Central Coast: The 2017s and 2018s The deep purple-hued 2017 Syrah Jackson Estate Alisos Hills has plenty of classic Syrah black fruits, cured meats, pepper, and bay leaf notes as well as a rounded, medium-bodied, nicely balanced style on the palate. This is cool-climate meets California fruit, and it's well done.

Central Coast: The 2017s and 2018s The 2017 Pinot Noir Grand Reserve Anderson Valley comes from the Anderson Valley and has good complexity in its black cherry and currant fruits as well as notes of Christmas spice, violets, and orange rind. Medium-bodied and balanced on the palate, with a dry finish, it's another solid effort.

Central Coast: The 2017s and 2018s The 2016 Malbec Knights Valley is solid, yielding upfront black and blue fruits, peppery herbs, and some earthy nuances as well as a fleshy, medium-bodied style on the palate. It stays balanced, has good purity of fruit, and is certainly a charming, well-made wine.

Central Coast: The 2017s and 2018s A step up in price, the 2017 Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley comes from a mix of the Nielson and Bien Nacido vineyards and was barrel fermented and aged in 41% new French oak. It offers a more balanced, layered, classic style as well as plenty of honeyed apple fruit, hints of spice citrus, and toasted bread. With terrific balance and no hard edges, it's ideal for drinking over the coming 2-4 years.

Steely and vibrant, with strawberry, orange blossom and yeasty spice flavors.

Sleek, offering hints of tropical fruits to the lithe white fruit and citrus flavors. The spicy finish is rich and juicy, showing savory accents.

South Africa: The 2016 & 2017 Vintages and the Future of South African Wines – Part 1 The 2016 Chardonnay has aromas of lemon peel, green apple skin, golden apple core and yellow pear, with subtle brown baking spices from French oak aging. There is something very pleasing about the focus of this wine, with lower alcohol and an energetic line of acidity through its core. This Chardonnay expresses more vibrancy from the warmer weather in 2016, while the structure is still balanced. Medium-bodied, the wine finishes with citrus and green apple wrapped in soft oak tones. Only 1,047 cases were made.

South Africa: The 2016 & 2017 Vintages and the Future of South African Wines – Part 1 2016 was a challenging vintage, but the 2016 Fijnbosch Chardonnay shows some finesse that still is better than the typical range; however, the challenging vintage robs some potential from the enjoyment. Medium to full-bodied, the expression begins to unfold on the palate with fresh apple slices, oak spices and lemon drop, but the mid-palate begins to move a little flat. The wine ends with a robust finish with an oaky presence of popcorn and brown baking spices. Only 57 cases were made in this challenging vintage.

The nose boasts toasted oak, wet gravely soil, strawberry and cherry. Its medium bodied with bright acid and weighty, but fairly imperceptible, tannin. The structure is solid and mouthfeel smooth. The flavors mostly ride the juicy acid and come in slightly sweet: fruit punch, finely ground dark roast coffee bean and cocoa powder. The finish adds sweet orange zest. Easy drinking.

Go global with Christmas dinner wine picks (and get out there now!) Tous Ensemble, or “all together,” is a mix of fruit that gets a rare foot-treading in macro bins before this wine goes direct to press in whole clusters. The wine is coastal with crisp aromatics, and some floral and mineral notes. The intensity of California’s sun kicks in, adding hints of Meyer lemon, mandarin and tangerine streaked with pear, apple and very lively acid. The finish is long and persistent with a nutty, buttery undertone. Stylish and ready to drink.

USA, California, Sonoma: 2017 Vintage – Part 2 The 2018 Pinot Noir is the inaugural release of the label, made by Adam Lee. It is 100% concrete aged and fermented. It has a vibrant, pale to medium ruby-purple color and is shy on the nose, slowly giving up black cherries, dried flowers, warm earth, citrus peel and red berries with a rocky tinge. Light to medium-bodied, it's bright and lively in the mouth with a soft structure and juicy acidity, finishing with loads of berry flavors. Fun! 500 cases produced.

The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon Sycamore Vineyard comes from a vineyard at the end of Bella Oaks Lane. A blend of 83.1% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot aged 27 months in barrel, only 43% new oak was utilized for this cuvée. An excellent 2011, it possesses a deep ruby/purple color along with notes of cedarwood, baking spices, Christmas fruitcake and red as well as blackcurrants. Enjoy this medium-bodied 2011 over the next decade.

Sourced from several prominent vineyards across the Napa Valley, planted on hillsides and valley floor, this Cab is buoyed by large handfuls of Merlot in addition to smaller sprinklings of Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Juicy raspberry and blackberry rise to the fore followed by faint dried herb and cedar, a dry lick of cinnamon on the finish.

This structured, slightly grippy Cab from Freemark Abbey has excellent potential for those with patience. It exhibits dark aromas of blackberry and cassis, with accent notes of vanillin, spice and cedar, buttressed by very firm tannins that will need at least another year to begin to recede.

The sweet fruitiness and citrus-driven acidity of raspberry and cherry jam mark this savory, young wine. Its pedigree is impressive, ranging from the winery's historic Bosche Vineyard to Atlas Peak and Mount Veeder. It's insanely rich, if a little obvious in its appeal, so drink over the next few years.

Freemark Abbey's 2009 Cabernet combines deep, well-defined, varietal fruit with a sensible measure of supporting oak and finds a very comfortable middle ground between high ripeness and green-edged austerity. It is firm but not stiff, and it is full without being fat. It ends on a slightly tannic note, but all of the parts are in place for it to grow into grace over the next five to eight years.

Napa Valley: 2007 Retrospective - Napa's Turning-Point Vintage The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley rocks up with an opaque garnet-black color and notions of cassis, warm plums and raspberry leaves with touches of pencil shavings, underbrush and bay leaves. Medium to full-bodied, it fills the mouth with youthful, vibrant yet uncomplicated black fruit flavors and a soft, accessible frame, finishing on a blackberry note.

The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa (a blend from various sites) is a soft, sexy combination of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. A big, sweet nose of Asian spices, smoky oak, and plenty of black and red fruits, are followed by a lush, round, generously constituted wine with medium to full body, decent acidity, and velvety tannins. Enjoy it over the next 8-10 years.

The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Napa, which is 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and miscellaneous, spent 24 months in French oak prior to being bottled. This seductive style of Cabernet Sauvignon is medium to full-bodied, opaque purple in color, with plenty of classic tobacco leaf, barbecue smoke, clove, black cherry and cassis. With oodles of fruit, it has a lushness and seemingly fully mature style, yet is capable of holding. Drink it over the next decade.

Ripe and fairly rich, fruity and somewhat frontal with just a touch of something green at the margins, this wine smells like young Viognier in search of added juice. On the palate, it is a horse of a different color with its nicely rounded yet balanced flavors and its relatively long and tasty finish. Not in need of cellar aging, it nevertheless will hold for a bit.

Smooth, juicy and supple, with peach, pear and yellow apple flavors that have a floral edge and a spicy finish.

This is a very typical, straight arrow Napa chardonnay - a bit more tropical and warm than some from cooler…

Zesty notes of tangerine, nectarine and blood orange impart vitality and drive, offering depth, complexity and persistence.

Aromas of apple and citrus blossom fold over to the palate, showing touches of peach and melon. Fresh and lively, with zesty acidity. Ends with citrus themes accented by a pithy texture.

Delivers a solid core of ripe, juicy Chardonnay, with touches of apple, pear, honeydew melon and lightly spicy toasty oak shadings. Ends clean and a touch pithy.