When I came to California, I not only had a mind to not drink any alchohol, but I also didn't particularly like wine. Growing up, I had sips when I went to visit my grandparents, but it was always a strong and distasteful kind of experience. I had absolutely no interest in wine.

Around my senior year at Stanford, however, I went for my first trip up to wine country. I tasted quite a few wines I didn't like and one or two I did like. I bought a bottle or two, and later shared them with friends. Wine as something to share and enjoy, something to savor, and something to have fun sampling began to grow on me as an idea. It's really all about wine tasting - you can't possibly be expected to buy wine you're likely to really enjoy from a supermarket. Not because supermarkets don't have wine you might like, but because if you're kind of picky about wine (most people don't like all wine), picking random bottles at the supermarket is simply probabilistically unlikely to be a pleasant experience. And the cost of wine can add up quickly. So I actually try to only buy wine that I've tasted; that way, when I open a bottle with friends or give it as a gift, I'm sure that, if nothing else, I will like it. And people like that there's generally a story with it ("When I got this wine...") - it makes the gift more meaningful.

For those of you not from California, there are three major wine growing regions just north of San Francisco: Napa, Sonoma, and the less-frequented but equally splendiferous Mendocino valley. These three regions produce some of the world's tastiest and most celebrated wines. There are several stretches of road in each of three valleys that have almost solid-packed wineries with free or cheap wine tastings of dozens of their wine. In Napa, there's the classic Route 29 (often crowded with so-so wineries and most of the tourists) and its excellent parallel, the Silverado Trail. Sonoma has several stretches, the most notable being Route 12, offering several excellent wineries.

My personal favorite, though, has to be the Route 128 stretch going through the Anderson Valley in Mendocino. It's further north than the other two, so most of the touristy types get trapped in Napa or Sonoma, leaving the most passionate winemakers and wine enthusiasts. It tends to be even more cheerful and laid back than the other wine areas, and Route 128 itself is gorgeous, twisting as it does through the valley forest floor, mountains clasping foggy blankets close with startlingly green fields rising to meet you. This is definitely the way to see California and the way to decide what kind of wine you do or don't like.

I've started to build a bit of a collection at my house at the ripe old age of 25 and I decided to catalog the wines that I like here in the hopes that I could help people who were trying to figure out what wineries to visit or from which to buy wine.

Now, you should take everything here with a grain of salt naturally, since these are just my personal tastes. You should be aware of my predilictions for sweeter wines. Many of the "classy" wines that can go for north of $50/bottle are too tannic for me - I don't like that bitter / leathery aftertaste at all. Now, this isn't to say that I'm going to be recommending a bunch of pink-colored sugarwater, but I'm a lot pickier about my reds than my sweet whites in general, and you may notice a profusion of Ports, Gewürtz, Rieslings, and Muscats in my collection. (And I generally prefer a classic "red port" to a Madeira "tawny port".) So if you see a red on my list, it means it's probably exceptionally good. Now, to be clear, I like wines with character, just not lots of tannins. Every once in a while I'll find wines that agree with that and distinguish themselves with wonderful aftertones without being bitter or disagreeable. Those wines make it to this list. I usually taste an average of five wines for every one that I buy. (Which is why tasting makes so much sense - there's no way I'd want to buy four bad bottles of wine to find one good one!) Better vineyards can fare better than this, naturally.

As a final note, I think that port wine is the best thing to drink in a hot tub. Not beer, not Cristal, but port. Cold beverages and hot water will make you feel queasy and the heat will already drive the alchohol home, so there's no need for the famed "Champagne effect". You want to be sipping a drink in the hot tub, not chugging it, and ports are designed to be very nice to sip. (Unlike, say, Jägermeister.) There's no week bad enough that an evening looking at the stars with your friends in the hot tub, port in hand, can't lovingly erase.

Wineries I Like

• Peju Province - fun, warm, and welcoming, this goofy winery proferred some of my absolute favorites, including the mind-boggling good Liana dessert wine. (On Highway 29, Napa)
• Benziger - a gorgeous and unpretentious estate with free wine tours run every day to show you around this organic wine site. The wines are uniformly incredibly good and home to the largest concentration of David-approved red wines in the hemisphere.
• Van der Heyden - run by a crazy Dutch grandfather, van der Heyden operates out of a tiny shack at the southern end of Silverado Trail in Napa. The proprietor will have you in tears laughing and the wine will have you in tears, it's so good. Either way, you'll be happy you came. (Some of the world's only late-harvest Cabernet Sauvignon and late-harvest Zinfandel are made here and are wildly unique and tasty.)

Wine Updates

• March 7, 2004 - Feeling a need to add more reds to my collection, I took a day off to up to Sonoma on a gorgeous, sunny California day. Schlepping around in my convertible with my lovely girlfriend, we grabbed a bunch of luxurious reds, and I got myself a tan. And okay, I couldn't help myself from picking up a Benziger Muscat.

