Smelling of ripe peaches and apricots with a light touch of honey and reiterating the same in its slightly sweet flavors, this clean and carefully balanced Riesling shows a fine sense of fruity substance in a direct, all-out-in-the-open style. A tasty choice for drinking as a slightly sweet aperitif or pool-side refresher, it will be equally welcome as a foil to milder curries and moderately spicy Thai and Chinese dishes.

Cleanliness, acidity and profound, ripe fruity flavors present immediately. One picks up notes of apricots, papayas and limes and hints of white flowers.

Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay — Standing as America’s #1 selling Chardonnay for 26 years and counting, Kendall-Jackson’s classic Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay ($17/bottle) is a true crowd-pleaser and pairs perfectly with any number of summertime events thanks to its tropical pineapple and papaya notes with hints of vanilla. Wine lovers can also feel good about popping open a bottle as the 2017 varietal now carries the CCSW (Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing) logo on its label.

Stunningly precise, vivid and mouthwatering, with a hint of butterscotch to the lemon curd, pear and mango flavors. Intense and juicy, finishing fresh and vibrant. Details of white tea and roasted hazelnut emerge on the finish. Drink now through 2030. From Australia.

Offers polished notes of toffee, baking spices, tobacco and cedar, featuring a core of plush, plump plum, kirsch and blackberry flavors that are succulent, juicy and polished. Shows seamless integration on the finish, with a chorus of flavors and velvety tannins. Drink now through 2035.

Well-structured, with focused minerality to the green apple, pear and citrus flavors. The taut finish lingers with dried tarragon and thyme notes, accented by rich, smoky hints. Drink now through 2025.

Lithe and powerful, featuring a vibrant core of apple and peach pastry flavors, with dried tropical fruit accents. Buttery midpalate, delivering a plush finish that lingers with intense spiciness.

Dark fruit flavors are fleshy and dense, juicy and appealing, with a floral note adding aromatic lift to the details of spice, tobacco and toasted herb. Sticky toffee pudding and toasted cedary elements linger on the finish. Drink now through 2030.

Big, featuring concentrated and well-knit flavors of baked apple, dried apricot and melon. Lemon meringue notes show midpalate, with fine-textured minerality and toasty accents lingering into the finish. Drink now through 2024.

Minerally freshness accents the structured Gala apple and white cherry flavors, backed by a zesty core of acidity. Savory hints and lemon drop notes show on the finish. Drink now through 2025.

Plush, pillowy and lavishly spiced. Apple and peach pastry flavors dominate, with a creamy texture. Tropical fruit accents show on the rich, juicy finish. Drink now through 2024.

Custardy notes accent the ripe white fruit flavors. Buttery pastry hints linger with buoyant spiciness on the cream-filled finish. Drink now through 2023.

Rich and broad-textured, with butterscotch accents to the viscous ripe white fruit and spice flavors. The buttery finish shows tropical fruit notes. Drink now through 2023.

This features a savory edge to the intensely crisp and fine-pointed flavors of freshly cut green apple and lime. Shows minerally precision on the finish. Drink now through 2024.

Juicy, with hints of tangerine to the Gala apple and Bosc pear flavors. Spicy midpalate, offering a clean, fruity finish. Drink now.

Very deep, dense purple colour, with a thoroughly oak-dominated aroma. The palate is very firm and tannic, with youthful, almost callow flavour and a solid tannin finish. This is a wine that grows on you. At first glance, too much oak. But it has impressive concentration, volume of flavour and palate length, and I suspect time will vindicate it thoroughly. It's an outstanding wine, and quite extraordinary within the rather ordinary gamut of Australian merlot. (From vines planted in 1976 and 1989 at 220-245m altitude. Aged 15 months in 50% new Bordeaux coopered oak. 4% petit verdot.)

Dark garnet color in the glass. The nose opens slowly to reveal enticing aromas of blackberry, blueberry-pomegranate, earthy flora and a hint of oak. A flood of blue and black fruits envelope the palate in a mid-weight plus style. The layers of fruit saturate the taste buds, creating a magnetic attraction, yet the wine is not cloying or sweet. There is admirable harmony with a favorable compliment of oak. The fruit really hangs on through the long, long finish that is symbolic of a special wine.

