WillaKenzie’s 2017 Pinot Noir is also close to a Burgundian style, being of moderate body and silky texture with tannins complementing the fruit. An excellent choice for lamb, pork or veal. Oddly enough, it costs less than the winery’s Chardonnay.

The name of the winery comes from the region’s two rivers, the Willamette and the McKenzie. It was founded by a Burgundian named Bernard Lacroute, so it nods to his heritage, and the wine has a substantial body of a kind you find in some of the Grand Crus like Aloxe-Corton and Chevalier Montrachet. The vintage was one of ideal conditions, and the Chardonnays are at their peak for drinking well. Further aging is unlikely to improve them much. I love the fresh fruit of this wine. It’s pricey but it’s in a league of its own among Willamette Chardonnays. A broiled lobster with butter demands a wine like this.

La Crema has focused on cool climate Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in California and Oregon for more than 30 years. La Crema produces one sparkling wine, a blend of 73 percent Pinot Noir and 27 percent Chardonnay sourced from the Saralee’s Vineyard in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley. Fresh and wild strawberries jump out of the glass mixed with white flowers and wet stones. The minerality continues through on the finish, along with vibrant acidity and lovely mid-palate weight.

La Crema is a Chardonnay and Pinot Noir specialist. Though crafting numerous versions of both varieties from various wine-growing regions, this Chardonnay is my favorite. It captures both richness coming from oak barrel fermentation and aging, but with a core of citrus-scented minerality and freshness to balance. It’s an excellent choice to serve as a cocktail on its own, but with food it shines. Scallops, lobster in butter, pasta in cream sauce with mushrooms and soft cheeses are all ideal partners to this elegant pour.

Overall score: 19.2 (9.2 for quality, 10 for value)Taster’s notes: Expressive citrus, peach and pineapple notes. Bright minerality, bracing acidity. Refreshing!

All-oak fermentation layers a rich, nutty structure and silky texture under Oregon’s classic fruit crispness.

Just-ripe tropical fruits and juicy citrus give this Yamhill-Carlton bottling substance without excess weight.

California Wines for Any Summer MealGrilled Anything and Rich Pinot NoirJust as Chardonnay is one of the most versatile white wine varieties, Pinot Noir is one of the most versatile of the red wine varieties.2017 La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir derives from Russian River Valley. This California wine has all the hallmarks of a classic Pinot Noir from this region. Certainly a richly concentrated wine with bright acidity from fresh red fruit flavors, forest floor and sassafras. This is a perfect match for any item that’s hot off the grill. Especially roasted meats or prosciutto wrapped avocado bites. These dishes play off the rich, concentrated notes of Bing cherry, sassafras, and baking spice in the wine. Hence it can match with bolder options, like beef stew and pasta Bolognese.

California Wines for Any Summer MealSalty Chips and Effervescent BubblyBubbles make any occasion feel instantly more elevated and special. The effervescence and bright acidity in this California wine offer a refreshing element while flavors like lemon and strawberry linger on the palate. A gorgeous summer day is as good an excuse as any to pop open a bottle of this delicious NV La Crema Brut Rosé. It’s difficult to find a dish that doesn’t pair with sparkling wine – from these lime salted sweet potato chips to decadent caviar and blinis, this wine pairs with everything: A true choose your own adventure-wine when it comes to pairings!

California Wines for Any Summer MealOh So Sweet Key Lime Pie and Balanced ChardonnayChardonnay is one of the most versatile grape varietals, and the elegance of the 2018 La Crema Sonoma Coast Chardonnay. Due to this California wine growing practices, the weather permits both fruit aromas and flavors to develop while retaining juicy acidity. With its generous texture and subtle hint of oak, this balanced wine is ideal for summer. It can also carry you through the rest of the year. Pair easily with light appetizers and mains, including crab, lobster, and scallops in a buttery cream sauce. Additionally you can sip along summer-inspired desserts like Key lime pie.

California Wines for Any Summer MealBright Salads and a Vibrant RoséWarm weather calls for a wine with vibrant fruit flavors, refreshing acidity, and hint of minerality. Like a chilled glass of this California wine; 2019 La Crema Monterey Rosé, it encapsulates all the above! It’s delicious on its own – enjoyed as an aperitif – or can easily pair with seasonal summer fare. With aromas and flavors of strawberry, cran-raspberry, and Mandarin orange, this crisp, vibrant wine pairs with seasonal summer salads. Like this wholesome refreshing chickpea salad, served with creamy avocado.

