Much more jammy than the Paso Robles Zins I recently tasted and more like those Zins I had difficulty handling years ago. purchased locally for $18 and enjoyed what tasted like a much more expensive Zin. Tags: California red wine Sonoma County Zinfandel Deep dark fruit aromas with some cherry. Hey, you're never too old to learn. MORE >>

Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Pinot Noir 2009. Mazzocco Sonoma Petite Syrah Aguilera 2007. Wilson Zinfandel 2008 Dry Creek. With its velvet texture, nose of well sorted fresh grapes, and fresh flavors, this is a well balanced New World Pinot that can match many foods, especially salmon, pork, rare duck. Macari Sauvignon Blanc 2009. MORE >>

One of the first wineries on the road to wine country, Cline Cellars is located 45 minutes north of San Francisco in Sonoma-Carneros. This historic property was once the site of a Miwok Village and the first camp of the Sonoma Mission. The tasting room is located in an 1850s farmhouse and the wine is the Cline Cellars Cashmere 2008. MORE >>

While everyone else was enjoying the delicious wine at the Top of the List Tasting, I was attending three fabulous seminars with the luminaries in the wine world. Flowers 2009 Sonoma Coast Camp Meeting Ridge Block 2 Pinot Noir. Flowers 2009 Sonoma Coast Sea View Ridge Block 33 Pinot Noir. topic: natural wine movement. MORE >>

Ridge, Three Valleys, Sonoma (about $23). Luzon, monastrell, Jumilla, 2008 (about $8): This wine was funny since it was the cheapest wine we tasted for the day, yet the most popular as people reached for their pens to scribble this one down. Another six-week session of my NYU class just wrapped up last week. How could it not be? MORE >>