Bright red. Musky, earthy aromas of dried red fruits and plum. Juicy red currant and candied plum flavors show good depth but could use a bit more energy. A rich, fleshy style of pinot that finishes with good lift and lingering smokiness.

Smoky and smooth, this is a black and tannic cabernet, the kind of warm, meaty red that would meld well with braised beef.

Tasted in a flight of great and famous Napa wines, this Cardinale stood at the head of the pack. Starts with a very fine nose of cedar, cassis, ripe blackberries and violets, then turns dramatic and refined in the mouth. Shows vast depth and length, with the finish a full minute of sweet fruits and spices. Marvelous tannins, so plush and elegant, so powerful yet refined. The grapes hail from Mt. Veeder, Howell Mountain, Stags Leap and Oakville, and the blend contains 14% Merlot. As good as it is now, it will improve for a least eight years.

Beautiful! A ripe clean wine.

A brand-new wine from Byron, this black cherry, smoke and spice. Forward, fruit-direct and approachable, it hits with true pinot flavors and then flames out, like a shooting star, at the end.

Again, a new Byron chardonnay sourced from county fruit. It's not as big or rich as the regular chardonnay, but that works in favor if the Thanksgiving table. Crisp and minerally, with aromas and flavors of stone fruit, fig, red apple and brown baking spices, it finishes with a good cut of acidity to cleanse the palate.

The holidays offer a great excuse to splurge on a wine gift. If your target is high-end California Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, I suggest forgoing the quest for a cult wine. Instead seek out one of the great wines below...These wines are some of the best this winery has ever produced.

The holidays offer a great excuse to splurge on a wine gift. If your target is high-end California Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, I suggest forgoing the quest for a cult wine. Instead seek out one of the great wines below...These wines are some of the best this winery has ever produced.

The holidays offer a great excuse to splurge on a wine gift. If your target is high-end California Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, I suggest forgoing the quest for a cult wine. Instead seek out one of the great wines below...These wines are some of the best this winery has ever produced.

The holidays offer a great excuse to splurge on a wine gift. If your target is high-end California Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, I suggest forgoing the quest for a cult wine. Instead seek out one of the great wines below...These wines are some of the best this winery has ever produced.

A tasty, tropical sauvignon blanc that's approachable. Aromas and flavors of grapefruit, kiwi, toast and spice. Juicy.

A lively sauvignon blanc, bright and citrusy. Notes of grapefruit, herbs and mineral with a hint of jalapeno. Creamy texture.

The firm, keenly Kendall-Jackson Grand Reserve 2008 from Monterey and Santa Barbara Counties simple shines at the price.

Silky and velvety soft in the mouth, coating the palate with extraordinary raspberry and cherry flavors, enriched with sweet oak, and spiced with cloves, cinnamon and white pepper. There are even notes of cocoa and orange zest. Yet brisk acidity makes it all clean and vibrant. It's hard to imagine a California Pinot Noir tasting better than this - and what a fantastic bargain. Drink now-2014.

Take a great Napa Cabernet and turn it into a Russian River Pinot, and you get this wonderful Pinot Noir. It's a low production blend of various vineyards controlled by Jackson Family Farms, and each barrel seems picked for sheer lusciousness. Dry and silky, with perfect tannin-acid balance, it shows rich, complex waves of raspberries, cherries, Dr. Pepper cola, balsam, pepper and all kinds of hard to define forest floor and mineral complications. Fully approachable now and for the next 3-4 years.

This best of barrels selection from Byron's considerable number of vineyards in Santa Maria Valley is a stunner. It's immediately likeable for its soft, creamy mouthfeel, and the way the raspberry, cherry, currant, bacon, cocoa and sandalwood flavors finish so rich, yet so dry. Seems too soft for the long haul despite the firm tannins, but should provide beautiful drinking over the next six years.

Planted to the Martini clone in the late 1980's, Arrendell sits in a cold spot in Green Valley, where restricted yields produce fruit with a wild berry character and foresty spice. This 2007 is rich and complete, the texture making it satisfying all the way through. Even so, the brightness of the fruit cuts through the wine's darker tones and leaves a mouthwatering impression. It's a boysenberry-cherry-earth combination that would be delicious with roast duck.

A brilliant Viognier that preserves the variety’s exotic richness, while framing it with balance and subtlety, no easy task. Impresses for its array of pineapple crême brulée, Key lime pie, golden mango and green apple opulence, yet is crisp and zesty in acidity, and there’s a bracing minerality. The grapes come from an unusual combination of Rutherford, which provides ripeness, and Carneros, which brings acidity and freshness.

Firm in acidity and tannins, with an earthy minerality, this is a Pinot Noir you want to stash away for a few years. It's very dry and quite balanced, with a deep core of black cherries, currants, mushu plum sauce, anise, pepper and sandalwood. The window of drinkability extends until 2015, but give it a brief decant if you open it now.

Only 25 cases were produced, but this lovely Pinot Noir is worth the search. Very rich and soft and appealing, with pure flavors of black cherry tart, raspberry puree, cola, dusty Indian spices and smoky sandalwood, wrapped into finely ground tannins, and balanced with acidity. Just beautiful to drink now and for the next 3-4 years.

Notable for its soft texture, thoroughly ripe fruit, and richness of mouthfeel, which is what you want in Pinot Noir. It's not an ager, but so deliciously refined, you want to keep drinking. Shows ripe raspberries and cherries, with their liqueur counterparts, and the sweet smokiness of oak.

This is an oaky, leesy Chardonnay, and quite a good one. Although it's super rich in fruit, it shows a crisply acidic minerality that grounds it and makes it serious. That fruit is wildly forward in pineapple tart, pear butter, Key lime pie and golden apricot.

Vivid red. Sexy, expansive aromas of raspberry and cherry compote, Asian spices and cola. Sweet and silky in texture, with palate-staining red fruit flavors and sweet oak spiciness. A floral quality comes up with air and lingers on the sappy, very long finish. Quite seductive and surprisingly approachable now.

Bright red. A highly aromatic nose offers offers raspberry, strawberry preserves, wild herbs, cola and potpourri. Supple, lush and sweet; concentrated and assertive but not at all heavy. Enters savory and spicy, gaining sweetness in the mid-palate and offering lively red and dark berry flavors. Finishes very long, juicy and sweet, with a touch of cinnamon and very good persistence.

Tasted in a flight of more expensive Pinot Noirs, this beauty did just fine. It's an absolutely lovely wine to drink now. Dry and silky, with refreshing acidity, it offers complex berry, cherry, cola, spice and oak flavors.