Not All Russian River Valley Wines Are The SameSiduri makes pinot noir from several West Coast regions that are reasonably priced. This expressive version from the Russian River Valley is ready-to-drink with bright black cherry and raspberry flavors, medium body, and a hint of mushrooms. The Santa Barbara pinot noir is a deal at $30.

Not All Russian River Valley Wines Are The SameLa Crema, a producer of outstanding single-vineyard pinot noirs, pulled out the stops for this exclusive anniversary pinot noir from the best grapes in its possession. Founding winemaker Rod Berglund teamed up with a current winemaker Jen Walsh to create this special pinot noir with power and concentration. Raspberry aromas are followed by varietal black cherry flavors and a good dose of cocoa. Aged in French oak for 10 months.

The Best Wines to Buy This Holiday SeasonThis wine from Copain is a 50/50 blend of pinot noir and pinot gris. The winery calls it a bridge between its rosé and red offerings, with crisp and fresh notes of summer berries and herbs on the palate. This will drink as nicely in the cold winter months as it would if you decided to save it for next summer.

The Best Wines to Buy This Holiday SeasonTry this white pinot noir from California winery Maggy Hawk for something a little different this winter. Made from grapes typically used for red wine, this 2018 vintage is full-bodied and bright, with notes of peach, pear, and quince on the palate.

I’m often asked whether it’s better to go white or red with the Christmas turkey and my answer is that either is fine. It’s what you fancy. My choice for a festive white comes from California, or more precisely, the Monterey Valley. Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay 2018 which offers lovely bright tropical fruit and well-integrated toasty oak.

The 30 Best Wines To Drink During The HolidaysBest Holiday Wines $20 and UnderThere’s a good reason this has been America’s top-selling Chardonnay for close to three decades. It has everything Chardonnay lovers are looking for—full, rich flavor with fruit-forward notes of tropical pineapple and papaya. Oh, and it goes splendidly with just about anything, from cheese during apps to chicken and seafood during dinner.

Great Wine ValuesSonoma County is the largest appellation, but also the least prestigious, with the loosest quality standards. Within the county line, three superior appellations include the key word “Sonoma”: Sonoma Coast, Sonoma Valley and Sonoma Mountain. Of these, only Sonoma Coast is strongly associated with cool climate wine styles, like chardonnay, pinot noir and sparkling wine. Its terrain is often draped in fog due to cold ocean currents along its rocky shore, which slows the rush to ripeness and allows grapes to develop high levels of sugar and flavor without losing balancing acidity. It is rare to find Sonoma Coast bottlings under $20 but their superior quality makes them worth the extra spend, as with this opulent chardonnay, loaded with flavors of white peaches and lemon meringue pie.

Celebrate holidays with gifts from BC Liquor StoresAn absolutely fabulous value in Napa Valley, this stunning Cabernet Sauvignon offers loads of cassis, black plums and mulberries plus hints of dark chocolate, herbs and earth in a lush, opulent, full-bodied profile.

Siduri Pinot Noir Yamhill-Carlton 2016 is lush and long, with tastes of black cherry, blackberry, and blueberry playing tag team. Impressive, beautiful. While 14.5% ABV, the seductive, hedonistic fruit tango of the attack and mid-palate hides the heat. After the foreplay of dark red and blue fruits, the alcohol coyly reveals in the very long finish. You easily can enjoy this as a cocktail, solo pour, or matched with neutral wine crackers and cured-meat-centered charcuterie board. For food pairing, go with turkey, baked chicken, salmon, pork tenderloin, slow-cooked lamb chops, lighter cuts of beef, veal.

The wine displays a deep ruby color. A basket of red fruits, flowers and spices show off in the nose. The palate displays a fine complexity of ripe red fruit, pepper, mineral and licorice extending in a long, complex finish with refined tannins. This wine is enjoyable now but will evolve over the next 15 years.

Reliable wines to make season merry and brightIf a classic California Chardonnay is on your holiday to-do list, they don’t get much more classic than the Kendall-Jackson 2018 Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay. Pale straw and clear in appearance, this has all the aromatic hallmarks of California Chardonnay one would expect — ripe apple and peach, tropical fruit, vanilla and hints of spice. It’s medium-bodied and fairly viscous, with ripe, almost-sweet apple, peach and pineapple flavours along with a rich, creamy oak component. While many producers in the Golden State are moving in the direction of less rich and oak-driven Chardonnay, there’s still a market for this style.

13 ‘Perfect’ 100-Point Cabernets You Can Buy Right Now

13 ‘Perfect’ 100-Point Cabernets You Can Buy Right Now

If you want to get to know the Santa Rita Hills style of Pinot, this wine makes a good starting point. Bright and fruit-driven with a faint salinity, it is a pretty Pinot with plenty of character and a punch of exotic spice–maybe cardamom?–on the finish.

10 Great Wine Gifts That Speak To This Challenging and Eventful YearHere are some ideas based on our work this year and on current events (and, yes, we saw face masks with wine themes). In most cases, these will require some early work, which is why we’re running this column now. In addition, many are pricey. It has been a tough year and maybe we’re in the mood to spend more than usual on someone special.An amazing Cabernet Sauvignon from the USA to celebrate one of the many things this country can do at its best. And, given some predictions that climate change will make Napa less of a Cabernet paradise in the future, this could be an opportunity to savor something that could be lost. Don’t scoff at that possibility: UC-Davis just had a webinar during which that was discussed. Among our favorite high-end Napa Cabernets this year: Cardinale Winery 2016...

The 18 Best Wines and Bubbly to Gift This HolidayFrom bottles of red to bottles of white, we've selected the most palate-pleasing wines to gift this season.

Chocolate and Cheese Is the Perfect Salty-Sweet IndulgenceVegan Cheese + Vegan ChocolateAll chocolate is inherently plant-based, as cacao grows on trees, but this pairing keeps it pure without any additional milk or milk products (i.e., whey, casein, milk fat, etc.). Try the vegan Dark Chocolate Bar from GoodSam ($4, Thrive Market) or Divine Treasures’ vegan Chocolate Disks with a light spread of a soft vegan cheese such as Treeline’s Sea Salt & Pepper or Cavendish Woodland from The Mansion’s Pantry. Make it a pairing trifecta by pouring La Crema Russian River Chardonnay (also vegan!) to accompany the chocolate and cheese pairing.

2020 Costco Wine Thanksgiving PicksWe tasted a lot of good Pinot Noir from Costco this year, and there are many of them that I think would pair great with Thanksgiving, this being one of them for $18, and a bottle that I know is popular with our readers.