Another new offering is K-J's 2009 Chardonnay Avant. One-hundred percent estate grown, it is a blend of 64% Monterey, 35% Santa Barbara and 1% Mendocino fruit. One-third is aged and fermented in stainless steel. The wine offers aromas of orange blossoms, white currants and white peaches in a fresh, fruity, medium-bodied, refreshing, Chablis-like style. Kendall-Jackson enjoys a well-deserved reputation for over-delivering quality vis à vis price for its wines.

...the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (from vineyards in Napa, Mendocino, Sonoma, Knight's Valley and Alexander Valley) is a soft, fruity effort with lots of herbaceously-tinged red and black fruits, plums and currants. This tasty Cabernet is best drunk over the next 4-5 years.

More crushed rock, herb, strawberry and spice box characteristics are found in the 2009 Pinot Noir Monterey. It exhibits a slightly deeper medium ruby hue than the Sonoma Coast cuvee along with medium body and additional structure and tannin. It should be even better with another 6-12 months of bottle age and will keep for 4-5 years. La Crema is an excellent value winery owned by Jess Jackson with an impressive group of winemakers, including Melissa Stackhouse.

My least favorite of this trio, the 2009 Chardonnay Russian River is good, but leaner, earthier and not as expressive as its siblings. Consume it over the next 2-3 years. La Crema is an excellent value winery owned by Jess Jackson with an impressive group of winemakers, including Melissa Stackhouse.

Notes of plum sauce, cranberries, earthy red cherries and loamy soil result in an authentic Pinot Noir tasting effort. Medium-bodied, soft and delicious, it should drink well for 2-4 years. Kendall-Jackson enjoys a well-deserved reputation for over-delivering quality vis à vis price for its wines. Any offering from Kendall-Jackson bearing the Vintner's Reserve designation will offer much more quality than its humble price suggests.

The 2007 Vintner's Reserve Summation Proprietary Red is a blend of 46% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Malbec and Petit Verdot, all from estate vineyards. Soft and spicy with briery mountain fruit, licorice, herb, red and black fruit characteristics, this medium-bodied, lusty, soft 2008 can be drunk over the next 2-3 years. Kendall-Jackson enjoys a well-deserved reputation for over-delivering quality vis à vis price for its wines. Any offering from Kendall-Jackson bearing the Vintner's Reserve designation will offer much more quality than its humble price suggests.

Another interesting offering as well as a reasonably good value is the 2007 All In Claret. A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec from the Alexander Valley, it is an attractive wine to enjoy during its first 4-5 years of life.

The 2008 Vintner's Reserve Merlot (98% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc aged 14 months in two-thirds French and one-third American oak) exhibits a dark plum color along with notes of cherry cola, raspberry, garrigue, loamy soil and spice box. This medium-bodied, juicy Merlot is somewhat monolithic, but it displays an appropriate varietal character. Drink it over the next 2-3 years. Kendall-Jackson enjoys a well-deserved reputation for over-delivering quality vis à vis price for its wines. Any offering from Kendall-Jackson bearing the Vintner's Reserve designation will offer much more quality than its humble price suggests.

The 2008 Zinfandel Liar's Dice (primarily Zinfandel blended with small amounts of Carignane and Petite Sirah) is a medium ruby-hued, straightforward, peppery, herbal effort that should be enjoyed over the next 1-2 years.

A bright malbec with aromas and flavors of blackberry, black raspberry and spice. Soft, with a seamless texture. Lingering finish.

Granny Smith apple juice as wine, with a frame of softly rendered, barrel-touched ferment. A super mix of California's better regions in one white.

All of Byron's pinot noirs are outstanding, but we just enjoyed this version for its complexity and finesse. Exquisite cherry and perfumy aromas with cherry and plum flavors. Very nice.

This is stylish, with currants, blackberries, mulberries, and cool spices, with cloves developing in the glass. Full bodied, with super integrated tannins and a long, long finish. This is complex and integrated. A very beautiful wine. Why wait? Pull the cork.

Some jam but lots of spices and currants on the nose. Very stylish. Full bodied, with a beautiful purity of fruit and super silky tannins. Good acidity, very focused, and pinpointed flavors. A nice combination of richness and finesse.

Gorgeous nose with blueberries, currants, minerals, and hints of flowers. Full bodied, with very well integrated tannins and a long, long finish. This is very polished, balanced, and pretty right now, but give this time.

Very perfumed, with sweet tobacco and currant bush on the nose. Full bodied, with a silky tannin structure and a long finish. A little hollow in the center palate, but still attractive. Give it time to soften.

Aromas of green apple, pear, orange and vanilla. Aggressive flavors of tart green apple, lemon, lime, honey, cinnamon and clove with lingering background earthiness and creaminess.

A lovely pinot noir that offers a medium bodied black cherry nose and flavors with some cola notes, and a hint of oak in the mouth. Ready to drink now but should evolve well over the next 2 to 3 years. It's tough to find a better value in the California pinot noir market.

A good, showy chardonnay with aromas and flavors of baked apple, toast, herbs and spice. A creamy, lush texture, yet has good acid. A great value.

Blended of 60% Grenache, 22% Shiraz and 18% Mourvedre, the 2010 Cadenzia displays a deep garnet-purple colour and aromas of ripe black plums, blackberries and mulberries over hints of bacon, yeast extract, soy and black olives. Full bodied and with plenty of mouth-filling, muscular black berry flavours, it has lively acid and a firm level of grainy tannins, finishing long and a little earthy. Approachable now, it should drink to 2018+.

Bright and crisp, with lemon meringue flavors and hints of minerals.

A soft, simple but pretty wine, with slightly sweet, pie-filling cherry, raspberry, Dr. Pepper cola and baking spice flavors. Drink now.

Winemaker Melissa Stackhouse's deft touch with Pinot Noir is especially impressive given how much she makes of this basic Sonoma Coast bottling. The wine is elegant and aromatic, with plenty of dark-cherry fruit.

One of six wines recently won favor with the Chronicle tasting panel while also offering great value and good local availability...Great for just hanging out and sipping.

For this tender cake, Buttermilk Cake with Riesling-Poached Pears, choose a sweet Riesling like the apple-scented 2007 Kendall-Jackson Late Harvest.