...light, crisp, medium-bodied wine that faded in the finish. Nevertheless, there is enough up-front honeysuckle-scented and flavored fruit to provide pleasent drinking over the next year.

A white with the rich appeal of classic Chardonnay, but without the buttery notes. Instead, it's just lovely, straight-up peach-citrus fruit.

Anytime you are in a tasting room, look for late harvest or ice wine bottles. Of course, you won't find ice wines out west. But tasting rooms harbor specialty wines you don't see very often in the rest of the country. I have to write about wine, whether you can find it or not. The winery, Cambria, is first class, in Santa Barbara County (California), and so is the vineyard where these grapes are sourced, Tepesquet. It's intense floral, orange and tropical on the nose. On the palate, it is thick and viscous, and the sweetness paints the whole mouth. Buried deep in the flavors are minerality and spice that trail through to the finish. And there is still enough acidity for structure. It's magnificent.

Intense pear and butterscotch flavors, concentrated fruit, viscous, very dry; lightly tart finish.

Add some cream to white corn and you'll have the signature flavor of Central Coast, or more specifically, Santa Maria Valley chardonnay. The particular richness the grape takes on in this mountain-ringed coastal valley often expresses itself in that flavor, a character you'll find in the scent of the Cambria…Its modest richness and finesse creates a bridge to the Cambria, the most intensely flavored of the three (compared to Kendall-Jackson 1999 Santa Maria Valley Camelot Vineyard Chardonnay and Cinnabar 1999 Central Coast Quicksilver Chardonnay) -- and also the most tightly knit. Here's that creamed-corn pungency, along with a plump feel in the mouth. The balance of the ripeness rides an edge between dark tones and brighter orange peel and lemon peel freshness. A sip of (Sonoma- Cutrer 1998 Chardonnay) Les Pierres will make this appear sweeter, the oak showing more in vanilla sweetness, but the Cambria still comes together into a tight finish, holding its own. Not a bad Central Coast benchmark for twenty-two bucks.

Forward tropical fruit nose with spicy oak backnotes; crisp acidity, layered fruit; quintessential California Chardonnay.

Pretty light-toast, pear, and cinnamon-clove aromas give way to almost cloying mixed fruit and a sticky finish. Very soft and buttery.

It's got great texture. There are hints of honey, pear and ripe apple, and it's got a really nice, smooth finish. A lot of people tend to say it's buttery. It's a good wine if you're moving into fall, when the bodies of wine are usually a little deeper.

Elegant and flowery, with toast and a hint of lemon. Real restraint.

This wine maker handled its oaking carefully, with the poached pear, butter and apple flavors are carried through from the aroma to the finish, with the pear being most dominant. 'This is a sequential wine,' one of my experts said, meaning the flavors kept coming through one at a time. My group rated it #1 in the tasting.

The Cambria has enough vanilla and toastinesss to suit American tastes, as well as beautiful apple and citrus fruit flavors.

The super-ripe pineapple, banana and mandarin orange fruit flavors typical of Santa Maria chardonnay meet up with ginger and marzipan flourishes as the wine breathes.

Balanced fruit and oak nose, ripe and forward with spice and tropical notes; buttery texture, oaky notes; length.

Lemon and herbal scents provide the central theme for this wine's aromas with oak adding a bit to the complexity. The wine is round and firmly balanced, and while its flavors could certainly be richer and more intense, they are nicely focused. A pineapple tone surfaces towards the finish and lingers in the aftertaste.

Ever wanted to tasted a full blown, cool climate, reserve chardonnay after it's had time to gain weight in the bottle? Look no further than the '96 Cambria Reserve. The winery still has a bit left and it's a knockout. The nose of tropical fruit, apple, coconut and toast is dead give away that there' something special in the glass. The same flavors echo on the palate but in such a symbiotic way it's hard to pick them viscous, this chard will leave a hedonistic imprint on your brain.

Inviting tropical-fruit aroma, honey and citrus notes; textured flavors; good acidity, lemon and vanilla accents; long finish. Good with lobster chow mein.

Very ripe fruit salad aroma, toasty oak back notes; ripe fruit flavors, crisp, citrusy acidity, pungent oak.

Who's On First (focusing on the creme de la creme of California's wine producers).

Rich and sweetly oaked with a patina of butter and lees over deep, appley fruit at the heart of the aromas, this tasty wine is nicely assembled and well-structured. Lively, firm and crisp edged on the palate with a good display of apples and oak from entry to its lingering, focused finish.

A complex and rich chardonnay with exotic aromas and flavors of apricot, toasted coconut and yeast. Has a lovely, lingering aftertaste.

Ripe tropical fruit aromas; smoky oak notes on fleshy fruit; creamy texture; long, fruity finish.

Lots of sweet and blossomy fruit is teamed with a bit of butter and a fair degree of creamy oak in the rich, moderately intense aromas, and the showy flavors deliver fully on the promise of the nose. Bright and bouncy, yet never the least bit stiff or brittle, the wine is very well balanced and hangs on to its fruit oak flavors in a long, snappy finish. Uncommon for its mix of richness and freshness, it should keep for a few years but makes delightful drinking now.

Intense tropical fruit flavors. Aged in small oak barrels to add complexity and elegance to this California favorite.

Sporting the somewhat tropical, sweet-smelling fruit often found in wines from its provenance, the inviting aromas key on apples, pears and hints of blossoms with slightly toasty oak and leesy, nutty notes providing a rich and broad backdrop. Dressed up in pretty oak, yet maintaining its straightforward stance throughout.