Pinot Noir and Copper River Salmon - Part 1 Jackson Estate wines showcase the company’s cherished vineyard estate properties located in the prime growing areas of California. The Petaluma Gap AVA is east of the town of the same name and refers to a gap in the Coast Range that allows cooling ocean breezes to moderate the warm summer California days. The wine offers ripe Pinot Noir aromas and flavors of dark cherry and pomegranate with ample toasty oak, caramel and vanilla to please modern palates.

Wines of the Week Here's a ripe and fleshy style of Pinot Noir with a crowd-pleasing full-body and smooth texture. A mix of spice and smoke notes adds interest to the core of fruit, which reveal sweet strawberry and plummy notes. The rich and flavourful style makes it easy to appreciate. Four stars.

Wines made for restaurants solve dilemma Similarly, a 2016 Jackson Estate Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, is a real bargain today. My first thought was that the retail price should be about $50. At that, most restaurants would charge $70 or more. The winery is offering it to restaurants to sell for $42. A bargain. The grapes for this wine were grown in the Petaluma Gap, a newly approved and already near-legendary appellation. It is superb.

Wines of the Week Jackson Estate wines showcase the company’s cherished vineyard estate properties located in the prime growing areas of California. The Anderson Valley in Mendocino County follows the Navarro River canyon as it allows cooling ocean breezes to moderate the warm growing season. My tasters enjoyed aromas and flavors of wild strawberry, black cherry, earthy mineral, vanilla and toasty sandalwood.

Wines made for restaurants solve dilemma At $45, another pinot, this one from Anderson Valley, also is excellent, but its alcohol (15 percent) is daunting. It is, however, impressive for the price.

Last-minute Thanksgiving wines This red wine, which also received 90 points from Wine Enthusiast, is exceptionally good for an inexpensive pinot noir. Elegant and well-balanced, it has much more body, flavor and complexity than you might expect at this price. It tastes of cherries, strawberries and raspberries with delicious earthy notes as well as hints of vanilla and toast from oak aging. This pinot noir is medium-bodied and smooth with soft tannins. It’s a food-friendly red that would pair with turkey, beef and salmon.

Drink these 10 wines to celebrate spring While not overly complex this pinot noir delivers a very appealing quaffable red wine with pleasant cherry and spice notes in a rich, round package.    

Using grapes from Monterey and Santa Barbara counties, the winemaker has created a well-rounded pinot noir with black cherry and strawberry flavors with a hint of sweet vanillin oak.

A very good Pinot Noir: supple in texture, full bodied, and complex in flavor (cherry, strawberry, spicy oak, toast, vanilla, red currant), it is well balanced, and long on the finish. 58% Santa Barbara County, 34% Monterey County, 8% Mendocino County. 3+ stars, very good.

A pinot with lovely red fruit, herbs and toast. The acid isn't pronounced, so it isn't an ideal burger match. That said, it's tasty solo.

Try these selections if your post-holidays wallet is a bit light From the brand started in 1983, Kendall-Jackson has grown into one of the world's larger family-owned wine companies. The Vintner's Reserve line remains the company's backbone.

Wine & Food pairing recommendation Unique pairings such as the Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve, Chardonnay, California, 2015 , (with tropical flavors of pineapple, mango and papaya, seamlessly integrated with citrus notes in the mouth), with shrimp in Thai sauce , mint, cilantro, basil and Peanut, or Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve, Pinot Noir, California, 2014 (a garnet jewel with aromas of cherry, strawberry and raspberry with elegant earthy notes framed with a spicy touch), roasted asparagus with black truffle, Organic goat cheese, portobellos and arugula, revealed the world of possibilities of this Californian winery.

Well-made and balanced as you expect from this producer, this reasonably priced pinot noir is simple and medium bodied. Black cherry and cola flavors.

Hint of oak, aromas of smoky oak and black raspberries, flavors of blueberries and coffee, firm tannins.

From the Jackson Estate Collection, the rugged, unruly Outland Ridge Vineyard produces complex Pinot Noir highlighting rocky terroir with earthiness and dense, age-worthy tannins.

14 wines that will go great with Thanksgiving dinner (plus Champagne!) This is a very pleasing, easy to grasp, pinot noir from a cool region of Mendocino County. A whole range of berry flavors are expressed in this complex mélange of scents and flavors. Ready to drink now.

You can always count on Kendall-Jackson to deliver a balanced wine. This pinot noir from the Anderson Valley comes from vineyards that struggle through large volcanic rock. The result is intense strawberry and raspberry fruit flavors that linger on the palate.

Plum and strawberries abound in the nose and mouth. Very fruit forward, definitely a California pinot noir with some dusty earth notes. Very good.

Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve is a winemaker’s blend of mountain, ridge, hillside and benchland grapes grown along California’s cool coastal appellations. It is crafted from the top 5% of all Kendall Jackson lots. Selection of 66% of the grapes from Monterey and 34% from Santa Barbara ensures complexity and balance. The nose offers bright cherry with baking spice, herbs and floral perfume. The palate of spicy cherry and mineral pairs perfectly with salmon from the grill.

Such a pretty Pinot! It offers up intense flavors of cherry, strawberry and vanilla, with velvet tannins, lovely integration of toasty, spicy French oak and sturdy acidity. It’s grown on high ridges, hillsides and benchlands in the cool coastal areas of Monterey County and Santa Barbara County.