Fruit-bowl aromas from apple to pear and a hint of banana give this wine a friendly start, while more reserved Bosc pear and mineral flavors are backed by tangy acidity, keeping it balanced and appetizing as it opens up in the glass.

The Willamette Valley, pinot cuvée sources fruit from 6 AVAs, thought of as a broad overview of the valley through the Penner-Ash / Jackson Family lens. The wide mix of clones, soils, and locations gives a broadly textured wine, further amplified by 10 months in French oak (23% new). Darkly fruited, with brooding plums, perfumed blackberries seasoned with thorns, tobacco, violets, and soft baking spices. Tannins are ample but supple, guiding this to a lingering spiced finish. Able to take on duck or richer pork dishes; drinking now.

Under cork. While this wine’s suggested retail is north of twenty bucks, it can certainly be found for around fifteen. At that price, I have a dilemma. Recently, I avowed that, at least for me, the difference between an 89 and a 90 point wine was not subtle at all. Simply, would *I buy it*? While this wine does not possess the depth and complexity of most of the Chardonnays that I would buy, it is pretty stinking tasty. Yes, it is fruity, yes, it may even be a tad sweet, but… The pale straw wine exudes some gumption. The nose is fruity (lemon curd and a touch of spice), but, and this is key: inviting. A ton of Chards in this price range either overdo the oak (usually with staves or chips), or go the “pure” stainless route and far too often produce a rather shallow wine. This is not that. There is certainly an oak influence here, but I would put it on the “subtle” end of the spectrum (9 months sur lie, 20% new French). The pale straw wine stops just short of “yellow” and is far from “golden” with lovely aromas of lemon curd, ripe white peach, a nutty aspect (hazelnut?), and a perfumed floral note. The palate is certainly fruit-forward (never a bad thing, well, almost never), with ample acidity coming in on the mid-palate, followed by a little white pepper on the fairly lengthy finish. Listen, I really wanted to dislike this wine, really. But it is pretty freaking good. But. The question: Would I buy it? At fifteen bucks-ish in most grocery stores? Heck to the yeah. Excellent.

Katherine’s Vineyard is located on the coastal Santa Maria Bench in Santa Barbara County. The property is typically fog-covered and cool most mornings, providing a surface asset to match the underground fossilized seashells, shale, limestone, and sand soils planted to the Wente selection and clones 4, 76, 96. The wine is rich but bright most years with intense citrus, ripe red apple, tangerine, and pink grapefruit with a dusting of vanilla and honey over bright acidity. Big and busy, but still food friendly with creamy pasta and or halibut dishes. Big value for New World chardonnay lovers. Should be on every restaurant wine list in the province under $55.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Lingenfelder Vineyard stands out in this range for its floral, perfumed bouquet. Crushed flowers, red berry fruit, mint and chalk give the 2018 its distinctive aromatic brightness. Medium in body and silky, the 2018 shows the more gracious, airy side of Russian River. This cool site is the last vineyard picked for Siduri.

The 2018 Pinot Noir Ewald Vineyard is soft, supple and inviting. Bright red/purplish berry fruit and sweet floral notes are nicely pushed forward. This is a decidedly laid back wine for the Russian River. The 2018 is an attractive wine, but it also feels a bit constricted.

The 2018 Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley) is a rich, heady wine. Super-ripe dark berry fruit, licorice, chocolate and spice give the 2018 its decidedly extroverted personality. Dimpled berries on this sagged mountain site yield a Pinot that is naturally quite rich and concentrated.

The 2019 Sauvignon Blanc Tradition marries energy and texture so well. Melon, orchard fruit, white flowers, mint and chamomile open in the glass, with the flavors and textures kicked up from aging on the lees.

Well-structured, with loamy richness to the sleek dried berry and currant flavors. Slate and spice notes dominate the midpalate, with a savory finish that lingers with a tannic snap. Drink now through 2024.

Focused and fresh, with hints of tea and cola to the taut mix of cherry and red plum flavors that are supported by firm acidity. Ends with mineral and underbrush accents on the juicy finish. Drink now through 2024.

