InterVin 2018|2019 Gold Medal La Crema's made a name for itself by consistantly providing quality Burgundy-style Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, and this is no exception. Rich and complex, this deeply coloured Pinot shows an intense black cherry and gunpowder nose that pushes into a savoury palate of earth, mushroom, forest floor and ripe berries before exiting with a sweet, long finish.

10 wines worth sharing for Thanksgiving Another chardonnay and pinot noir specialist from the Jackson family, this time producing wines from multiple appellations. The Monterey and Sonoma Coast wines are especially good values. The Russian River Valley wines are stars.

Highly Recommended Deep purple-ruby colour. Spicy plum bouquet with evident oak at the moment. Medium-bodied, dry, well-extracted sweet plum with balancing acidity.

An incredible price on wine of this quality! A burst of juicy fruit along with some smoky oak. Rated 91 points from Wine Enthusiast magazine.

The estate wines definitely show their difference. The 2014 Saralee's Vineyard Chardonnay invites a lemon meringue comparison to the rather wispy set of other Chards, and the 2014 Saralee's Vineyard Pinot Noir murmurs about spicy, raspberry herbal tea, while the 2015 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir boasts, shyly, about vanilla, raspberry and cola.

Tasting With Craig McAllister, Head Winemaker of La Crema What a great tasting today with Craig McAllister, Head Winemaker of La Crema, part of the Jackson Wine Family. Craig originally joined the La Crema team in 2007 as the Harvest Enologist. After gaining additional experience abroad, he joined the La Crema team full time in 2009...Then we moved on to two Pinot Noir wines, the first was the 2015 Russian River Valley, very deep colored and powerful, and then the slightly more nuanced and elegant Shell Ridge Sonoma Coast, which was very delicate and nuanced with a myriad of aromas and flavors.

The Jackson folks are more than eager to show off their Oregon acquisitions, so you'll find plenty of offerings from up north. But the smoky and brooding 2015 Los Carneros Pinot Noir, I'm told, won't put off the occasional visitor who demands, "So where's your Cab?"

Why You Need To Leave The Office & Visit These Four Incredible California Wineries Today What I recommend: The 2015 Kelli Ann Chardonnay and 2015 Shell Ridge Pinot Noir. The Chardonnay is aged in French oak and has a wonderful nose of pear, golden apple, sweet lemon, and spices. The blackberry, pomegranate, orange zest, and cedar aromas of the Pinot perfectly express the richness of the Goldridge loam from which the grapes are harvested.

Tasting With Craig McAllister, Head Winemaker of La Crema What a great tasting today with Craig McAllister, Head Winemaker of La Crema, part of the Jackson Wine Family. Craig originally joined the La Crema team in 2007 as the Harvest Enologist. After gaining additional experience abroad, he joined the La Crema team full time in 2009...Then we moved on to two Pinot Noir wines, the first was the 2015 Russian River Valley, very deep colored and powerful, and then the slightly more nuanced and elegant Shell Ridge Sonoma Coast, which was very delicate and nuanced with a myriad of aromas and flavors.

Perfect Pairings Aromas of red cherry, raspberry, pomegranate and sweet tobacco give way to tastes of red-, bule- and black berries, plum and cherry with an underpin of spice and toast.

California #Strong Another family owned artisan winery, La Crema focuses exclusively on cool climate appellations. That means the grapes spend more time on the vine allowing for a deeper, more dramatic spectrum of flavours and aromas to develop. And that creates decidedly rich and layered wines like this beauty. Presenting multi-layered flavours of red, blue and black berry fruit, the finish is smooth, warm and accented with exotic spice.

Founded in 1979, La Crema was one of the pioneers that helped establish the Russian River Valley as one of California's most important regions for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Production has grown as focus expanded to encompass other cooler climate growning regions in California and the Pacific Northwest. La Crema's Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir builds complexity by blending multiple clones and multiple vineyards from the expansive coastal appellation. Quick count shows 10 different clones and 11 different estate vineyards, harvested over the course of five weeks, contributing to this rich and ripe expression that gains added interest from appealing warm spice and earthy notes. Firm structure and polished tannins add backbone. Three stars.

A statewide tour of California pinot noir The Sonoma Coast is California's newest "hot" (but actually cool) region for Pinot Noir. I found a good value in the 2015 La Crema Sonoma Coast.

Intense aromas, creamy tannins, cherry-pomegranate flavors, great balance, lots of vanilla and spice. It has good weight in the mouth with brown baking spice and toasty oak integrated with the dark cherry-pomegranate flavors. It’s graceful and delicious.

