2022 United States Wine

As the winery writes, Andrew Murray has been singularly and nearly maniacally focused on crafting Syrah for 25 years. His Everyday (in French Syrah “Tous les Jours”) Syrah from Santa Ynez gives you a good idea of how... Read More

Organic/Bio While Stephen Hagen and his team are fine winemakers, the real story here is winegrowing. Stephen’s unique “grazing based viticulture” replaces herbicides, mowing, plowing and fertilizers with something... Read More

Easy drinking, check. Sophisticated, check. Wines that hold to the French dogma of site-specific, nuanced wines, check. 80% Pinot Gris and 20% Pinot Blanc, the wines expressive fruit and subtle minerality is a testament to the... Read More

Morgan Twain-Peterson crafts this bold, gutsy, California red from a mixture of vines growing in some of the country's most famed old-vine sites. The base is Bedrock Vineyard (planted 1888), Nervo (1896), and Sodini (1905)... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV If you think this is impressive right now (and it is!), just wait until you give it some time in decanter or a year or two in cellar. Plenty of succulent fruit but also amazing old-vine intensity from a large... Read More

Organic/Bio Always one of Oregon's finest, the 2022 Casteel Pinot is also remarkably open, delicious and ready to enjoy. As Wine Advocate says in the 96 point rave, intoxicating scents of pomegranate liqueur, blackberry jam,... Read More

One of the longest-running high-quality “value” Pinots we know of. As Robert Parker said of the 2013 edition: An authentic tasting Pinot Noir that sells for a song. Aromas of sweet red and black cherry fruit intermixed... Read More

The race for best value California Cabernet Sauvignon of the year is over: this is the winner going away. If you love California Cab’s rich blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, dash of chocolate, sweet spice, full body and... Read More

Winemaker Neil Koch has worked with superstar Philippe Melka at benchmark Napa Cab houses like Seavey Vineyards, Bryant Family and Vineyard 29 and helped make the bold whites and Chardonnays of Lewis Cellars as assistant winemaker... Read More

Organic/Bio You can call this “natural wine” if you like, but we mainly call it delicious! From a tiny vineyard not far from Chalone, it shows huge richness of texture to the golden apple, grilled pineapple and fresh... Read More

Organic/Bio From the sister winery of Radio-Couteau, County Line wines look to deliver that level of style and quality in a more immediately drinkable (and less expensive) format. Fermented in steel and aged in neutral (meaning... Read More

Organic/Bio Lower ABV A great example of a quality Pinot Noir from the Eola-Amity region when put in the hands of iconic winemaker Steve Doerner, pioneer of whole cluster ferments in Oregon. Cristom Vineyards predominately works... Read More

Jean Case and husband Steve (of AOL fame) keep going from strength to strength at this top Virginia estate. A blend of 46% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Petit Verdot, 7% Petit Manseng, 3% Cabernet Frac gives a medium-bodied... Read More

Not content to make some of the best wines in the Commonwealth, Early Mountain makes some of the best values, too. Like here in this blend of 57% Petit Manseng, 36% Sauvignon Blanc, 6% Chardonnay and 1% Pinot Gris done all in... Read More

Lower ABV From their vines at the west end of the Chehalem Mountains, Elk Cove creates Pinot Gris that reachest towards white Burgundy levels of complexity. There's plenty of ripe pear and stone fruit on the nose and palate,... Read More

Pat and Joe Campbell planted this site in 1985 from Estate Vyd cuttings and named it for the favorite Puccini opera of the folks who sold them the land. Silky and lush are always apt descriptors for La Boheme Pinot Noir's... Read More

Organic/Bio A pioneering Willamette winery that's always kept a toe in Burgundy's waters, this is always one of Oregon's most elegant, pure, and grounded Pinots. Don't let the light color fool you - it's packed... Read More

Look, we’ve yet to find a Zin that was both satisfyingly ripe (i.e., not toughly tannic and herbal) and under 14.5% alcohol. The grape needs hang time and that means alcohol. But it turns out you can make 15% abv Zin that... Read More

These guys make just one wine, a Lodi blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Sirah and Merlot brought in rich and ripe at 13.5% alcohol and given plenty of French oak spice and toast. It’s richer and more ripe than the modest... Read More

Lower ABV Winemaker Erin Jordan says this is “akin to the pinot gris imported from Alsace — this is a spiced, textured, and aromatically-driven wine.” The second part I buy, not the first because this is dry... Read More

Hartford Court is easily one of the top “traditional” California Chard houses working today in the <$100 price point and this “village” bottling shows off their skill and ethic to a “T”.... Read More

Not sure whether this is rose or orange wine, but it's wild and wildly delicious! The Early Muscat, Riesling and Petit Blanc were pressed as whole clusters very slowly, extracting a touch of color. The Pinot Gris was destemmed,... Read More

Lower ABV From vines across cooler sites in Mendocino, this delivers the ripeness of fruit we expect from California with beautiful lightness of texture and high levels of finesse. Aromas of Bing cherry, rose petal and iron filings... Read More

Another great release of this, our all-time best-selling premium California Chardonnay. As always, it blends fruit from across the Sonoma Coast AVA including Carneros, the southern Russian River and cooler sites to the west. Serves... Read More