Gumbo & Wine in New OrleansGumbo Pairing: Brewer-Clifton 2018 Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay

Few wines scream ‘drink me!’ like Californian Pinot Noir — huge, up-front fruits of black cherry, strawberry and raspberry wash over the lush, succulent palate. Officially the Santa Barbara appellation, Nielson pulls fruit for this bottling from Santa Maria Valley, Los Alamos, and Santa Rita Hills. Their respective zones contribute aromatics, weight and power, harmonizing to create a wine of great substance.

These Are the Best Wines to Drink with Your Favorite Grilled FoodAnd Murphy-Goode Liar's Dice Zinfandel 2015 is a fun fit with Grilled Pork Chops with Peach-Tomato Barbecue Sauce. Pour a splash of zinfandel into your barbecue sauce for a little extra complexity and the ultimate summer treat.

These Are the Best Wines to Drink with Your Favorite Grilled FoodChardonnay is grown worldwide and is made in diverse styles, from rich and buttery to crisp and citrusy. We like to think of it as pure sunshine in a glass. The breezy, Cali-coast attitude of La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2018 pairs perfectly with BBQ Chicken Tenders.

Wines We LoveA great example of why grenache is so hot right now. Savoury, aromatic, refined and with a commanding web of tannin, this is compelling stuff.Raised in ceramic eggs, this spent 158 days on skins post fermentation, resulting in a wine that is both delicate and savoury. There’s a perfume of red fruits and florals, with dried orange peel, sun-warmed terracotta and dried cranberries. It’s hard not to think of nebbiolo, but it’s firmly grenache, even if the assertive but finely textured tannins pull you further in the other direction. There’s a fineness through the wine, a neatly pitched elegance, but with the generosity of the variety underpinning it, too.

World-famous for its Pinot Noir, the Willamette Valley is also an ideal growing region for beautiful sparkling wine. This Chardonnay-led Brut Rosé, a non-vintage bubbly, encapsulates just what is so exciting about Oregon wine right now. It’s a single vineyard, estate-grown wine from the Gran Moraine Vineyard in the Yamhill-Carlton AVA of Willamette Valley. Aromatic, exotic citrus fruit, ripe peaches, toasted almonds and a sprinkling of dried rose petals. Mouthwatering acidity is balanced with supple tannins all the way.

Rosé Season Is Here: The 12 Best New Bottles of Pink to Drink This SummerDusty rose marks the nose on this pale beauty from Sonoma’s Hartford Family Winery, with wild strawberry joining in the perfume. This one is dry and refreshing yet generous, its red fruit running from raspberry to cranberry, ripe peach, grapefruit and tangerine zest all underlined with minerality.

ABC - AKA – Always Bring Chardonnay I would love to serve this in a blind tasting for people who usually ONLY DRINK BURGUNDY! This wine takes a bit of time to open up in the glass but once it does you will be rewarded with crystalline granny smith apple freshness, nervy citrus peel tension, a coquettish brioche whisper which is whipped into place with a saline savoury finish. A super serious and elegant option which could contend with certain sites in Burgundy, especially at the price!

ABC - AKA – Always Bring ChardonnayBaked pear ripeness gives away this wine’s Cali roots but it’s a bit more restrained on the oak front. Think Werthers Original tanginess as opposed to butterscotch. This is what Brits order to enjoy Cali Chard without actually having to go too far out of their comfort zone!

Moving the aesthetic now from narrative luxury to the more traditionally understood sense of deluxe, my tastings yielded several examples vying for a place at the high table. The Capensis Chardonnay 2016 is a perfect candidate: Burgundian in its DNA, harmonious, multilayered, opulent, yet still fresh.

Pale yellow-gold in color, this wine smells of buttered popcorn, pineapple, and lemon curd. In the mouth, bright lemon curd flavors mix with pineapple and cold cream, with pretty white floral notes lingering with a faint woody flavor through the finish. Excellent acidity keeps the mouth watering as the wine lingers for a long time. Intense and ripe, but with enough brightness to balance its fruit. This is a new bottling for the Capensis label, consisting of fruit sourced from two mountain vineyards – the estate Fijnbosch vineyard and the neighboring Nooitgedacht vineyard, ranging in elevation from 940-1730 feet above sea level.

