Drink these 10 great zinfandels on Thanksgiving and beyond Winemaker David Ready Jr. adds petite sirah and syrah to make a splashy zinfandel from California’s northern climes. Luscious blackberry and red currant flavors with a hint of cloves.

This is only the third vintage?of this stellar chardonnay. Sourced from four vineyards, these bottles present a luscious white wine made entirely from chardonnay grapes aged in French oak for 10 months. Very ripe fruit with lemon curd notes and bright acidity define this chardonnay.

Although not known for bubbly, La Crema certain has all of the ingredients. This Pinot Noir and Chardonnay specialist delivers a very nice brut rosé that is delicate, very dry and shows notes of strawberry and apple with a fine mousse and exquisite balance. Composition: 73% Pinot Noir 27% Chardonnay.

Well, folks, this is pretty much how it’s *supposed* to be done… $85 A

Italy’s Incredible Year: About 6,400 Wines Rated This shows excellent potential with currant, blackberry and tar aromas and flavors. Full body. Round and chewy tannins.

Italy’s Incredible Year: About 6,400 Wines Rated A muscular Chianti Classico, offering a dense and rich palate with blue-fruit and slate character. Full-bodied, chewy and muscular. Needs two or three years to soften. Better after 2021.

Italy’s Incredible Year: About 6,400 Wines Rated Aromas of lead pencil and currants with blueberries. Medium body, chewy tannins and a savory finish. Needs two or three years to soften. Try in 2021.

Italy’s Incredible Year: About 6,400 Wines Rated Pretty and balanced 2014 with currant and berry character and just hints of vanilla. Full-bodied yet tight and focused. Needs a year or two to soften even more, but already very attractive. Drink or hold.

Italy’s Incredible Year: About 6,400 Wines Rated This is quite reduced now, so it certainly needs some time in bottle before serving. It should turn out to be a beauty; dark cherries, black olives and blackberry tart intermingle with vanilla and spices. Full-bodied with a lovely, velvety mouthfeel and loads of layers of dark fruit. Drink from 2023.

Italy’s Incredible Year: About 6,400 Wines Rated This shows beautiful freshness and poise, thanks to vivid dark cherries and bright herbs. Medium body with fine-grained tannins, loads of tangy fruit and a finely tuned yet structured finish. Salty aftertaste. Delicious. Drink now.

Italy’s Incredible Year: About 6,400 Wines Rated Big and rich wine with lots of fruit and tannins. Plenty of wood, too. Full body. Needs two or three years to soften. Try after 2021.

Italy’s Incredible Year: About 6,400 Wines Rated Shows plenty of beans, blackcurrants and spices. Medium body, intense acidity and a slightly short finish. Drink now.

Italy’s Incredible Year: About 6,400 Wines Rated This shows a little bit too much bean paste on the nose, although there’s some pretty blackcurrants beneath. Medium-bodied and little lean on the palate with slightly hard tannins, but some good fruit comes through. Drink now.

Off the vine: Drinking expensive wine is truly seductive From there it was on to the Le Désir, again this is a wine that captivates. Abundant cherry and red fruit aromas are intertwined with rich flavors of blackberry, licorice and refined hints of mocha along with dark chocolate. Well balanced and smooth with a multifaceted profile in terms of flavor and depth. Much like the La Joie, this is a wine that will age gracefully.

Off the vine: Drinking expensive wine is truly seductive We started with the La Joie a full-bodied wine that boasts a deep purple color and is accentuated by mint, sage and lavender aromas that are over the top. Black currant, cherry and plum favors are bold and intense. The tannins are rather noticeable now but will soften over time. The La Joie a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot is a wine that, with proper cellaring, will improve for many years to come. Simply put, this wine will leave you breathless.

A selection of Napa Valley vineyard sites including Huichica Hills (37.9%), Rancho Sarco (29.6%), Ahmann Vineyard-Carneros (24.3%), Keyes Vineyard-Howell Mountain (6.7%) and Spring Mtn AVA (1.5%) presents a much welcomed lighter impression of chardonnay, that beguiles with a fragrant, honey aroma flecked with citrus washed pear and green apple. The oak is subtle, and with zero malolactic, the wine is fresh with an excellent mid-palate. The fruit was harvested before the October fires, leaving the wine clean and a perfect match for halibut, turkey, or lobster. Only 15 percent of the wine is aged in new French oak, and a total of 84 percent is aged 4½ months in wood.

This straw-colored Viognier from Cambria opens with an orange and lemon bouquet with hints of sour dough. On the palate, this wine is medium to full bodied and balanced. The flavor profile is an orange and apricot blend with notes of white pepper, honey and lime. The finish is dry and its flavors are nicely prolonged. This Viognier would pair well with Savoury Lane’s five fruit chicken or a seafood casserole. Very good.