Wines I Have Bought Lately

genre	name	comment
Bianco di Mendocino white	Brutocao Cellars's Bella Lona	This is the perfect white table wine. Not too expensive, very tasty, very drinkable, and appealing to a wide range of tastes, this blend of Chardonnay, Semillon, and White Zinfandel is a masterpiece and an obvious buy. (3 owned)
Chardonnay white	Maple Creek's 2002 Estate Chardonnay	A lightly toasted Chard, the Artevino brings to mind crème bruleée. Not acrid or tannic and not overly oaked or buttery; a very nice balance. (1 owned)
Chardonnay white	Franciscan Oakville's 2001 Cuvée Sauvage	A wild yeast Chard, this wine has intriguing character and a lingering finish that'll leave you smacking for more. (1 owned)
Columbard white	Peju Province's 2002 Carnival	A fun, exciting, inexpensive table white from Peju! Lots of fun, very approachable white. (1 owned)
Edelzwicker white	Navarro's 2001 Edelzwicker	Edelzwicker's a rare sort of varietal but a lovely find. Just barely sweet and a touch carbonated, it makes for an ideal white table wine. (1 owned)
Fumé Blanc white	Robert Mondavi's 2001 Fumé Blanc	A lovely fruit bouquet on this one, wihtout being too acrid, as Sauvignons can sometimes be. (1 owned)
Gewürztraminer white	Adler Fels's 2003 Russian River Gewürztraminer	The wonderful Gewürz bouquet is only sometimes well balanced between being too sweet and too dry. Hats off to Adler for this equisitely balanced G-dawg. (1 owned, purchased 3/7/04)
Gewürztraminer white	Navarro's 1997 Gewürztraminer	Gewürtz can really run the gamut; late-harvest Gewürtz is usually too sickly sweet even for my tastes, but a dry and uncarbonated Gewürz can be positively boring. This one's one of those nicely rare ones that balances the two nicely - lightly sweet without being sickly, good bouquet. (1 owned)
Muscat white	Tintero's 2002 Sori' Gramella Moscato D'Asti	Most muscats are sweet, desert wines, but this Italian one's drier and softer, meant more as a table wine. Very nice, with the classic muscat bouquet. (1 owned)
Muscat white	Bott Frères's 2000 Muscat D'Alsace	This French muscat makes for a tasty table-wine variant on the dessert grape. (1 owned)
Riesling white	Rheingau's 1997 Riesling	This table Riesling from Germany is simple, clean, and tasty. (1 owned)
Riesling white	Andlau's 2001 Riesling	An Alsatian table Riesling; this French biodynamic wine is full in character and very drinkable. (1 owned)
Sauvignon Blanc white	B.R. Cohn's 2001 Sauvignon Blanc	I'm not a fan of most Sauvignons, but this one took me off guard with its smooth and tasty nature. Great stuff! (1 owned)
Viognier white	Freemark Abbey's 2002 Carpy Ranch Viognier	This Viognier is tasty, tart without overwhelming the senses. Lightly fruity without being a sweet wine. (1 owned)
Cabernet Sauvignon red	Benziger's 2000 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon	All hail to the commander-in-chief of the Cabs! Complex, long, wonderful, non-tannic finish. Deserves applause. (1 owned, purchased 3/7/04)
Cabernet Sauvignon red	Benziger's 1999 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon	This grand-bodied Cab stands out in the crowd. Full, without being acrid or tannic, it totally swept me off my feet. (1 owned, purchased 3/7/04)
Cabernet Sauvignon red	B.R. Cohn's 2000 Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon	A very tasty, noble Cab. Good stuff! (1 owned)
Cabernet Sauvignon red	McManis's 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon	Very palatable, clean. (1 owned, purchased 3/7/04)
Cowboy Red red	Maple Creek's Cowboy Red	This multi-year 55% Merlot, 25% Zinfandel, 20% Carignane blend was superbly drinkable and one of the better red table wines I've run across. Definitely recommended. (1 owned)
Malbec red	Arrowood's 2000 Malbec	Very clean and tasty finish. Good character, and few tannins, just the way I like my wine - proof that tannins aren't required for a lingering close. (1 owned, purchased 3/7/04)
Malbec red	Imagery's 2000 North Coast Malbec	Deep in character with blackberry overtones, this Malbec made me smile. Clea and I had this wine with a Greek dinner she cooked and it was fantastic. (1 owned, purchased 3/7/04)
Merlot red	Arrowood's 1999 Merlot	Yummy and clean! Not dissimilar from the Malbec. (1 owned, purchased 3/7/04)
Petite Syrah red	Imagery's 2000 Paso Robles Petite Syrah	Yummy and spicy. (1 owned, purchased 3/7/04)
Petit Verdot red	Yorkville Cellars's 2001 Petit Verdot	An incredibly rare grape for California, the Petit Verdot is almost never bottled solo. But Yorkville has gone and made a completely organic bottle of 100% Petit Verdot and I found it unique and tasty with a character all of its own. (1 owned)