The 2019 Chardonnay Alexander Valley is rock-solid, offering lots of chalky minerality as well as white flowers, stone fruits, and brioche aromatics, medium-bodied richness, a solid sense of freshness, and a great finish.

The 2019 Sauvignon Blanc Knights Valley has a touch more precision and focus, offering ripe lemon, honeysuckle, crushed stone, and hints of toast. It's medium-bodied, has a nicely textured, rounded mouthfeel, good freshness, and outstanding length.

Coming from the Anderson Valley, the 2018 Chardonnay Skycrest Vineyard offers lots of pear and Meyer lemon fruits as well as hints of toast and chalky minerality. Medium-bodied, it has bright, juicy acidity and the classic savory, mineral-laced style of this appellation.

The light ruby-hued 2018 Pinot Noir Stormin' Estate Vineyard comes from a site in the Anderson Valley and is medium-bodied, with a savory, spicy style, plenty of ripe red cherry and strawberry fruits, and a soft, short, yet enjoyable finish.

Coming from sites in Santa Barbara County, the 2019 Chardonnay Grand Reserve is a soft, supple, beautifully pure Chardonnay offering plenty of melon and honeysuckle aromatics, medium body, a rich yet still fresh texture, and a clean, classy finish. It's a rock-solid, outstanding Chardonnay to enjoy over the coming 2-3 years.

Plenty of plum, leafy tobacco, graphite, and violet notes emerge from the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma Estates, a medium-bodied, nicely balanced, classic Cabernet offering building yet ripe tannins and a great finish. It can be drunk today with plenty of pleasure, but it's still going to be drinking beautifully in a decade as well.

Smells like blackberry jam with a whiff of vanilla and some earth. Solid balance on the palate with a nice, quiet, tannic grip. The fruit core is rich and focused. This is a good Cali Cab; it checks all the boxes.

This wine is still softening and reducing to its peak, but it's drinking well now. The deep fruit core has a nice weight on the palate. The aromas of blackberries and soil are starting to emerge. This is a wine for protein — and a lot of it. A big ol’ steak is on the menu here.

Great, everyday Cab. It smells like blackberries in fresh soil with a hint of vanilla. The palate is juicy and round with good acidity (there is def some Merlot in this wine). A great casual sipper to pair with a lean steak.

La Crema gathers chardonnay grown in vineyards across Monterey, Calif., to produce this fresh and nicely layered chardonnay. Warmer vineyards in the south offer more tropical fruit flavours, while cooler northern vineyards provide pure peach and citrus notes. Those fruit flavours take centre stage here and are nicely rounded out with some subtle creamy and spicy notes from aging in oak barrels. Drink now to 2023.

There’s savory richness to the dried cherry and berry flavors that are flanked by minerally accents, with restrained spiciness on the crisp, direct finish. Drink now through 2024.

An elegant red, offering understated cherry, berry and cranberry flavors that gain momentum, with green tea, forrest floor and blood orange details and silky tannins. Ends with notes of cedar and tobacco on the long finish. Drink now through 2035.

Made from old-vine grapes grown at Jolene's and Fanucchi vineyards this wine was then fortified with Germain-Robin brandy. Viscous, unctuous and softly textured, it tastes of blackberry cobbler, nutmeg, gingerbread and Christmas spice.

With an oak-driven beginning, this white shows nicely balanced layers of salty lemon rind, honeycomb and fig, with a complement of acidity.

Light yellow color. Ooh, so inviting on the nose: lemon and orange peels, sea salt, crushed shells, honeycomb and mild butter. Precise acidity with generous texture. Ripe and nuanced with lemon curd, orange peel and kiwi, this is delicate and fresh with accents of chalk, sea salt, hay, almond, some nuanced honey and ginger. Refined, zippy and lovely. Sourced from Maple Grove, Gran Moraine, Zena Crown and other vineyards, aged 10 months in 25% new French oak. This is Siduri’s first shot at Chardonnay, and they rocked it.