The world of wine is huge and gets bigger every year. Restaurants and wine shops compete to outdo one another by offering the biggest, most diverse selections possible. Without guidance even experienced wine lover can have trouble. Our guide is a map to navigate the sea of wine, giving helpful information as well as recommending specific bottles. From the thousands of bottles tasted, we chose bottles based on these criteria: quality, value and availability.

Key to Symbols

Quality **** Outstanding Worth a search

*** Excellent Top-notch example

** Very good Distinctive

* Good Delicious everyday wine

Recommended Wines

dry, medium-bodied, medium oak, medium acidity drink now-6 years

A rare older vintage, this is worth tracking down for its butterscotch-scented orange and lavender flavors.

One of two California Chardonnays rated Outstanding.