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!

This dark ruby colored Zinfandel from the Perli Vineyards opens with a boysenberry, red plum and cinnamon spice bouquet. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied, slight acidic and savory. The flavor profile is a very tasty black cherry and Chai tea blend with notes of milk chocolate, oak and a hint of caramel toward the end. The finish is dry and its flavors drift away nicely. This tasty Zin is very food friendly and would pair well with grilled Asian beef kebabs.

Start Thanksgiving planning with wine choice Where most old-vine zins can be quite hearty, robust and higher in alcohol, Edmeades has a history of blending interesting old-vine fruit with some younger, more exuberant juice to create a more civil, well-textured rendition that still has plenty of mojo at its core. It’s a great value and relatively easy to find. This is the wine to savor with smoked turkey and all its fixings.

Here’s how to spend, wisely, on a splendid wine for your holiday dinner Chateau Lassegue 2011 Saint Emilion Grand Cru probably found its way to me because this property is now owned by California’s Jackson Family Wines, of Kendall-Jackson fame. It is cabernet franc and merlot done up in the smooth, red berry fashion of Right Bank Bordeaux.

Wines of the Week Bursting with bright, fresh cherries and raspberries as soon as you pour it into the glass, this is a silky and vivacious Pinot Noir with just enough of a savory edge—blood-orange pith, wild strawberries, tobacco leaf—to work beautifully alongside a broad range of foods. There’s energy to spare here, but never at the expense of depth. And at less than $35, this is a steal.

25 Splurge-Worthy California Reds This is the kind of wine you could smell for hours and be perfectly happy: Wild strawberries, black raspberries, herbes de Provence, and the subtle spice of excellent French oak.The palate is perfectly balanced, generous and broad, yet precise at the same time, with flavors of cherry clafoutis, cacao nibs, cigar tobacco, and sweet spice, as well as nods in the direction of blackberries, cassis, and black raspberries. Lingering notes of pencil lead and cedar make this remarkably food friendly even this early in its evolution.

25 Splurge-Worthy California Reds Star anise, Chinese five-spice powder, and hints of currants and cedar precede flavors of mixed mountain berries, candied violets, and blueberries that ripple out on the palate. Amazing acidity and elegant tannins promise a very long life ahead.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Vibrant crimson color. High-pitched black raspberry, cherry, exotic spice and potpourri scents show excellent clarity and take on a minerally quality with air. Taut and energetic on the palate, offering ripe red and blue fruit and cola flavors that are complemented by suggestions of candied rose, vanilla and allspice. The fresh, impressively persistent finish displays a strong mineral quality, suave florality and harmonious tannins that lend gentle grip.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Limpid ruby-red. Powerful, spice- and mineral-accented red and blue fruit, incense and potpourri aromas pick up a cola nuance with aeration. Densely packed but also energetic in the mouth, offering intense black raspberry, boysenberry, cherry pie, star anise and rose pastille flavors that are supported by a spine of juicy acidity. Smooth, alluringly sweet and focused on the impressively long finish, which features a lingering floral note and harmonious tannins that add framework and closing grip.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Bright magenta. Displays high-pitched red fruit, floral and spice aromas that are accompanied by a smoky mineral nuance and a hint of succulent herbs. Appealingly sweet and energetic on the palate, offering intense raspberry, cherry, rose pastille and spicecake flavors that slowly deepen on the back half. Shows sharp delineation and tension on the long, floral-tinged finish, which is given shape by fine-grained, even tannins.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Deep vivid red. A complex, expressive bouquet evokes ripe red berries, cherry preserves and mocha, and bright mineral and spice topnotes lend vivacious character. Stains the palate with appealingly sweet black raspberry and cherry vanilla flavors supported by a spine of juicy acidity. Shows excellent definition and floral lift on the impressively long, supple, cherry-tinged finish, which is given shape by sneaky, well-knit tannins.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Bright red. Highly perfumed red berry preserve, floral and exotic spice scents are complicated by a nervy blood orange quality. Seamless and alluringly sweet, offering palate-caressing raspberry, cherry cola and rose pastille flavors sharpened by a spicy jolt of white pepper. Closes silky, focused and appealingly sweet, delivering well-knit tannins and outstanding, floral- and spice-driven persistence.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Vivid red. Displays powerfully scented aromas of raspberry, cherry-cola, exotic spices and vanilla and a vibrant mineral nuance expands in the glass. Palate-staining, mineral-laced red fruit preserve flavors pick up notes of star anise and candied flowers as the wine opens up. Powerful but surprisingly energetic in character, finishing with sharp delineation and sneaky tannins that emerge slowly.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Deep red. Ripe red berries, incense and candied flowers on the expressive nose, along with a smoky mineral accent that adds energetic lift. Sappy, appealingly sweet and lively on the palate, offering juicy cherry, raspberry and spicecake flavors, along with candied rose and white pepper notes. Smooth and seamless in texture, finishing with resonating florality, smooth tannins and strong, spicy tenacity.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Shimmering red. Perfumed aromas of red currant, cherry cola, baking spices and potpourri show excellent clarity and mineral lift. Seamless and spicy on the palate, offering pliant black raspberry, cherry liqueur and floral pastille flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Finishes on a resonating cherry note, with silky, fine-grained tannins and lively persistence.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Brilliant magenta. Expressive aromas of ripe red berries, incense and potpourri are brightened by a building spicy nuance. Silky, seamless and lively on the palate, offering sweet black raspberry, boysenberry and spicecake flavors complemented by suave rose pastille and mocha notes. Finishes very long and sappy, with repeating floral character and smooth, well-integrated tannins.

Deep bright-rimmed red. Lively, sharply focused red berry aromas show very good clarity and pick up hints of candied rose, white pepper and smoky minerals with air. Taut and sharply delineated, offering intense raspberry, bitter cherry and spicecake flavors that open up very slowly with air. In a bright, spice-driven style, finishing with firm cut and just a trace of silky tannins.

Santa Lucia Highlands Braves the Heat in 2017 Brilliant red. Fresh dark berry, cherry and floral qualities on the deeply perfumed nose. Silky and broad on the palate, offering black raspberry, cherry cola and rose pastille flavors sharpened by a zesty white pepper flourish. Closes smooth, appealingly sweet and quite long, with repeating florality and smooth, late-arriving tannins.

La Crema can always be counted upon to deliver value, but it’s especially true when it comes to Pinot Noir. The 2017 Sonoma Coast is modestly priced yet ranks very high on the satisfaction meter. This vintage is somewhat delicate and light in color, but there’s no skimping on flavor. Aromas of cherry and wood spice dominate, with modest tannins lingering in the background.

Autumn on the Sonoma Coast The 2018 Chardonnay opens with aromas of lemon zest and citrus rinds, framed in hints of bread crust and melted butter. White fruit pop in and out the bouquet, but are juicy and crisp when the manifest, lending the aromatics a very pleasant complexity. On the palate, the white fruit notes intensify and are lasting, but are tinged in just a hint of spice set over a foundation of dried citrus and butterscotch.

Autumn on the Sonoma Coast The 2017 Pinot Noir introduces itself with smoky red fruit off the top of the glass, think of things like fresh pomegranate dusted with black pepper, or freshly sliced strawberries soaked in balsamic vinegar. Hints of oak or antique wood manifest deeper into the glass, and are a pleasant addition to the bouquet. On the palate, the smoky red fruit are immediate and dominate, with a vague hint of herbaciousness lingering somewhere in the background.