Uncorked: Spire Collection a portfolio of all stars Back state side, the dark red, ruby colored in the glass and bold Zena Crown ‘Slope’ Pinot Noir 2013 came from Oregon. It has beefy fruit with cranberry, fig and tobacco flavors. There’s black tea and wet earth on the nose. It’s full bodied with a round mouthfeel and a long-lasting finish.

The Stunning Spire Collection Estate in Calistoga This was a blend of a variety of clones with nice body, and it really wasn’t too heavy. I was surprised at how smooth it was, as most Oregon Pinor Noir wines are much earthier and less gentle. It also had a lovely, floral aromatic nose.

This fragrant and richly textural white wine was fermented in two, 675-litre, egg-shaped ceramic vessels, one filled with crushed fruit – skins, pips and all – and one with just juice. The crushed fruit batch spent 160 days on skins before being siphoned off; the finished wine is a blend of the two eggs. It's sensual fluid that caresses the tongue.

Wines of the Week WillaKenzie Estate is named for the sedimentary soil on which the estate is planted, soil which in turn is a named as a tribute to the Willamette and McKenzie Rivers of western Oregon. The winery is a popular tourist stop for wine lovers keen to enjoy fine Pinot Noir, a picnic or even a game of Pétanque! The Gisele Pinot Noir bursts with red fruits and spice, perfectly balanced on the palate to accompany cuisine of all types.

Sauvignon Blanc ideal in the summer heat As consumer friendly as those wines are, I found more complexity and flavor interest as prices escalated: ...2015 Galerie "Naissance" Napa Valley lychee, stone fruit, melon; ...and 2015 Stonestreet Alexander Valley complex, grassy.

Using grapes grown at a higher elevation in Alexander Valley, this excellent sauvignon blanc has herbal and lemon bouquet followed by grapefruit and lemon flavors with balanced acidity.

Enjoying Hawaii with a red, white and rose Golden yellow in the glass, the wine offers fresh honey, lemon and a hint of butter on the nose. It has medium body and fills the mouth with flavors of citrus, tropical fruit and a slight toasty nuance. 86 points. Pairing the wines with the smoked tuna was a bit of a surprise. The wine that stood out was the Silver Palm Chardonnay. The citrus notes integrated nicely with the smoky goodness of the tuna and the acidity brought the palate to life enhancing the tuna flavors.

The Yamhill-Carlton vineyards in Willamette Valley are highly prized among Pinot noir winemakers everywhere, and the wines Adam Lee produces from there should also be highly prized. This 2015 vintage is a powerful wine vinted from grapes that survived one of the hottest summers of all time in the Willamette Valley. Cherry, minerals and wet earth aromas lead the olfactory parade, pontificating the palate to pursue the presupposition of flavor perfection to follow. Yeah, a whole lot of cherryliciousness, wet tobacco and sage flavors followed. Spore it up with Porcini, Shitake, Lobster or Morel mushrooms to release all of the earthy nuances this wine can provide. Excellent.

Wine & Food pairing recommendation We recently tried a flight of several different Pinot Noirs from various regions within the Willamette Valley and were pretty excited about all of them. This one in particular is a great one for this salmon because it was fairly light bodied (compared the others in the flight), with gorgeous cherry and boysenberry notes, good structure and balance. You don’t want an overpowering wine with a dish like this simply prepared smoked salmon. You want something equally fresh and full and balanced.

Nothing shy about the friendly personage that this is fronting. B+

Picking Pinot The Russian River is one of my go-to California regions—along with Anderson Valley and Sta. Rita Hills—for the kind of juicy, silky, cherry-like pinot that is hard to resist. This wine features an engaging floral-scented aroma and uncommonly smooth, ripe red fruit flavors, balanced with smokiness and firm acids. Grace notes include cinnamon, cigar box and spearmint. This is a beautiful accompaniment for grilled salmon with a honey mustard glaze.

The fruit produced at Hawks View vineyard in the Willamette Valley has progressed considerably since its beginnings ten years ago, and has greatly improved under the watchful eyes of Adam Leeof Siduri. Aggressive floral and red fruit aromas compliment the zippy cherry, pomegranate and spice flavors of this well-made medium bodied Pinot noir. Comte cheese, rosemary scented ham or tea smoked duck will bring out the characteristics of this wine. Excellent.

Great Wine Values: Nielson Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, Calif. Pinot noir is a natural choice when we crave lighter red wines in the summertime. This is especially true for those sourced from cool-climate vineyards that clock in below 14 percent alcohol. These two factors yield tangy and refreshing pinot noirs that make perfect partners for summer’s lighter fare. But pinot noir is called the heartbreak grape for a reason — the unfortunate challenge for its fans lies in finding wines that are both well-made and reasonably priced, since so few can be found for less than $25. That’s why it’s worth snapping up some of this affordable example from Santa Barbara County while it’s on sale this month. Nielson is a so-called “second label,” a budget-minded line of wines from Byron, one of California’s pinot pioneers. To keep the price accessible, Byron sources the fruit from local growers rather than from Byron’s famed estate terroirs. They also use only 5 percent new French oak barrels during maturation, as compared to 35 percent for its top-tier cuvées. The result is a playful summer-weight pinot noir, with fresh-picked strawberry and raspberry flavors and an undercurrent of outdoorsy earthiness.

