Mendocino County in a Case Mendocino County is a blend of large and small wine companies, sometimes in the same bottle. This is an example. Copain winemaker Wells Guthrie was making light, elegant Pinot Noirs long before it was cool in California. In 2016 he sold his brand to Jackson Family Wines, which is trying to corner the market on artisanal but scalable West Coast Pinot Noir; it owns four such brands in Oregon, four in Sonoma County, four in Santa Barbara County and three (including this one) in Mendocino. I decided to include this wine to represent the uncertainty of such partnerships. Guthrie made it and it's delightful: well-balanced with nice dried cherry fruit, floral and wild blueberry notes in the aroma, and excellent length. Copain has long been a favorite wine of San Francisco sommeliers, and it's easy to see why, because this wine is delicious on its own and would go well with many foods. But Guthrie left Copain in August. The new winemaker, Ryan Zepaltas, was assistant winemaker to Adam Lee at Siduri (also now owned by Jackson Family) for many years. I always liked Zepaltas' tiny production personal-project Pinot Noirs, so I look forward to tasting the 2018 Copain wines in a few years. Mendocino County always gives you something to look forward to.

At just under 13% alcohol all the aromas come at you like a welcomed kiss. Black cherries bathe in vanilla and a hint of star anise with a little bit of red currant sitting poolside. The acidity and balance here brings a lush, silky smooth feel to the broad palate, that stays with you before you begin to miss it and go for another sip. Now, imagine all those aromas splayed across a forest floor in Fall. That's this wine. Rating - A.

Ever wonder what a Syrah from Cali should taste like? With gorgeous well rounded tannins complimenting the bright notes of blackberry and plum in a slight marinade of baking spice mingling with white pepper, this is it. The aromas carry through to the palate which is medium, elegant and broad. It's an incredible wine. Rating - A+.

5 Progressive Picks by TJ and Hadley Douglas Progressive Drinking: A New Way to Buy, Drink, and Learn About Wine This Chardonnay’s malolactic fermentation and oak aging beef up the wine’s body, pushing it to the far end of our Urban Grape Progressive Scale.

The Perfect Christmas Wines For The Holiday Season This wine is true elegance. This hefty Bordeaux blend (largely Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot) showcases rich flavours of cassis, mint and raspberry with a moreish earthiness thanks to its incredible terroir.

Cambria: What's old is new again A fine whiff of blackberry and red cherry fruit on the nose with a slight bit of lavender, barrel spice and complex earthiness, plus an interesting floral component. Dark berry on the palate: good, deep fruit flavors along with pomegranate, lavender, barrel spice and subtle notes of wet earth after a rainstorm. With eight months in French oak (one-third new), it's full-bodied and well-rounded, resulting in a rich mouthful of flavorful pinot noir. Firm tannins on the back end make for a complete and savory finish.

Cambria: What's old is new again Citrus and pineapple, along with florals and wood spice on the nose, thankfully giving the sense that it's now billowy and overripe. Flavors of lemon-lime, apple, apricot and nectarine with undertones of marzipan, honey, almond, butterscotch and gunpowder. Though ripe by alcohol parameters (14.4 percent), it keeps its focus on structure. It displays the requisite acidity to keep the proceedings bright and sunny. Creamy on midpalate, it has a pleasant vein of minerality on the finish.

Eight Wines You Have To Try In 2019 A single vineyard Chardonnay with exceptional finesse and elegance on the palate. Whole cluster pressed, made with minimal intervention. The palate sings with lemony ginger and apple notes with a fresh aromatic botanical edge. A raft of 90+ scores and Brewer-Clifton’s history of making exceptional wines, make this California Chardonnay a heck of a deal for $36.

If the beautiful label doesn’t grab your attention, the flavors will. Using grapes from Kendall-Jackson vineyards in Napa Valley, this red blend is patterned after The Prisoner that grabbed everyone’s attention years ago. It includes cabernet sauvignon (hardly dominant at 27 percent), petite sirah, zinfandel, merlot, malbec and petit verdot. Inky in color, it has that luscious, hedonistic appeal with garrigue, lavender aromas and blackberry, cherry and blueberry flavors. Despite the fruit-forward style, it has more complexity than we expected.

Celebrity-Approved Lifestyle Gifts for Everyone on Your List A bottle of wine never fails to impress for the holidays! Try the Barrymore Pinot Grigio from the actress' line of wines. It's brisk and refreshing with a note of citrus and tropical fruit.

A smart cab with layered notes of black cherry, plum, leather and cocoa. It’s medium-bodied with firm tannins. Lovely. 4 stars.

2018’s Most Memorable Wines – and Moment Vineyard of the Year Zena Crown Vineyard in the Eola-Amity AVA in Oregon has consistently produced some of Oregon’s most impressive wine for the Good Vitis palate. The 115 acre vineyard, planted in the early 2000s, was more recently purchased by Jackson Family Wines who created a winery, called Zena Crown, to showcase its qualities. Additionally, some fruit from the vineyard is sold to several notable wineries, including Beaux Frères and Soter, not to mention the wineries listed below. The vineyard is planted on a southwest-facing slope of volcanic soil that begins at 300 feet of elevation and tops out at 650 feet. It is divided into 17 blocks, each of which has a unique combination of gradient, aspect, soil depths. Vines include a variety of pinot noir clones. All told, the vineyard is quite capable in producing a diversity of pinot noir wine. In 2018, we were lucky enough to try a variety of wines made from Zena Crown Vineyard’s goods, including some tasted in the region. Not all were scored, but several were written about on Good Vitis, including: 2015 Zena Crown Slope – The youthful nose is still growing into itself, though it promises to be a thing of beauty. Detecting ripe cherry, raspberry, plum and multiple florals. The texture on this one is stunning; talk about velvety tannins, there’s no end to them or their silkiness. The acid is on-point as well. Simply stunning. The flavors will require a bit more time to match the texture, but they don’t disappoint at this stage with sweet plum sauce, dark cherries, chocolate mousse, graphite, cinnamon, nutmeg and just a hint of green onion spice. Not for the faint of heart, and worthy of ten years in the cellar. 94 points, value B.