So Your In-Law's a Wine Geek. Here's a Holiday Gift List Vérité Winery La Muse, La Joie and Le Désir 2016 from Sonoma. These wines cost $420 each and we would never have tasted them if the winery had not sent them to us to review. That’s a lot of money. But if your in-laws love wine, they might really enjoy a bottle of this and we’ll explain why. The first, La Muse, is primarily Merlot, the second Cabernet Sauvignon, and the third Cabernet Franc. We didn’t immediately warm to any of them. But a funny thing happened. We talked about all three from beginning to end. We never lost interest in them. And not only that, but we disagreed about all three! John preferred the Le Désir and Dottie preferred the La Muse and we agreed that the La Joie was our least favorite, but we disagreed on the reasons. Our notes on these French-inspired wines take an entire typewritten page as we debated the merits of these young wines and weighed each sip as they changed. If your in-laws enjoy talking about and, yes, sometimes even arguing (politely) about wine, this is for them.

So Your In-Law's a Wine Geek. Here's a Holiday Gift List Vérité Winery La Muse, La Joie and Le Désir 2016 from Sonoma. These wines cost $420 each and we would never have tasted them if the winery had not sent them to us to review. That’s a lot of money. But if your in-laws love wine, they might really enjoy a bottle of this and we’ll explain why. The first, La Muse, is primarily Merlot, the second Cabernet Sauvignon, and the third Cabernet Franc. We didn’t immediately warm to any of them. But a funny thing happened. We talked about all three from beginning to end. We never lost interest in them. And not only that, but we disagreed about all three! John preferred the Le Désir and Dottie preferred the La Muse and we agreed that the La Joie was our least favorite, but we disagreed on the reasons. Our notes on these French-inspired wines take an entire typewritten page as we debated the merits of these young wines and weighed each sip as they changed. If your in-laws enjoy talking about and, yes, sometimes even arguing (politely) about wine, this is for them.

So Your In-Law's a Wine Geek. Here's a Holiday Gift List Vérité Winery La Muse, La Joie and Le Désir 2016 from Sonoma. These wines cost $420 each and we would never have tasted them if the winery had not sent them to us to review. That’s a lot of money. But if your in-laws love wine, they might really enjoy a bottle of this and we’ll explain why. The first, La Muse, is primarily Merlot, the second Cabernet Sauvignon, and the third Cabernet Franc. We didn’t immediately warm to any of them. But a funny thing happened. We talked about all three from beginning to end. We never lost interest in them. And not only that, but we disagreed about all three! John preferred the Le Désir and Dottie preferred the La Muse and we agreed that the La Joie was our least favorite, but we disagreed on the reasons. Our notes on these French-inspired wines take an entire typewritten page as we debated the merits of these young wines and weighed each sip as they changed. If your in-laws enjoy talking about and, yes, sometimes even arguing (politely) about wine, this is for them.

Host's Guide 2019 For a truly decadent holiday dinner—preferably involving a standing rib roast or beef Wellington—Lokoya’s 2015 Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon is the wine you should be pouring. I’m partial to Spring Mountain wines; it’s a rugged and beautiful place, and the wines are fragrant and chewy. The notes of bay laurel and pine in this one remind me of the holidays, and its dense, fine-grained tannins are a perfect match for a high-quality, well-marbled cut of beef that is as flavorful as the wine.

Weekend Wine Picks Attractive earthy loam, black plum nose that spills onto the palate. More plummy fruit and very silky tannins make this a delicious drop. The finish is long and persistent with a spicy, umami note. The grapes are cold-soaked for three days at 48°F and then punched down three times a day during the ferment and racked directly to barrel for nine months in 21 per cent new French oak with no post-fermentation maceration. The rocky, windswept site is the perfect home for cool-climate pinot. Grilled salmon or duck confit makes an excellent match. Private wine shops only.

Gold Medal

Lynn Penner-Ash, an early consultant for Alexana and the 2019 recipient of the ¡Salud! Legacy Winemaker Award, earned a double gold medal and best of class for the Penner-Ash Wine Cellars 2018 Viognier, a bottling driven by Southern Oregon fruit.

La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir – Cherry, Cola and Coffee The 2016 La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir begins with very pleasant aromas of red and black cherry, cola, roasted coffee, vanilla and a hint of rhubarb. The wine tastes wonderfully smooth, balanced and is full of flavors of black cherry cola, strawberry, a little earth and oak. This is a super easy and fun to drink wine. A nice streak of spice, licorice and even a little citrus zest lead into the dry, very long finish. Excellent!