Oregon’s wine industry growth has been notable and it’s smart for wine fans to watch their offerings. The vineyard count has roughly doubled in the past 15 years with wine sales eclipsing the half billion dollar mark in 2018. The majority of growth took place in Willamette Valley.A few years ago, I had visited WillaKenzie Estate and their tasting room in the Willamette Valley. Oregon’s style of wines have a little different character than California’s for example, mainly due to climate. I thought this would be an appropriate time to revisit Willakenzie’s offerings, as I had really been impressed by their wines as well as the entire estate on my visit. The layout on three declining ridged hilltops is stunning. It’s described in my review, WillaKenzie Estate 2018 Pinot Gris.WillaKenzie Estate is a PN specialist, presenting nine different Pinot Noirs to the market. Although the founder, Bernard Lacroute, hails from a small village in Burgundy, France, initially he came to study at the University of Michigan in the United States on a NASA fellowship, earning an MS in Electrical Engineering as well as a graduate degree in Physics there. He then joined Digital Equipment Corporation and worked on the design of the VAX minicomputer, one of the most successful and long-lived in the annals of computer history. For an encore Bernard joined Sun Microsystems in 1983 as their first Executive Vice President of Engineering where he helped develop the Sun Workstation line, powerful desktop computers designed especially for engineering and scientific use, helping Sun to become a multi-billion-dollar market leader. Eventually, Lacroute became affiliated with the venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in Silicon Valley, also founding WillaKenzie Estate in 1992 along with his American wife, Ronnie.Willakenzie’s 2016 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, is translucent pale-purple with ruby-hues in color, light to medium in weight, and offers very fine structuring tannins. It is definitely inviting, in a discreet way, while displaying its refreshing brightness and unique character. At 30-minutes of breathing this wine gains in complexity, intensity, and richness showing just a tinge of black fruit and fig. The 2016 is dark and long in a clearly moderated presentation. WillaKenzie’s 2016 Willamette displays Pinot Noir’s varietal character while delivering aromatic hints of delicate rhubarb, strawberry, and a trace of black plum and mineral echoing on the palate. Give it a try after 24 to 48 hours.This 11,000-case production totaled 21 days of skin contact and was 100% destemmed prior to a four to seven day cold soak. Élevage was 13 months in French oak barrels (30% new). Alcohol reads 14.4%The composition is a 35/65 blend of 100% Pinot Noir grapes from the proprietor’s Jory Hills and WillaKenzie Estate vineyards. Bearing the same name as their soil types, Jory sand Willakenzie, they are almost entirely dry-farmed. The Estate is independently certified LIVE, Salmon Safe indicating environmentally and socially responsible winegrowing in the Pacific Northwest.

Fine pinot noir from CaliforniaIn Monterey County, the inland vineyards of the Santa Lucia Highlands are idea for pinot noir. Siduri’s vibrant 2017 is a fine representation of the area.

Fine pinot noir from CaliforniaSiduri is a specialist that produces close to two dozen different pinot noirs. Its 2017 Anderson Valley is deep, juicy, broad and welcoming.

From Cabernet to Rose: The 16 Best Wines of the YearCabernet Franc: Vérité 2016 Le Désir, Sonoma CountyUsually just a small percentage of a Bordeaux blend, Cabernet Franc isn’t a varietal often seen dominating a wine. Vigneron Pierre Seillan has long worked with it at Cha^teau Lasse`gue, on Bordeaux’s Right Bank, as well as in Sonoma, with daughter He´le`ne. Their 2016 Cab Franc-based Le De´sir might be the most perfectly balanced of all their vintages, offering gorgeous aromatics: rose petals over blackberry liqueur and fresh mint. Dark-berry and plum flavors are laced with baking spices (anise and clove), and its fine tannins are delivered with an ideal tension of acidity and freshness.After more than 20 years tending vines in Sonoma, the duo has many of what they call “micro-crus” from which to handpick for their blend. In 2016, they were so pleased with the Cab Franc that they increased the amount in the blend to 82 percent (with the remainder being Merlot and Malbec), which allowed them, in their words, to “lift the gravity center of the wine.” The result is a heady, magical wine you want to smell as much as sip.

