Frank Family Zinfandel 2019, Napa Valley Cost: $44-46 What: I admire vineyard owners in the Napa Valley who resist the temptation to rip out their Zinfandel vines and plant Cabernet Sauvignon. Napa is a great place for Zin, but growers can get so much more money for Cabernet that the pressure is enormous to forget about everything else except the Cab. One of the few who have resisted the pressure is Frank Family, known for producing a variety of great wines, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and sparkling wines. Those wines are so good, we often forget about the great Zinfandel they produce. The wine is a true Napa Valley blend from the finest vineyards across the region. Some of the vines date back to the 1950s. The backbone for this wine comes from Frank Family’s sustainably-farmed S&J Vineyard in Napa’s Capell Valley and the Benjamin Vineyard located on the Rutherford…

TILIA Chardonnay 2020, Argentina TILIA Malbec 2020, Argentina Cost: $11-13 What: As climate change and conservation move to center stage of our awareness, sustainability has become a key component of wine producers. TILIA Wines has made sustainability the centerpiece of its operations. From soil conservation to social sustainability, they work to make sure future generations will be able to enjoy the same fine wine we do today. Their Chardonnay is a terrific wine, and an even better bargain. The grapes come from two sustainable vineyards in Mendoza, with elevations ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 feet above sea level. The mountain climate intensifies the flavors and allows the grapes to ripen slowly. It pays off with wonderful flavors of tropical fruit, peach and toasted bread. It is a gorgeous pale gold in the glass with pleasant aromas of tropical fruit and flowers. It has an intense mouthfeel with a long finish…

Frank Family Chardonnay Carneros 2019 Cost: $37-39 What: I am a firm believer in celebrating holidays, even the made-up ones like Valentine’s Day. I call it amateur night for romantics. Teri and I celebrated it anyway, with a great dinner at home. And nothing makes a dinner special like a great bottle of wine. We had lobster tails and crab cakes, and my wife loves Chardonnay, so the choice was easy: Frank Family. They consistently make some of the best wine in Napa Valley, which is saying a lot because Napa is the Mecca for wine lovers. They produce a broad range of great wine, but winemaker Todd Graff is at the top of his game with Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and sparkling wines. It helps that he has great fruit to work with. Graff works with 380 acres of prime Napa Valley estate vineyards and trusted grower-partners. Named after Rich…

Martini & Rossi Sparkling Rosé, Italy Cost: $14-16 What: If you have put off planning for Valentine’s Day, your time is about up, But don’t despair, there is still time to impress that special someone. Jewelry, flowers and candy are nice, but you can’t go wrong with a good bottle of wine. And what’s better than a bottle of rosé sparkling wine. We all have our favorites, but it is nice to try something new once in a while. So this year my wife Teri and I opened a bottle of Martini & Rossi Sparkling Rosé. I had never had it before. We were both glad we discovered it. In the glass it is a beautiful bright pink with lots of never-ending bubbles. Aromas of soft wild rose float up out of the glass with hints of red fruit and green apple. On the palate I picked up red fruit…

Broadside Merlot 2019, Paso Robles Cost: $16 What: People often want to know what my favorite wine or favorite region is. My response is I’m glad we don’t have to pick one wine or one region. We can enjoy them all. But one of my favorite regions is Paso Robles, which lies about halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Because of climate and a diverse soil mix, the wineries of Paso Robles produce just about any kind of wine you would want. The area produces some wonderful Bordeaux varietals, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. I recently tried the 2019 Broadside Merlot and loved it. It’s full of fresh, vibrant fruit balanced by crisp acidity, which makes it a great wine with a meal. This is a good wine any time of year, but it is especially good on those warm grilling days of summer. Of course, in Augusta…

Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2019 Cost: $11-13 What: At this time of year when the weather turns cooler I like to drink rich, full-bodied wines. They can be powerful white wines, or intense reds such as the Veramonte Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s nothing better on a cool evening than a powerhouse red wine paired with a hearty meal. (Unless it’s a glass or port after dinner, but that story is for another day.) It’s even better when you get a great wine at a bargain price, such as this outstanding $12 Cab. For many years we have been enjoying great prices on South American wines, especially those from Chile. So if you are just getting started on your wine journey, Chilean wines are a great place to start. This is a typical Chilean cab, full of lush, ripe fruit, a deep, dark ruby red in the glass. It sends out powerful…

Le Volte dell’Ornellaia IGT 2019, Tuscany Cost: $33-35 What: If you want to know why wine lovers make such a fuss over Super Tuscan wines, try the Le Volte dell’Ornellaia and you will understand. A Super Tuscan is simply a wine made from non-indigenous grapes grown in Tuscany. It doesn’t conform to the legal restriction that a wine must have a high percentage of Sangiovese grapes to get the DOC or DOCG designation. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah are the most common grapes in Super Tuscan wines. Back in the 1980s some rebels discovered that Tuscan soils and weather were perfect for growing grapes usually grown in Bordeaux. So they made wine with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc and settled for the lower IGT rating. They knew their wines would be so great the lower ranking wouldn’t keep their prices down. Wine drinkers loved the Super Tuscans and drove…

Mouton Cadet Blanc 2020, France Mouton Cadet Rosé 2020, France Cost: $13-15 What: Most wine drinkers will say they want to drink the best wine. But we don’t always have the money to buy the very best wine. For instance, if you wanted to buy what experts consider the best Bordeaux wine you might pay hundreds or thousands of dollars. I have found great Bordeaux for $100, and I have found some I enjoy just as much in the $30-50 range. But for a good, everyday pour, it’s hard to beat the Mouton Cadet wines. The brand grew out of the famous Mouton Rothschild estate, known throughout the world for great first growth Bordeaux wines. Baron Philippe de Rothschild wanted to deliver a wine that brought the richness of a great Bordeaux to a mass audience so he created Mouton Cadet in 1930. Obviously the grapes for these wines don’t…