From across the valley, on Howell Mountain, there’s the 2017 La Jota Merlot, which is dark and dense, with black fruit, anise, cedar and spice. It’s a big wine, but it’s still light on its feet, with good freshness.

The 2016 Mt. Brave Merlot comes from Mt. Veeder, above the west side of the valley. The wine displays lively red fruit, baking spices, a savory note of cedar and firm but approachable tannins on its long finish.

Another beautifully limpid and glossy en primeur sample with a radiant and almost fluorescent pink/lilac rim. Open, expressive and fragrantly fresh on the nose with a lovely combination of deep purple flowers (peonies perhaps), blue and purple berry and stone fruit and a traditional classroom full of pencil shavings (if that is the appropriate collective noun!).Bright, light, aerial and almost gravity-defying on the palate despite the considerable density and intensity of the fruit, this is one of those deceptively powerful wines because of the sheer quality and compactness of the grain of the tannins. There has been a sharp and steep progression at Lassègue in recent vintages and this is perhaps their best yet. Exquisitely joyous and exquisitely complete.

International Chardonnay Day: The best classic and natural white wines to celebrate withThe Yarra Valley, close to Melbourne in Victoria, is one of Australia’ s cool climate regions where pinot noir and chardonnay grapes thrive. From a small producer, this bottle is appropriately subtle and restrained. While the wine is fermented and aged in oak barrels, the richer, buttery style of Australian chardonnay is now discouraged and it does not dominate the rounded, mellow flavours of stone fruits and nectarines and the finish, as with the best chardonnay’s remains crisp and fresh on the palate. A special occasion bottle – try this one with roast loin of pork or as a midweek treat with a mushroom risotto.

A savory, mineral-driven nose tees up a palate of excellent concentration, where crunchy yet still somehow pliant tannins frame flavors of cassis, blackberry and black cherry liqueur, pencil led, and melted chocolate, all spiced with star anise that shimmers through the finish. Great now, and with lots of time left—easily another 15 years or more.

Taut and generous at the same time, with aromas of Chinese five-spice powder, goji berries, and pomegranates before a palate of sweet, generous fruit that’s framed by sweet tannins, all of it dusted with cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. The suggestion of sage smolders in the background, as well as a hint of rosemary and mint. It’s cut through with mouthwatering acidity, making this particularly food-friendly. Enjoy over the next decade…or right now.

Wine of the WeekBright gold with hints of peach and citrus fruit aromas. Well balanced with a core of concentrated fruit flavors and sharp, focused finish.

Women of Wine: The Best Wines From Today's Female WinemakersKate Ayres of Oregon's Penner-Ash is all about uniquely expressive styles of Oregon Pinot Noir. The Penner-Ash Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2018 is sourced from six regions, resulting in a complex yet balanced bottle full of strawberry jam and ripe cherry as well as plum and peppercorns.

#WineWednesday: Everything’s Coming Up RosésLa Crema Sparkling Brut Rosé dances on the palate with lovely notes of lemon meringue, wild strawberries and fresh ginger. A special pour for a special day.

Ayres introduced the flagship Penner-Ash 2018 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir as the wine that put Willamette Valley on the map. It is sourced from 18 vineyards in nine sub-appellations and is a snapshot of the region.According to Kate, sub-appellations like Dundee Hills add spice tones, while Eola-Amity and Chehalem Hills offer red fruit and texture. Ribbon Ridge to the north gives the blend dark fruit qualities and southerly McMinnville adds white pepper.Aged in 23% new French oak, the Penner-Ash release expressed an earthiness with balanced red and black fruit flavors. A slight sweetness on mid-palate finished with a fresh acidity and savory notes. Tonya spoke of the black fruit and black tea flavors as a perfect pair with grilled salmon.

I like the way so many French vineyards do not brag on their labels with effusive notes and poetry. This is a straightforward Saint-Émilion with all of the richness that you expect from a grand cru. It is predominantly or perhaps all Merlot, maybe with some Cabernet Franc (locally called Bouchet) in the blend. At $60 it is not a wine to pop the cork on every day, but for a fairly special meal with friends who really enjoy wine this will make them very happy this summer.