From Cabernet to Rose: The 16 Best Wines of the YearCabernet Sauvignon: Cardinale 2016, Napa ValleyWinemaker Chris Carpenter’s self-described approach to Cardinale each year is to blend across great sites in Napa Valley with the goal of maximizing the strengths of the vintage rather than that of one individual vineyard. His 2016 Cardinale Cabernet captures the ultimate potential offered by that remarkable year: a hedonistic wine of the moment with great aging possibility at the same time. Dark and concentrated, it unfolds with spicy anise, briary blackberry and fresh herbs over a crushed- rock character. It’s satisfyingly juicy, with loads of dark cherry, plum and cassis spiked with delicious mocha.But delicious as it is right now, Carpenter says, “it will be one of those vintages that continues to develop in positive ways for years to come. Like Michael Jordan when he played at North Carolina—back then you could just tell there was so much more to come. I feel that way looking at these early-release years of the 2016 Cardinale and where this wine will be 10 to 20 years from now.”

9 Winemaker Dads On Favorite BBQ Wine Pairings For Father’s DayCraig McAllister, Head Winemaker at La CremaRecommended Pairing: Grilled pork chops & 2017 La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir“My guess is that it will be a quiet day- we’ll probably go for a bike ride around Healdsburg- maybe stopping for ice cream and will follow it up with some grilling in the backyard. I’m thinking a perfect wine for the day will be La Crema Russian River Valley Pinot Noir which pairs fantastically with food off the grill.”

Earthy as you’d expect, as bold as you’d want, and bigger than you might imagine.

Rose petals, red berries, and orange rind precede a palate of mineral linearity and lemon-lime acidity, kumquats, cranberries, tart red cherries, and a hit of Mediterranean herbs.

Appearance: Opaque ruby with a blue tinge;Nose: Cassis, blackcurrant, cedar, vanilla;Palate: A complex bundle of fruit and herbs opens up in the mouth and leads to a long comforting finish. The tannins are velvet smooth and the acid stout enough to retain intrerest even with heavy red meat and sauces.An excellent value. Recommended.

It wouldn't be fair to visit Napa Valley without heading across the border to neighbouring Sonoma County. Sonoma is actually twice the size of Napa – and grows considerably more grapes, including some serious cabernet sauvignon.Kendall-Jackson dips into a mixture of mountain and hillside vineyards to perfect its Vintner’s Reserve. The rich black cherry aromas are joined by blackberry and cassis, with vanilla and mocha blending in to help round it off.Speaking of blending, the Vintner’s Reserve is not a pure breed, but rather softened with merlot and malbec, and enriched by cabernet franc and petit verdot. It’s a tried and tested combination that makes for an approachable and incredibly moreish wine.

Mount Veeder is the birthplace of Napa Vallery wine – it's the holy ground for California winemakers. Wine has been grown here since the early 1860s by industry pioneers including Charles Krug, Agoston Haraszthy and William S Keyes.The parcel that became Mt Brave Vineyard, in the northern reaches of the Mt Veeder AVA, was originally purchased back in 1841 – before the Gold Rushhad even begun.It was named after the native Wappo people – known as ‘the brave ones’ – who were the original inhabitants of this land.It sits high atop Mt Veeder at an elevation between 1,400 and 1,800 feet. This high altitude keeps midday temperatures cooler than those in the valley below, while the position above the fog line gives grapes longer daily exposure to sunlight. A perfect combination when it comes to making refined, elegant cabernet sauvignons.The 2013 growing season was another banger – with temperatures regularly in the sweet spot between 85°-95°F, and barely any rain.It’s not all sunbathing, though. Thin, rocky soils and steep slopes make water retention a challenge, but the vines’ beneficial struggle produces tiny berries with unusually concentrated flavors.The resulting vintage of Mt Brave is an addictive burst of blueberries and raspberries, balanced with floral notes and plenty of minerality.

Melon and white peach flavors highlight this medium-body chardonnay with bright acidity and fresh fruit character.

Bright acidity and light oak make this a good food wine. Apricot and citrus aromas with apple, pear flavors. Long finish. This wine slow to evolve in the glass, so don’t over-chill it.

10 Best Red Wines Made in the United States to Buy in 2020National Wine Day is May 25. Stock up!4. Big Little Lies fans will love La Crema, a winery partially based in Monterey, where the popular show is filmed. Its 2018 Pinot Noir is reasonably priced at $28 and features flavors of plums, cranberries, and raspberries. The winemakers highlight its “distinct minerality” and notes of barrel spice.