Top 100 Australian Wines of 2018 - #71 Aside from being released earlier, this sets itself apart from the High Sands Grenache with its shape, texture and freshness. Lighter and brighter red fruits in the raspberry and red-plum zone. There is an innate strength to the tannins here, as well as a very vibrant, deep core of fruit that really shines. Superb! 95 points.

Australian grenache is a delicious rarity in Northern California At the other end, a commendable example of a lustier take on the grape was the firm and leathery Yangarra 2015 McLaren Vale “High Sands” Grenache, a wine made from 72-year-old vines grown biodynamically on sandy dunes.

Huon’s best Australian wines of 2018

The Best Australian Grenache, According to People Who Drink it for a Living Yangarra High Sands Mc Laren Vale SA Vintage: 2006 Picked by: Chiara Danieli, head sommelier at Matteo Downtown. Chiara’s two cents: One of the finest vintages in recent memory of this region. 100% French old oak for 24 months, complex with layers of dusty rose petals, freshly oiled leather, cocoa powder, cassis and dark cherries. The palate is extremely layered with blueberry, dark cherries and a complexity of flavour that follows through in the rich mouth-coating palate. The tannins are velvety and voluptuous but silky.

5 Australian red wines bursting with youthful vitality, just in time for summer This is the sixth vintage of a preservative-free red from Yangarra, and it's an absolute cracker: lots of slurpy dark fruit, fine silky tannins. It was made from certified biodynamically grown grapes, so make sure you pair it with some fine biodynamically farmed lamb – preferably skewered on rosemary twigs and grilled over charcoal.

Top 100 Australian Wines of 2018 - #91 Dark plums and some lighter redder fruits, as well as spicy, earthy and tarry elements. The palate has a seamless, deep-set and layered mouthfeel with a strong and fresh spine of dark plums. 95 points.

Drinking white wine in the sun A serious white for a winegeek's dinner party: 2016 Yangarra Roux Beauté Roussanne, McLaren Vale, $72 The roussanne grape isn't short of flavour or richness, and this one has added layers of complexity from extended skin contact and fermentation in big ceramic eggs. It's fabulously rich and textural and mouth-filling, but perfectly balanced, too.

In addition to estate cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc that combine grapes from multiple vineyards, they produce five quality single-vineyard cabernet sauvignon and six chardonnay releases, all expressing distinct terroir within the Alexander Valley. Of note, Stonestreet’s two red blends mix different degrees of the same Bordeaux varietals and each delivers different nuances. The 2015 Farrier Mountain Blend combines 54 percent cabernet sauvignon with cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot that is aged 20 months in 35% new French oak. In contrast, the 2014 Ridge Walk Mountain Blend consists of 74 percent cabernet sauvignon mixed with the other varietals and aged in 48 percent new oak.

In addition to estate cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc that combine grapes from multiple vineyards, they produce five quality single-vineyard cabernet sauvignon and six chardonnay releases, all expressing distinct terroir within the Alexander Valley. Of note, Stonestreet’s two red blends mix different degrees of the same Bordeaux varietals and each delivers different nuances. The 2015 Farrier Mountain Blend combines 54 percent cabernet sauvignon with cabernet franc, merlot, malbec and petit verdot that is aged 20 months in 35% new French oak. In contrast, the 2014 Ridge Walk Mountain Blend consists of 74 percent cabernet sauvignon mixed with the other varietals and aged in 48 percent new oak.

Stonestreet Estate Vineyards manages over 5,000 acres of vines in the Mayacamas Range, high above the Alexander Valley in northern Sonoma County. They focus on cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay, but also create impressive Bordeaux blends including the 2013 Terrace Ridge Semillon /Sauvignon Blanc that Bekah from Hartford raved about. A traditional white Bordeaux blend that sits well with my palate, the semillon adds roundness to the crisp sauvignon blanc.

This wine is elegant with a nice snap of fruit for a California Pinot Noir. It wafts with notes of ripened strawberries and a soft undercurrent of earthiness. On the palate this Pinot is soft and smooth with a comfy weight being kept in check by great acidity that heightens the aromas. Rating - A.

Pinot Noir from this area is more muscular than other examples of the variety. They have more lush viscosity, chewiness and are also often quite expensive. This Russian River Valley Pinot, however, keeps that power and price in check while coaxing out what elegance can be gained from this fog-influenced AVA with deep, prominent, sour cherry fruit and subtle hints of cinnamon teasing a soft vanilla note with an underlying layer of earth. Rating - A.

Adam and Dianna Lee at Siduri make a lot of really great wines; many of them single vineyard bottles from growers they have had relationships for years. So if they are doing a regional blend, you know it is going to be good, and this is one of the best examples of affordable Pinot Noir from this west coast wine region. This wine is full of energy with bright cherry fruit and lively acidity pronouncing aromas of savory white pepper and a forest floor in October. There is a depth of currant and plum jam to round it all out, making for one hell of an easy-on-the-wallet drinking experience. Rating - A.