Siduri Pinot Noir Anderson Valley 2017 is another superb Siduri effort. Nice oak notes and delicious red fruits. Supple, silky. Wine gains complexity with time in glass. Ten percent whole cluster fermentation to add tiny—and appropriate—notes of herbaceous, complexity, earthiness, and a dollop of tannin. Nice acidity on the finish. Pair with seafood—salmon, red snapper, swordfish; charcuterie; patés and terrines; lamb; pork; mushrooms; mild cheeses. This also works as a solo sipper with neutral wine crackers during engaging conversations, or even sipped when you are alone with a good book or while binge watching Netflix.

A Bucket List of Contemporary California Old Vine Pinot Noir

Top 20 Shiraz of August 2020This is magnificent McLaren Vale Shiraz and a glorious Jackson Family contrast to the Hickinbotham Cabernet. Quality-wise they’re on a similar plane, but very different personalities. This is more translucent, less muscular, less oak-driven voluptuousness and some welcome spice. Both wines are McLaren Vale megalords, just different. The Ironheart still fits the definition of Vale Shiraz and, most importantly, it’s absolutely delicious. Winemaking-wise it 25% whole bunches and included in the wild ferment, the wine spending 15 months in 35% new French oak. ‘We select individual barrels which showcase the characters of the ironstone’ says the little quote. There’s this textural width here, with a certain silkiness too, the tannins grainy, the oak a lightly toasty companion piece. Nothing out of place, just pulsating McLaren Vale Shiraz with a surprising balance. Possibly the most drinkable Shiraz I’ve had in a long time. Really. I can’t fault much here, it just flows and feels lively, yet satisfyingly generous at every point. Superb. Best drinking: now to twenty plus years. Would I buy it? Worth a bottle.

Top 20 Shiraz of August 2020A more conventional expression of McLaren Vale Shiraz in context – a wine that lovers of traditional McLaren Vale Shiraz are going to adore. Includes 3% Malbec, intriguingly. Dark dense and chunky – it’s a wine of fudgey ripe flavour and shows it’s alcohol and ripeness more than any other wine in the range, the overall effect a wine of unquestioned impact but a bit simple and warm compared to the others. I’m comparing everything to a high mark, a higher expectation for McLaren Vale reds – when this is ultimately a superb, impactful, highly polished full bodied wine. Best drinking: now to twenty years. Would I buy it? I’d share a bottle.

The Mandatory Endless Summer Guide to Rosé and White Wines to Keep the Days EasyLight acidity and fresh fruit flavors like strawberry, apricot, and grapefruit makes this fresh, refreshing wine perfect for end of summer day drinking.

Founded in 1990 by Jess Jackson, the Legacy label was first created to mark cellar-worthy reds from the mountainous Stonestreet Estate. The Field Stone estate vineyards located in the Alexander Valley are more than 120 years old. The Petite Sirah blocks were first planted in the stony soils in 1894. The 2017 has pretty aromas of violets and chocolate covered blueberries with drying tannins and fresh acidity.

The 65 Best Grilling Wines for End of SummerThere’s still plenty of time to keep your grilling game going, and we’ve compiled a list of the 65 best red wines to accompany any alfresco cooking experience.Any of the 65 wines are awesome, and you can read more about each of them – in the words of their respective winemaker.Winemaker’s Notes: The 2018 Root & Rubble Pinot Noir is sourced from the Barbieri Vineyard in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. Typically used for blending, clone 828 was selected for its thicker skins and strong tannin presence, allowing the wine to stand on its own without leaning on oak for support as this wine is 100% fermented and aged in concrete. The result is a soft and elegant, red-fruited Pinot Noir with hints of candied rose, white pepper, and a subtle earthiness. The palate offers intense raspberry and spice, finishing with a trace of silky tannins.

The 65 Best Grilling Wines for End of SummerThere’s still plenty of time to keep your grilling game going, and we’ve compiled a list of the 65 best red wines to accompany any alfresco cooking experience.Any of the 65 wines are awesome, and you can read more about each of them – in the words of their respective winemaker.Winemaker’s Notes: 2017 was a cooler year in McLaren Vale. The carryover from the 2016 rains into a perfect spring and then a cooler ripening season led to good fruit character for Shiraz and Grenache expressing in an elegant and lively style. The 2017 Shiraz has an elegant and balanced form, with round blackberry and black pepper notes on a lithe and supple frame.