K-J has a reasonably priced, extracted and delicious pinot noir from Monterey and Santa Barbara counties. Juicy and ripe strawberry notes with a dash of pepper.

Byron winemaker Jonathan Nagy describes his Pinot Noir as having the finesse of Burgundy and the power of California. It is an accurate description of this wine, crafted from grapes grown in the Santa Marie Valley where marine air from the Pacific Ocean cools the growing area along the transverse mountain range (east-west orientation). The wine is rich and juicy showing intense cherry flavor with raspberry and floral notes and a firm finish that accompanies grilled salmon flavors.

Hartford is known for its single-vineyard chardonnay, pinot noir and zinfandel from the western reaches of Sonoma County. It would be easy to dismiss this appellation blend from the Russian River Valley as its entry-level wine, but it is an excellent example of chardonnay from this part of Sonoma. It offers honeysuckle, white flowers and citrus notes, showing the influence of the cool ocean fog in its acidity and structure.

The 67-year-old grenache vines yield a beautiful nose and flavors of ripe black raspberries. Again good acidity makes these wines food-friendly as well as stand-alone.

This wine exhibits great structure with a nice berry fruit nose and flavors. Good acidity and soft tannins would make this wine great for summer barbecues.

Biodynamically farmed, matured in old oak, and with a future ahead of it. You don't want to chill this one too hard. It's fresh and reserved and needs some encouragement to unfurl. When it does - it takes you on an interesting journey. Ginger spice, melon, honeysuckle, slate. It's clean and crisp but grippy and textural. The burst of sweet honeysuckle through the finish is delicious. I suspect it's got a bit more up its sleeve too.

This biodynamically farmed McLaren Vale shiraz from Yangarra Estate is a good symbol of where Australian wine is at. It's a clean, fruit-driven wine but there's nothing industrial about it. It's wild yeast fermented, left to mature on lees, bottled unfined. It has balance and easy-going momentum. The fruit is in the plum and dark cherry realm, but there are savoury/spicy/sappy elements. Oak is a little too toasty and coffeed for my liking, but it's tame and in the background, so it doesn't get in the way. Tannin is fine, fleshy, gently insistent. All up, this wine is impossible to fault, pleasurable, and interesting.

Yangarra's viognier is an excellent advertisement for the variety. Only 173 dozen made. Matured in old oak. It's not hedonistic but it is rich and generous. It's all blossomy stone fruits and honeysuckle, spice and melon. It fills the mouth with flavour but then turns spicy and grainy through the finish; almost chalky. Excellent carry of flavour. A certain Granny Smith crispness. Straw-gold colour. Refreshing and flavoursome. This is worth an excursion over to the viognier side.

This is a good result from a tough vintage. For the record, it's a blend of 41% grenache, 31% shiraz, and 28% mourvedre. It's a good wine to drink. Spicy, peppery, herbal, cherried. Leathery too, particularly on the nose. Complexity, is has down pat. The finish is good though there's a slight (dilute) dip through the mid-palate. I could knock this back any day of the week; it's fun to drink. In many ways it proves how well the Yangarra vineyards are managed. To make 1130 dozen of this wine, to this standard, is an effort worthy of respect.

This is a surefire hit to go with pork and beef, especially if there is a ketchup-based sauce. Ripe, forward blueberry and cherry flavors with hints of coffee and chocolate.

Minty aroma, flavors of blackberries and spice, soft and smooth.

This is a good deal from the Alexander Valley. Merlot makes up 64 percent of the blend and the rest is cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot. Full-bodied but drinkable now with a variety of food. It would go well with barbecue and grilled meats. Dark cherry, cassis and plum notes.

...another good buy...So is the bright and spicy 2011 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Zinfandel made from Mendocino County grapes.

This is the first release of the high-elevation Anderson Valley Pinot Noir from Jackson Family Wines new artisanal producer Champs de Reves. It's an elegant wine marked by bright acidity and aromas of spice and red-berry fruit.

At the Stonestreet winery, in Sonoma's Alexander Valley, longtime winemaker Graham Weerts turns out a range of notable wines from the property, including this lush, richly textured Chardonnay that's balanced by a firm acidity and a bright mineral thread.

This notable Sonoma winery, purchased in 2000, was one of Jess Jackson's earlier trophy buys. (It was valued at $45 million at the time.) Chilean-born Marcia Monahan, the head winemaker of Matanzas Creek since 2010, has produced a clean, citrus-inflected Chardonnay that's easy and pleasurable to drink.

Another Anderson Valley Pinot - one of a trio from the Maggy Hawk property - but altogether different than the Champs de Reves. It's a rich, dark and structured Pinot with savory notes of earth and dark fruit, best paired with substantial fare.

This winery, directed by Jackson Family Wines CEO Don Hartford and his wife, Jenny Jackson Hartford (Jess Jackson's daughter), has long produced notable Pinot Noirs. This medium-to light-bodied red shows lots of lively acidity as well as pleasing aromas of strawberries and cherries.

Generous oak, butterscotch and hazelnut aromas on the nose give way to full-bodied richness on the palate. Lovely green apple and peach notes as well. A big chardonnay for those who love the genre.

Classic Californian Chardonnay with toast, oak and green apple. Full-bodied, and generously layered. Lots of citrus on the palate with some white floral notes on the finish. Medium- to full-bodied and lip-smacking tasty.

Floral aromas, black plum and mocha flavors, big, ripe tannins.

Intense floral aromas, concentrated flavors of black cherry, anise and mocha, silky and smooth.

Light but bright and clear crimson-purple; some estate-owned vineyards were able to rise above the challenges of the vintage, and some winemakers shorted the grapes berry by berry in the winery to achieve results such as this - a highly aromatic and pure red-berried wine, with supple mouthfeel and no hint of green fruit.

Sangiovese makes up most of this wine but there is some cabernet sauvignon and merlot to give it dimension. Rich mouthfeel and loads of cherry and plum flavors.