Weekend Picks The fruit is a mix of estate and grower vineyards, but all of it is grown in cool, marine swept area of Sonoma County. The parcels are kept separate until the final blend to allow for a mix that can capitalize on all the best lots. The nose is fresh, the fruit Pinot red with wild strawberry aromas and a pinch of baking spices. The palate is similar with soft, silky textures. It’s 100 per cent Pinot Noir aged in French oak, but only 20 per cent is new. Delicious, drinkable and authentic. 89 points.

A fine Pinot Noir for beginning and experienced wine drinkers, the 2015 La Crema Monterey Pinot Noir delivers black fruit and sweet oak onto the palate. The wine's crowd-pleasing attributes pair it well with a mushroom and sausage pizza. 89 points.

Moderately light garnet color in the glass. Shy aromas of ripe dark berries, prune, marzipan and fertile earth. Full-bodied, with a virile core of dark red and black cherry fruit flavors that veer to the very ripe side. Nicely balanced with immersed tannins and some finishing generosity. Re-tasted the following day from a previously opened and re-corked bottle, when the wine continued to show a compote character. Score: 88

Moderately light ruby red color in the glass. The nose opens nicely over time in the glass, offering fresh aromas of dark red cherry, spice and dusty oak. Light weighted and easy going, with bright flavors of cherry, strawberry and mocha. Lacy in texture with silky tannins and a cherry-fueled finish. A simple but redeeming wine. Score: 88

Light ruby red color in the glass. Slight reduction upon opening, transitioning to aromas of cherry and fertile earth. Light to mid weight in style, with a tasty core of red cherry and red berry fruits with a touch of spice. Good brightness and vibrancy, with silky tannins and a modest but satisfying finish. Not too serious, but that’s the point. Score: 88

Offers an attractive mix of loamy earth, cedary oak, plump plum and red berry notes, supported by pebbly, fine-grained tannins. 88 points. Very good.

Though well-focused on dusty dark berry, spice and light oak elements, this is a little jumbled, with rocky tannins and a dry oakiness on the finish. 88 points. Very good.

Fresh and light aromas of lemongrass, Pink Lady apples, guava soda and a hint of pineapple make for a slightly tropical but clean approach to this bottling. It’s fresh on the sip with spritzy acidity and more tropical flavors of guava, mango, pineapple and tuberose.

Light smoky, toasty oak adds a flavor dimension amid white tree fruits and pithy citrus notes. Best on the finish, where the oak springs alive.

Medium ruby-purple colored, the 2015 Pinot Noir Vintner’s Reserve has a warm red cherries and baked cranberries nose with hints of bay leaves and forest floor plus a waft of violets. Medium-bodied, the palate has a pleasant chew and savory character with a pleasant herbal lift on the finish. Seriously impressive Pinot Noir at this price point!

The 2016 Chardonnay Stature opens with ripe peaches, spiced pears and honeyed toast notes plus touches of nutmeg and candle wax. Medium to full-bodied, it has a pleasantly oily texture and a great intensity of ripe, rich fruit, finishing long and spicy.

The 2016 Chardonnay Grand Reserve is scented of ripe honeydew melons, peach blossoms and rose water with a waft of honey-drizzled apricots. Medium-bodied, lively and with plenty of ripe melon and stone fruit flavors, it has nice spice and toast suggestions.

Here’s a creamy chardonnay stylized into a pleasantly sweet confection, its pale fruit, scents of hay and touches of oak combining in a white to chill for aperitifs.

Apples and pears in the aroma lead to easygoing fruit flavors and a soft broad texture in this medium-bodied fruit-forward wine. Hints of butter and vanilla sneak in on the finish.

The deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Grand Reserve has fragrant earth and violets hints over a blackcurrant and blackberry core with touches of toast and coffee beans. Firmly textured and with plenty of freshness on the medium-bodied palate, it has a good core of black fruits and an herbal lift on the finish.

The 2016 Chardonnay Vintner's Reserve delivers intense baked apples, allspice and buttered toast notes with a touch of honeycomb. Medium-bodied, it has a good amount of uncomplicated, spiced-apple flavors offering great freshness and harmony.

Very deep inky purple colored, the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon Mount Veeder is a little youthfully reticent at this stage, offering glimpses at freshly crushed black currants, black berries and plums with touches of dried Provence herbs, menthol, cigar boxes and Indian spices. Full-bodied with very firm, very ripe tannins and an incredible core of black fruit, earth and spice layers, it has wonderful freshness and depth, finishing long and multilayered.

The Top 40

This is a delightful quaffable sauvignon blanc with ripe citrus and pear fruit and a soft round mouthfeel. A nice counter point to the New Zealand herbal/grapefruit style.

Holiday Hits Expresses fruit aromas of pineapple, banana, guava, apricot, peach and tropical fruit cocktail. Adding to the complexity, the oak aging is fairly integrated adding spice like nutmeg, a light toast and the nuance of angel food cake. This wine has great viscosity, depth and an intriguing long finish. The flavors are lively on the palate with pear, citrus, lemon-lime, green apple and fleshy peach.

Wines of the Week Fortress Winery is proud of its Sonoma heritage. Its terrain climbs up toward the ridges of the Mayacamas Mountains to the west. Knight’s Valley AVA borders the Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Calistoga regions. This rich and dark wine shows black fruits, earthy mineral and spice with highlights of blackberry and pomegranate. A lingering finish of firm tannins, vanilla and toasty oak complements meats from the grill or roasts from the oven.

Big Bold Reds Delivers aromas of dark fruit, mocha and baking spices on the nose. The palate exhibits well-integrated tannins that complement the subtle earthy flavors of pomegranate, blackberry and sweet pipe tobacco. With a rich, opulent mouthfeel, Fortress is an approachable wine with a silky, lush finish.

The Christmas Gift Guide For Francophiles A Francophile will always appreciate a glass of good red wine. This gift is probably the safest — you cannot go wrong with it. If you feel like offering a bottle of red wine to one of your relatives, I recommend this bottle of Château Vignot Saint Emilion, 2009. It goes perfectly with cheese.

What to Drink Now: Cabernet Franc In Sonoma, Tuscany and Bordeaux, celebrated winemaker Pierre Seillan reveals the beauty and structure of the grape while allowing each individual micro-climate to shine...Chateau Lassegue St. Emilion Grand Cru ($100) highlights Right Bank Bordeaux terroir giving a mineral note to the concentrated Cabernet Franc and old-vine Merlot-based wine.

The Carmel Road Pinot Noir 2015, Monterey County, aged 9 months in French oak, only 16 percent new barrels, resulting in an oak influence that’s almost subliminal in its shaping factor. The color is transparent medium ruby fading to an invisible rim; pert aromas and flavors of black and red cherries and currants are touched with notes of pomegranate and plum highlighted by hints of black tea, loam and sassafras. The wine is satiny smooth on the palate but enlivened by bright acidity that cuts a swath through to a finish lightly wrapped in graphite-tinged tannin. 13.5 percent alcohol. Drink now through 2019 or ’20. Attractive and expressive. Very good+.