Pinot Noir red	Duckhorn's 2001 Migration	As you might have guessed, I'm much more about the white wines than the reds, but this silky smooth Pinot gave me goosebumps it was so good. Almost buttery, it is one of those wonderful wines that excels in both character and drinkability. (1 owned)
Pinot Noir red	Brutocao's 2002 Philo Vineyard Select Pinot Noir	The 'select' appellage gave this Pinot a distinct leg up on their regular vintage; with more vigor, fruit, and bite the 2002 Select from Brutocao really grabbed me wholesale. (1 owned)
Shiraz red	Sequoia Grove's 2000 Allen Family Shiraz	I'm not big on Shiraz, but this one from Allen Family is really exceptional. I loved how smoothly drinkable it was, while not lacking in character. I gave a bottle to my mom, who called it 'the best wine she'd ever had'. (3 owned)
Zinfandel red	Brutocao's 2001 Zinfandel	This smooth, subtly sweet Zin will tackle your senses wholesale. Totally lethal and totally wonderful. You'll love it; a red wine for white and red lovers alike. (1 owned)
Brut Champagne sparkling	Schramsberg's 1997 Blanc de Noirs	This champagne, given to me for joining There.com is dry but palatable. (1 owned)
Crémant sparkling	Pacific Echo's Crémant	A blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, this lightly pink and highly unusual champagne has apparently made the White House's wine list for several years. Less carbonated and acrid than most typical brut champagnes, the Crémant has a smooth and distinct character. My first sparkling wine purchase ever, which should say something. (1 owned)
Chardonnay dessert	Peju Province's 2002 Liana	This late-harvest Chard very nearly made me cry. This bottle is the reason why I go wine tasting. Sure, I could only afford a single 375ml bottle, but it was absolutely worth it. I'm going to wait to open it until the company I started makes its first sale. This is absolutely the finest stuff on earth; you cannot top this as a dessert wine. This is in the top five things I've ever had the privilege to drink. (1 owned)
Muscat dessert	Benziger's 2002 Bartolucci Vineyard Muscat Canelli	Many Muscats are fortified with brandy or sweetened with various liquers, which can destroy the naturally florid head Muscat brings. Benziger's Muscat stands alone without fortification or adulteration and is a delicate delight. Technically, I was only supposed to be getting reds on this trip, but I couldn't help myself with a Muscat this nice. (1 owned, purchased 3/7/04)
Muscat dessert	Robert Mondavi's 2002 Moscato d'Oro	I'm a huge sucker for a well-done Muscat dessert wine. This one from Mondavi will have you groaning with pleasure. If you don't like dessert wines straight up, pour this on ice cream or angel food cake for a delight. (1 owned)
Port dessert	Brutocao's 2002 Bliss #3 Zinfandel Port	This port was most excellently balanced; not too sweet, not too tangy, not too alchoholic, and not too tannic, but just right. The sense of being uniformly assaulted by the wine was outstanding. Highly recommended. (1 owned)
Port dessert	Benziger's 2002 McNab Ranch Port	Sooo good! Luxurious and biting, this lovely port was an easy sell. (1 owned, purchased 3/7/04)
Port dessert	Smith Woodhouse's Lodge Reserve Porto	This blended port (hence no year being available) is smooth and tasty, good for sipping in hot tubs while gazing at stars. Come by the SHFH and I may share it with you. (1 owned)
Riesling dessert	Navarro's 2001 Late Harvest White Riesling	Riesling is my favorite kind of wine; unlike Gewürz, the full spectrum of Riesling has a wonderfully consistent drinkability and floral bouquet; from dry Rieslings to the sweetest late-harvest ones, Riesling is tasty, cheap, and hugely underappreciated. This Navarro late harvest Riesling is guaranteed to make your knees shake if you like dessert wines. (1 owned)
Symphony dessert	Maple Creek's 2001 Late Harvest Symphony	The 'Symphony' grape is a new creation from UC/Davis's wine program - a hybrid grape between Muscat and Grenache. In late harvest it seems to make an amazingly tasty and unique dessert wine. Definitely worth your time. (1 owned)
Tocai Friulano dessert	Viansa's 2002 Frescolina	This unique dessert wine is a blend that is incredibly fresh, nicely sweet, and wonderfully floral. It's like getting attacked with a basket of fruit wielded by a lovely lady. I totally fell in love at the tasting room and I just had to get this wine. (1 owned)
Gewürztraminer juice	Navarro's 2002 Gewürztraminer Juice	This Gewürz juice is fantastic! I have a roommate who doesn't drink, so I got this for him as a present - I'd recommend giving this to non-drinkers or minors as a great way of experiencing the wonderful taste of high-quality grapes (Welch's this is not) without worrying about alchohol. (2 owned)