus the palate, but it's the pleasant acidic lift on the back palate that gives this wine drinkability. Concentrated and bold yet suave, this will be one to swoon for at a steakhouse table. It wouldn't hurt to give it a bit more bottle age, even though it is going-on five years old. Mulberries and black plums line the lingering, slightly warm finish.

Favorite Finds: June 2021La Crema RoséI’ve been on a personal quest to find the best Rosé this summer (it’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it…) and La Crema’s 2019 Monterey Rosé is near the top of my list. It is deliciously smooth. Perfect for sharing with a friend on the patio, sipping poolside, or pairing with a grilled dinner. At $15-16 bucks, it’s also a great value (especially compared to the price of a glass of wine at a restaurant or bar – did NOT miss that while staying home over the past year!) La Crema is easily found in most wine/liquor stores too – give it a try!

Wine of the WeekThis moderate priced Bordeaux is ruby red in color with ripe, red fruit flavors along with hints of spice and nutmeg. Silky smooth tannins and a long finish.

This midnight purple colored Cabernet Sauvignon from Anakota opens with a black plum and sour dough toast bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium plus bodied, balanced and smooth. The flavor profile is mineral influenced black currant with notes black cherry and oak. We also detected some hints of black tea mixed in. The finish is dry and its dusty tannins stick around for quite some time. The Panel would pair this Excellent Cab with a ribeye steak.

If you’re a fan of Siduri you know their focus has always been pinot noir. That has changed. They have just released their first chardonnay coming from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. This is a mild chardonnay, subtle, subdued, not a big overwrought chardonnay. There is very much a lively quality to it, which makes it a very pleasant wine by itself and a great accompaniment to food. Though the elements of lemon lime, guava nectar, white peach and wildflowers, are all evident, these are all quiet elements. Even the fermentation, which one would expect would result in a larger wine is something more reductive. Therefore you end up with a chardonnay that is almost afraid to announce itself. And it is this subtlety that makes it all the more enjoyable. Aged in 25% new French oak for just 10 months, it was fermented in both stainless steel, concrete and barrel.

Apple and peach pastry flavors are lively and fresh-tasting in this open-textured style, with dried savory spice accents on the buttery finish. Drink now through 2023.

Hints of snap pea to this crisp style, which features McIntosh apple and ripe grapefruit flavors. Dried green herbal accents fill the crisp finish. Drink now through 2023.

Flavors of dried peach and pear tart feature plenty of savory herbal accents, with butter hints in the midpalate. Toasty notes on the svelte finish, which is open-textured with touches of richness. Drink now through 2023.

There's a minerally snap to the fresh-cut green apple and pear flavors that show citrusy accents. Lemongrass notes linger on the crisp and spicy finish. Drink now through 2024.

Fuji apple flavors are ripe and offer notes of nutmeg. The snappy finish has buttery accents. Drink now.

Ripe apple and pear flavors show some peachy accents, with a soft, spicy finish. Drink now.

Wine of the WeekThe aroma of this very nice Pinot Noir displays the classic Central Coast characteristics of green herbs, dried spices, and the wine has an entry that’s rich and medium bodied. The aftertaste shows good acidity.

Lovely light pink with an elegant nose of red flower, rhubarb, a tad savory. Another homerun on the palate, great fruit, acidity, the whole nine here. Outstanding.

Light orangish-pink with a tree fruit nose, intense fruit, even. It’s all about the peach on the palate, really peachy. But this wine works as well. Excellent.

Blackberries, plums, dried figs, herbs and dark chocolate on the nose. It’s full-bodied with chewy tannins and a grainy texture. Some toasted nuts on the finish. Drink now.

Good colour, although less deep thanthe conventional release, a novel approach in McLaren Vale, more frequently encountered in cooler regions; a robust wine is the result; at this early stage overwhelmed by new oak, but will settle down with time.

Grown biodynamically and matured in used oak. Tastes quite neutral at first but it reveals notes of nuts, ginger, honeysuckle and mineral as it opens and warms in the glass. Crisp finish but the palate is slippery and textural. Sweetish aftertaste. Delicious.

Clear honey-gold in color, this Pinot Gris opens with a burst of tropical fruit aromas followed by earthy components like mowed grass, basil leaf, wet slate, and ozone. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied, balanced, and smooth with flavors of rum-soaked papaya, Meyer lemon, orange zest and a hint of clove. Crisp mineral-driven acidity supports the complex flavor profile and leads to a sustained tangy finish. Serve with warm lobster knuckle meat over brown-butter grits.

Dark ruby in the glass with a hint of garnet remaining, this wine smells of pencil shavings, cigar box, and red fruits. In the mouth, velvety and smooth, powdery tannins gently clasp flavors of cherry, pencil shavings, mulling spices, and dry earth. Wonderfully floral notes strike a perfumed tone above the mouthwatering core of the wine. Excellent acidity and seamlessness. 13.5% alcohol. Comes in a somewhat heavier-than-needed bottle that weighs 1.6 kg full.

Very dark garnet in color, this wine smells of black cherry and black currant with hints of dried herbs. In the mouth, fine-grained muscular tannins firmly grasp flavors of black cherry, black pepper, pipe tobacco, and a touch of espresso. Excellent acidity brings some freshness, with notes of dried herbs and dried fennel seeds lingering in the finish., 14% alcohol. Comes in a somewhat heavier-than-needed bottle that weighs 1.6 kg full.

Some wines to go with Father's Day barbecueMore from CaliforniaJackson Family Wines from California is also jumping on the Father’s Day bandwagon.The winery is showcasing its 2018 Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay and La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir 2018 as wines dads will love.Of course, that doesn’t stop moms and anyone else, for that matter, from enjoying these bottles from the Golden State.So, serve up roasted or barbecued chicken with the Chardonnay, which has a apple-and-butterscotch profile.And the Pinot Noir is a light-enough red from the cooler Sonoma Coast to pair with seared tuna or grilled salmon.