Uncorked: Spire Collection a portfolio of all stars Younger vineyards still turned out a big wine with the Mt. Brave Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 that was dark purple, almost black in the glass. There’s cedar on the nose, big oak and cassis. Flavors of blackberry, cassis, coal and tar emerge on a wine that serves as a great glimpse into what winemaker Chris Carpenter can do with elevation vineyards.

Wines of the Week Winemaker Marcia Torres Forno expanded the scope of Sauvignon Blanc production at Matanzas Creek when she arrived in 2010. She blended in a dab of Semillon and used various styles of fermenters, including the concrete eggs mentioned above. Look for floral and herbaceous aromas with hints of citrus. The palate offers grapefruit, Asian pear and fig flavors.

Sauvignon Blanc ideal in the summer heat A number of good everyday values cost $20 and less. These tend to be lighter with the focus on varietal fruit. Choose among: ...2016 Matanzas Creek Sonoma County delightfully fresh, aromatic; ... and 2016 Matanzas Creek Alexander Valley wonderfully aromatic, flavorful.

Sauvignon Blanc ideal in the summer heat A number of good everyday values cost $20 and less. These tend to be lighter with the focus on varietal fruit. Choose among: ...2016 Matanzas Creek Sonoma County delightfully fresh, aromatic; ... and 2016 Matanzas Creek Alexander Valley wonderfully aromatic, flavorful.

Uncorked: Spire Collection a portfolio of all stars From California’s Anderson Valley AVA, the Maggie Hawk Graceful Lady Pinot Noir 2014 walked the fine line between bold and balanced. With delicate strawberry on the nose, its flavors of tart cherry popped on a medium-bodied Pinot with fresh acidity. The Maggy Hawk lineup from winemaker Elizabeth Grant-Douglas continued its impressive run. Its single vineyard wines are dramatic and unique interpretations of Pinot Noir.

Another wine I loved that we tasted was the Maggy Hawk Stormin’ Pinot Noir. This is made with the 667 clone and is not made annually, only when the team feels that the grapes are high quality enough to produce this single block wine. This was lovely, a bit heavier (as expected) than the Oregon Zena Crown Pinot Noir, yet extremely smooth and silky. At a $66 retail this is quite an incredible wine.

Lokoya wines endure the passage of time The real wild card in the lineup was Lokoya Mount Veeder 2013. Grown on the northern end of the Mount Veeder AVA, the vineyards are situated high above the fog line. An elegant wine with blue fruit notes emerged. Blueberry mixes with a spice rack of flavors. It’s big and structured with bold tannins, yet, with its fruit core, remained elegant.

Lokoya wines endure the passage of time Sourced from three vineyards, the Lokoya Spring Mountain 2013 has coffee grinds on its nose and is almost black in the glass. Despite appearances, it’s the most feminine of the wines in the lineup. The green of the mountain note is present with conifer, but I was stunned a wine so young would have blackberry and raspberry flavors.

Lokoya wines endure the passage of time The Lokoya Diamond Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 is full-bodied with tannins that begin to round out on the finish. Flavors of semi-sweet chocolate, minerality and gun metal stand out as black fruit, tar and conifer fill out the profile.

Lokoya wines endure the passage of time Across the valley to the Vaca Mountain range came the Lokoya Howell Mountain 2013. Sourced from the W.S. Keyes Vineyard, which sits near the top of the Howell Mountain AVA, it’s a powerful wine with a lengthy finish that marched on for what seemed like 30 seconds. Dark in the glass and full-bodied on the palate, it had wet earth, dust, mountain scrub and an herbal note. It was untamed, feral and had the minerality of a mossy, wet rock.

Lokoya wines endure the passage of time As a preview of how Lokoya will age, Inman went deep into the cellar. Tasted beside their infantile brothers, the Lokoya Spring Mountain and Mount Veeder 2007s had years left to continue to evolve. In 10 years time, Spring Mountain’s secondary flavors of mushrooms, truffle and soy sauce had emerged. The Mount Veeder showed blackberry and iron flavors. A salinity had emerged and umami trait had taken hold. Both were dark in the glass; neither of their colors had faded.

Lokoya wines endure the passage of time As a preview of how Lokoya will age, Inman went deep into the cellar. Tasted beside their infantile brothers, the Lokoya Spring Mountain and Mount Veeder 2007s had years left to continue to evolve. In 10 years time, Spring Mountain’s secondary flavors of mushrooms, truffle and soy sauce had emerged. The Mount Veeder showed blackberry and iron flavors. A salinity had emerged and umami trait had taken hold. Both were dark in the glass; neither of their colors had faded.