($13): One of the great things I love about judging at wine competitions is the opportunity to taste wines blind that I might not otherwise run across.  And often, the surprises are extremely pleasant, as in this case, with a wine in the under $14 category of Sauvignon Blanc at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.  … Read more

($15): Robert Oatley, the iconic Australian winemaker who founded the famous and widely popular Hunter Valley-based Rosemount Estate wine company, is the man behind Wild Oats.  Using purchased fruit — as he did for years at Rosemount — his team has produced a value-packed California Pinot Noir.… Read more

($39): With a forty year history of working with Pinot Noir, it’s no surprise that Merry Edwards is one of California’s star producers of that varietal.  While her single vineyard bottlings show the diversity of sites, this one from the Sonoma Coast is a great introduction to her engaging style. … Read more

($60): Merry Edwards and her husband, Ken Coopersmith, own this vineyard.  Though the glossy texture is similar to the Georganne bottling, the darker, riper and denser flavors distinguish Coopersmith from the rest of her single vineyard Pinot Noir.  It’s a bigger, but no less elegant, wine. … Read more

($57): One of the reasons I admire Merry Edwards is because she makes Pinot Noir that reflect their origins — she is not trying to make red Burgundy.  To be sure, she understands the subtlety and delicacy of Pinot Noir but also knows that grape expresses itself differently in the Russian River Valley than in the Côte d’Or. … Read more

($62): Though similarly plush and polished, a thread of red fruit flavors is woven into the fabric of the Merry Edwards Olivet Lane Pinot Noir, which sets it apart from both the Coopersmith and Georganne bottlings. At this stage, with its charming subtleties, the Olivet Lane is the most expressive of her these three single vineyard bottlings.  … Read more

($30): Tony Truchard and his wife Jo Ann were early advocates of the virtues of the Carneros region of Napa Valley when they started to acquire their now 400 acres in the 1960s.  It turns out the cool climate of Carneros is ideal for their Chardonnay, a consistently balanced wine. … Read more

($42): Comparing Grgich Hills Estate’s 2012 Chardonnay with their 2013 Sauvignon Blanc puts the limitation of a numerical scoring system for rating wines into sharp relief.  Since I scored the Sauvignon Blanc slightly higher than their Chardonnay that must mean that I think it’s a better wine, right? … Read more

($55): Mike Grgich embarrassed the French judges in 1976 with the Montelena Chardonnay he made that took first place in the famous Judgment of Paris.  If he had been making this Sauvignon Blanc at the time, I’m sure it would have done equally well. … Read more

($16): Bonterra, a label established by Fetzer in 1990, prides itself on making wine exclusively from organic grapes.  Indeed, according to the California Sustainable Winemaking Alliance, it’s the number one selling brand made from organic grapes.  This 2013 Viognier helps explain why. … Read more

($65): Opulent and generous — it is Petite Sirah, after all — Grgich Hills Estate’s 2010 has elegance, not a word usually used to describe that varietal.  Its elegance really shouldn’t be surprising because if anyone can make a stylish Petite Sirah, it’s Mike Grgich’s winemaking team. … Read more