Wine Press - California wineries that survived Prohibition 100 years ago Clean, bright finish abounding with subtle, fruit flavors, especially fresh raspberries. Fragrant, fleshy, flavorful wine. An absolute delight straight out of the bottle to the last drop.

On the estate that brings back thoughts of wine, but also of true beauty (Arceno is among the most evocative places in the area of which Castelnuovo is the capital, and in the approximately 1,000 hectares of the property nothing is missing to reiterate it, among woods and cypress groves, park, lake, old houses and precious olive groves) works a mini UNO. US property, terroir more than ever Tuscan, Bordeaux-inspired finishing entrusted (in both with Lawrence Cronin) to Pierre Seillan, the well-established Gascon creator of the award-winning Verité in Sonoma and long in St. Emilion in various Chateau. The outcome? A battery that starts from the Sangiovese chiantigeni, faced with respect and willingness not to distort, and indeed claim the stigmata of the area, and then veer on the banners of Bordeaux worked in blend and in purity: Merlot Valadorna and - here we are - Cabernet Franc Arcanum, once "baptized" with variable doses of the confreres of Garonna, and today proudly in purity: grape variety as expressive as susceptible, capable of rustic and abrupt expressions as well as elegance and twirls by Nureyev. The Arcanum 2016 (classic vintage, among the few in a decade woven of climatic asperities rather than regularity) has the elasticity of the dancer and his balance, but also the skeleton and breath of the cross-country skier: serious and serene, varietal and territorial together, it is worth its cost, and it will demonstrate it along a journey that can be estimated in decades.

A intriguing umami-laced cabernet with notes of soy sauce and Worchester with a touch volatile. Certainly unexpected and somewhat compelling with notes of bay leaf and, at the same time, ripeness. A big hodge podge at present. Cedary spice is not yet fully integrated. Offering a good level of acidity some bitterness too. Best now to 2025. Tasted February 2020.

Aptly named, from block 31 atop (at 210m) a biodynamically farmed Blewitt Springs bush vine vineyard planted in 1946 on deep white sand over clay. Intricately layered with al dente red cherry and bilberry fruit, perfumed five spice, red liquorice and bloody iron. A wash of mineral-sluiced acidity and pithy, sandpapery tannins extends the finish. Aged 11 months in seasoned French oak; bottled unfined. Sinew, spice and all things nice.

In a cooler year, blocks 23, 24, 25, 29 of the High Sands biodynamically certified vineyard in Blewitt Springs produced this youthfully taut, precise Grenache. Pure fruited, with a crystalline quality to its redcurrant, pomegranate and raspberry. Hand-picked and air-jet sorted grapes were naturally fermented with 50% whole berries. No pressings were used. Aged 10 months on lees in older French oak; bottled unfined.

10 warming red wines to get you through the last gasps of winter Part of Jackson Family Wines, best known for the Kendall-Jackson and La Crema labels, Stonestreet is a premium winery located on a 2,225-hectare estate in the Mayacamas Mountain Range. To my taste, Alexander Valley cabernet is every bit as exciting as anything from Napa. This splurge-worthy red is ripe and fragrant, beautifully balanced and complex. It’s appealing in its youth and promises to develop nicely over the next six to 10 years should you have the patience to wait. Available in Ontario at the above price, various prices in Alberta.

COMMENTARY: The 2017 WillaKenzie Estate Chardonnay is a packed and satisfying wine. TASTING NOTES: This wine offers a full experience on the palate and in the finish. Enjoy its concentrated aromas and flavors of ripe fruit and oaky notes with a well-seasoned Porchetta.

COMMENTARY: The 2017 Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir is on point. TASTING NOTES: This wine is bright and lively with beautiful and abundant red fruit aromas and flavors. Pair it with a grilled fillet of salmon.

Wine Pairings For Popular ChocolatesLindt Salted Dark Chocolate with Chateau Lasségue Lasségue Grand Cru 2016 - Saint-Emilion, FranceThis Right Bank Bordeaux rouge with a sumptuous, salted dark chocolate bar is 100% pure elegance. This merlot-dominant blend stems from an 18th-century chateau that looks like it’s right out of the pages of a storybook. The extraordinary 2016 vintage gave this wine a lovely character, laced with aromas of freshly picked violets, ripe red and blue fruits that are wrapped together with firm tannins. Swiss chocolatiers Lindt know a thing or two about making an indulgent product. From their famed truffles to their sinfully delicious dark chocolate, the company has been crafting sophisticated products since the mid-19th century. The salted dark chocolate and refined tannins of the wine together fashion a silky smooth, wickedly delicious mouthfeel.

