LSU-purple in color, Ridge Vineyards Three Valleys Zinfandel kicks off with aromas of white flowers and enough white pepper and Asian spice undertones to carry through to the end zone.

While the right side of my taste buds parallels the same latitude as Bordeaux, my left is all American—just perfect to fully appreciate Franciscan Estate Magnificat Napa Valley Meritage.

More than froth, frills and pink petticoats, JCB No. 69 Brut Rosé is an elegant sparkling wine crafted from pinot noir grapes.

Like your first Dreamsicle of summer, Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc is a magical adventure.

Time to locate your white bucks and seersucker suits and stock the cooler with Graham Beck Brut Rosé.

Fontanafredda Briccotondo Barbera could have been the wine you experienced on a recent trip to Italy—at some little café tucked deep in the village where the wine is produced by the locals and served only in carafes.

Founded in 2010, Post Parade Winery was an infant in Napa time but was fully developed according to experts.

Before the wine train, executive motor coaches, phylloxera, Prohibition, and both World Wars, there was Buena Vista Winery and the wild, Wild West.

The blend is in! Most everyone knows the difference between Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc.

Zinfandel grapes were born and bred abroad, but it’s the California winemakers who mastered the art of zin.

Opus One’s motto “one focus, one wine” should fast forward to “one focus, two wines” now that the winery produces a second label named Overture.

I speak just a few words in Italian: Sangiovese, Primitivo, Barbera, and Dolcetto.

Oreno Toscana 2014 is one of those Italian wines of a special breed.

Peju Cabernet Sauvignon roars out of the gate with red cherry aromas, black plum mid palate, and a little rough and tumble on the finish.

Chalk Hill Sauvignon Blanc hits the sweet spot on the applause meter between Bordeaux-style grassy green and California-style buttered toast.

Hot summer nights scream for cool reds like Sonoma-Cutrer pinot noir, best served cool to the touch as if dispatched straight from the wine cellar.

With 49 million bubbles, 25 miles per hour cork-popping speeds, and 90 pounds of pressure per square inch, a bottle of Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne delivers the complete celebration package.

When Italians think French, they drink Il Fauno di Arcanum, a Bordeaux-style red wine previously referred to as Super Tuscan.

Springtime in Paris is lovely, especially when sipping most any red Burgundy on a terrace overgrown with wisteria.

Tre Leoni is a proprietary red blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, and zinfandel that delivers bold flavors of dark berries with an elegant mouthfeel.

Zin in the blend is outlawed in Bordeaux but legal in Napa. One of California’s emerging new reds is Paraduxx, which uses Zinfandel to create the Bordeaux style with a California twist.