Wine & Spirits lists bests and bargains

October 15, 12:42 PMNorthern California Wine ExaminerJulia Hollister

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Wine & Spirits magazine hit the newsstands this week with their list of “35 Best Wineries” in the nation and California earned 22 slots.

It also had suggestions for two super bargain Pinot Noir and Shiraz selections.

The wineries in the Best List were chosen from blind tastings of 3,767 newly released American wines over the past year. They are: Anthill Farms (artisan), Healdsburg; Beaulieu Vineyard (multisource), Rutherford; Beringer (multisource), Saint Helena; Calera (regional), Hollister; Dashe (artisan), Oakland; Diamond Creek (estate), Calistoga; Drew (Artisan), Elk; DeLoach (multisource), Santa Rosa; Evening Land (estate) , Lompoc; Flowers (artisan), Cazadero; Iron Horse (estate) , Sebastopol; Lioco (artisan), Santa Rosa; Peay Vineyards (estate), Annapolis; Qupe Wine Cellars (regional), Los Olivos; Louis M. Martini (multisource), Saint Helena; Ramey (multisource), Healdsburg; Ravenswood (multisource), Sonoma; Ridge Vineyards (multisource), Cupertino; Roederer Estate (sparkling), Philo; Shafer (regional), Napa; Storybook Mountain (estate), Calistoga; and Swanson (estate), Oakville.

• Find more Expert Picks

The categories for the above winners were Multisource producers (who purchase and often grow grapes from more than one appellation); Regional producers (who purchase and often grow grapes from one single county appellation); Estate producers (who own and manage all their grape sources); Artisan producers (who make fewer than 25,000 cases annually) and Sparkling wine producers.

The best news is the bargains that Wine & Spirits panels uncovered after tasting 10,200 wines between December 2008 and October 2009. Here is the short list of California super buys: Napa Family Vineyards (scoring 88 points) produces a 2007 Napa Valley Finest Selection Reserve Chardonnay and is a steal at $10. J. Lynne Winery’s 2007 Russian River Chardonnay (garnering a score of 90) retails for $19. Mason (91 points) earns a place on the Sauvignon Blanc great buy list with its 2007 vintage at $18; while Terira Vineyard’s Dry Creek Valley Saugvignon Blanc scored 90 and sells for $12.Aother fantastic buy is Bad Dog Ranch’s California Chardonnay. It scored 88 points and sells for $10.

Two wines listed as “Exceptional Values” are Fat Cat 2007 California Pinot Noir ($7) and Fetzer’s 2006 California Valley Oaks Shiraz ($9).

This list can be a guide to stocking up on bargains as well as an opportunity to discover some new highly rated vintages.