This was purchased by me on release back when it was merely expensive. Today, this is one of the top guns of the Kendal Jackson empire and the pricing has gotten prohibitive for the newer releases. If trying this blind, a good guess might have been a 1999 Bordeaux, maybe Graves or maybe even 1998. it was quite good and certainly just about at peak. A 60/40 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Purple/ruby in color with just a hint of browning at the rim. The nose has some brett but plenty of cassis, cherries and an earthy funk too. On the palate, this is complex. Layers of fruit (cherries and black cherries), with earth and tobacco. Just the slightest remnants of tannins. Nice finish. Very tasty yet also contemplative. It drinks fine on its own but is better with some food. Stews or casseroles but a steak would be fine. This should be drunk sooner than later but well stored bottles should have five to seven more years before slowly moving downhill.

The nose on Stonestreet's '16 is immediately evocative of wildflowers and mountain tea, a brush of smoulder and all the herbs you can pack into a tisane's sachet. This is paramount to support of earth and terra firma for dark berry fruit that's just so aromatic and frankly, delicious. There's a confident swagger and elegant grace about this cabernet sauvignon that doles out nothing but pure delight. Great value from Sonoma hills that would cost double across the pass. Drink 2020-2025. Tasted March 2020.

Dense, rich, very ripe, sweet wood and coconut-inflected cabernet here from Stonestreet's gorgeous Alexander Mountain Estate in Sonoma County, polished, slick and ambitiously made. The palate is thick and dripping with fruit extract, while wood, as on the nose, still needs some time to fully integrate, though will always remain a dominant feature with its dusty coconut husk-vanilla profile. Tannins are soft and fleshy, and acids are equally soft. This is not a wine for the long term in my view, but start to enjoy around 2022 or so or hold for a few years after that. Solid and polished. Tasted March 2020.

9 Rosés to Kick Off SpringRosé all day? Try rosé all year!When it comes to accessible wines, La Crema should be at the top of your list. While it’s often found at supermarkets, don’t write it off as mere “supermarket wine.” La Crema, now in its 40th year, claims some really fabulous cold-climate pinot noir wines, and if you ever visit its Sonoma tasting rooms, you’ll find an array of exclusive bottles, like the Saralee’s Vineyard rosé. Until then, go ahead and grab this very drinkable pinot noir Monterey rosé, with hints of watermelon, strawberry, cherry, citrus and blood orange and with a zesty minerality that renders it complementary to many types of food.

When the Jackson family purchased a pear and walnut orchard in 1974, little did they know the eventual winery would become one of the most influential in California. It is still family-owned to this day. Vintner’s Reserve is the flagship range. This blend is made up mostly of Syrah and Zinfandel, displaying rich fruit, spiciness, and lush tannins.

With 11% Merlot, the grapes sourced from multiple stellar sites, this captivating red impresses in its firm grasp of complex herb and spice. Sage, clove and woody tannin grip a core of currant, cranberry and high-toned red fruit, the texture dusty and lengthy. This will do well in the cellar, but is equally irresistible now.

This value-minded wine is a nice showcase of the appellation, offering a mix of forested earth and grilled mushroom. Smooth, supple tannins form around an intense midpalate of red cherry and citrus that remains fresh on a lengthy finish.

From several sites in the appellation, this 100% varietal wine is impressively taut and angular in style, with an herbaceous intensity. Made in a full-bodied lushness, it has generous toasted oak and a mix of concentrated red and black cherry.

This is a tasty, fruity, effusive wine that smells grapey, tastes jammy and almost sweet. It's the kind of wine that a beginning wine drinker would appreciate and a jaded wine reviewer would be happy to sip.

Fresh tasting and well balanced, this medium-bodied wine is pleasant and enjoyable for its mulled cherry and strawberry notes, rounded mouthfeel and a nip of tannin to firm up the texture.

This wine is easygoing, fruity and rather soft in texture, showing jammy strawberry and blueberry flavors and mild tannins.

Oaky and tannic up front, this wine settles into a balanced space of pencil shavings, cedar and red currant. Plum and dark-cherry flavors follow.

Rich, rounded and syrupy in brown sugar, this Merlot-driven blend is generous in oak and body weight, with layered flavors of blackberry and cherry. A hint of herb meets dark-chocolate and mocha flavors that persist on the finish.

Recommended wine: 2017 La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.

Fine-grained red fruit and berry flavors are refined and etched with rich spice and sandalwood accents. The juicy finish lingers with vibrant minerality and hot stone notes. Complex and elegant, exhibiting a vibrant balance. Drink now through 2025.

Silky and structured, with a vibrant core of acidity and polished tannins, enveloped by polished cherry and raspberry flavors and highlighted by loamy mineral and smoky spice notes. Drink now through 2028.