The Sonoma Coast is exceptional: intensely flavored, full bodied, and well balanced, with medium richness, a long palate evolution, and a very persistent finish, tasting of black cherry, red currant, rosehips, black tea, and spicy oak. 5 stars, exceptional.

On the nose, for Pinot 2015, we find aromas of red cherry, raspberry, pomegranate and sweet tobacco. On the palate, it is rather the multilayered flavors of red, blue and black berries, plums, cherries and a hint of blood orange that support subtle layers of exotic spices and toast. Fine tannins and balanced acidity lead to a long finish and the mouth is complex and graceful. Rich and layered, the wine captures the expression of California's exquisite Sonoma Coast in a bottle.

Libations yule love this holiday season These Chardonnays would work well with a traditional turkey feast, a better option would be a mid-weight, flavour-packed red. Look no further than the La Crema 2015 Pinot Noir from California’s Sonoma Coast region. Enticing cedar/sandalwood, cherry, tobacco leaf, and cinnamon aromas lead into a silky smooth, raspberry-tinged palate that finishes with subtle baking spice nuances.

New Zealand-born winemaker Craig McAllister sources fruit from six AVAs for La Crema's portfolio, which includes this benchmark Sonoma Coast offering. It's lush and plush, with oodles of plum and pomegranate perfumes and a hint of chocolatey richness. Gently persistent tannins drive the finish. Barbecued quail would be the perfect pairing.

22 Gifts For That Lady in Your Life Who's Always Throwing a Party A good bottle of wine is a pretty solid gift choice for most people. Even if your hostess friend isn't much of a wine drinker herself, chances are one or a few of her guests are. Give her a bottle of La Crema 2015 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($25), which goes great with just about everything, and call it a day.

5 Award-Winning Pinot Noirs to Drink Right Now Jackson Family Wines’ wineries are all class and this beautiful Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir is characterised by the rugged beauty of the region. It is a versatile pinot noir, very popular amongst sommeliers in the US as a wine by the glass. I can picture it pairing well with a variety of meats, and would work well with many items on our Cantonese dim sum tables. This was a silver medal winner in this year's HKIWSC.

Best Wines For Mother's Day - Celebrate With Women Winemakers La Crema Pinot Noir: If you know and love wine you know the name La Crema, but you may not know that the winemaker at the vaunted vineyard is Jen Walsh. She previously worked for numerous Napa and Sonoma wineries, but her passion has always been cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, which happens to be La Crema’s specialty - for more than 35 years. Pinot Noir may be the perfect Mother’s Day red, because it straddles so many food pairings, soft enough to go with traditionally white wine dishes but robust enough to pair with meats, perfect for a mixed-course brunch, and if your mom loves Pinot, you are in luck - La Crema makes a staggering 18 different labels from its vineyards across Sonoma, Monterey and Oregon’s Willamette Valley, ranging from $23-$90. My top picks would include the 2015 Sonoma Coast, bargain for $25, which is complex but full bodied, and the Yamhill-Carlton ($45) from Oregon for a softer and more nuanced Burgundian style. The top tier is the Nine Barrel from the Russian River Valley ($90).

Wine Pairings for Roast Chicken Poultry-Friendly Pinots
 Four wines with the ideal spice notes to make your bird soar: ...2015 La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, $25 


Best Buys in the Market, 1 star New Pinots will be featured in next month’s edition, but a few recent Best Buys favorites deserve mention while they still might be found…and four very affordable bottlings, the (One Star)*LA CREMA Sonoma Coast 2015, its cellarmate, the (One Star)*LA CREMA Monterey 2015...

Wine of the Week Sherry: “Dry but fruity with big raspberry and black cherry flavors; clove and vanilla on the finish.” (3.75 stars out of 5) Chris: “An earthy and leathery nose with bright cherry and vanilla flavors with a silky finish.” (3.75 stars out of 5)

Now in its fourth vintage, La Crema's Willamette Pinot Noir is made in the Sonoma-based winery's richly concentrated and silky house style yet offers an attractive mix of fruity and earthy aromas and flavours that reflect the quintessential Oregon flavour profile. Grapes were harvested from eight vineyards in the Willamette Valley, including the estate Gran Moraine vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton appellation and Zena Crown vineyard in Eola-Amity Hills appellation. The result is a fragrant, elegant and exceptionally smooth Pinot that's ready to drink. Four stars.