Round and soft, with spice, cream, pear and fig flavors framed by vanilla and lemony acidity on the finish.

Fragrant fruit and floral aromas lead to an elegant band of spicy pear, apple, tangerine and apricot flavors that are focused, complex and concentrated. Finishes with a clean, zesty aftertaste. Drink now through 2008.

Stock up on Petite Sirah. It just could be the next hot California varietal. No varietal won more regional awards...Kendall-Jackson Vineyards 2001 VR California Petite Sirah, named the best wine with a California appellation. It was made entirely with Mendocino County fruit.

Made in the wine-blessed trinity of Northern California counties, this serious wine requires the drinker's patience and attention. Structured with firm but ripe tannins, it is built to last, with powerfully focused flavors of cherry, plum, blackberry, cedar, leather and toasty oak that slowly reveal themselves in the glass. Drink it now with a sirloin and a side of sauteed wild mushrooms or leave it in the cellar to enjoy later with some of California's artisinal cheeses.

Vintner Jess Jackson owns some of Northern California's most coveted vineyards, extending from the Pacific Coast to the inland valleys. This wine serves up a complex collage that comes from vines growing in three different region: Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino. Soft Napa Valley tannins make it smooth and lush, while the flavors range from blackberry, cassis and chocolate to coffee and herbs--often found in Napa and Sonoma grapes. On the finish, the wine shows a hint of bright-edged anise, surely a mark of the cooler Mendocino climate.

K-J is anything but a boutique winery, but because of its nearly unlimited resources, it has pulled out all stops to craft a wine more akin to a small-production, high-quality-oriented facility. The fruit for this blend comes from hillside vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino Valleys. The wine has a deep purple/black color, a deep nose of black currants, chocolate, mint and toasty oak. On the palate it is full-bodied and creamy, with concentrated fruit, soft texture and just enough tannic structure to give it focus.

Generous toasty oak notes accent herb, olive and berry flavors, with tart tannins. Drink now through 2006.

Wash down clams or oysters with this ultra-crisp, high-acid white.

Remarkably rich and distinctive for its depth and purity of flavor. The core apple, honeydew melon and pear flavors are ripe and vibrant, with excellent concentration and length. Finishes with a hint of toasty oak, which adds a nice dimension. Drink now through 2008.

Look for a huge floral, pineapple, mango/citrus nose with honey and peach aromas and a spicy, creamy vanilla note. Rich, round and oily like most big chardonnays yet it is still elegant thanks to a mineral / citrus baked apple undercurrent. The flavours are peach, mango, honey, creamy spicy lees with a floral, creamsicle undercurrent. Long, intense and balanced with good acidity and a creamy, citrus apple finish. Great stuff.

Bright and lush with lovely, juicy fruit and bright acidity.

Rich black cherry flavors and a healthy dose of chocolate dominate this full-bodied merlot from one of California's largest wine producers. The wine fits neatly into Merlot's flavor profile and even without a lot of distinction represents a well-structured, food-friendly reserve merlot at a reasonable price.

Golden apple, lemon, ripe pineapple, fig and hint of charred oak on the nose; similar flavors plus caramel, toast and brown spice; crisp acidity; balanced; cedar/clove on the finish.

Perfumed floral and ripe pear and butterscotch flavors lead to a rich, complex wine that unfolds gracefully on the palate, gaining depth and nuance while retaining its sense of elegance and finesse. Drink now through 2007.

Dark and ripe, with juicy black cherry and blackberry flavors that are smooth and polished, picking up a touch of anise, earth and spice on the finish. Drink now through 2007.

This is an excellent value because it delivers lots of fruit from California's coastal vineyards. Forward blackberry and cassis flavors with a racy and oaky finish.

Eaglepoint has both a little petite Sirah and Syrah in the blend. It's a voluptuous wine with wild aromas of roses, mint, lavender and jammy blackberries, with tons of clean fruit flavors and good acid to keep it from being overwhelmingly fruity.

Most folks would consider Alden a dessert wine. Its sweet spicy aromas and flavors are rather portlike, but Mr. Williamson (winemaker, Van Williamson) likes to serve it on the rocks or mixed half-and-half with sparkling wine and served as an aperitif.

Ciapusci is 100 percent zinfandel made from a vineyard planted in 1878. It's an elegant wine with roses, black pepper, tobacco and ripe raspberries on the nose, with clean, spicy fruity flavors.

Always one of the best values in the Pinot Noir category, the Vintner's Reserve exudes fresh cherry fruit. A blend of grapes from many vineyards, it may not be distinctive, but it is hard to question the pure pleasure of generous fruit.

Intense aromas and ripe, almost jammy flavors of blackberry, plum and brown spice, sweet vanilla, hints of toast and licorice; a big, juicy, very ripe style.

Kendall-Jackson has amassed such a wealth of vineyard resources throughout California that for them, providing a good bottle of wine on the cheap is almost second nature. Winemaster Randy Ullom and his winemaking team of Chris Johnson and Mark Theis sculpt wines from the tropics of the Central Coast to the fog bound zones of Mendocino, and somehow they're always able to find the sweet spot that balances all these divergent elements in ways that seem effortless.

Some maturity. Cherry/plum fruit. Quite deep and firm. Light plum and cherry overtones on mid palate. Fat and full. 5-10 years.

Pure merlot flavor carries straight through this clean, well-blended red. Sweet, perfumed cassis balances light and savory tannins, the wine ending on a floral note.