Sips: From California, Donelan's Kobler Vineyard Syrah

I've been thinking a lot in recent weeks about a growing trend in California winemaking -- a return to more modest and elegant wines that still have great fruit concentration but with lower levels of alcohol. Some of this has to do with weather conditions, some with vineyard location and some with a winemaker's decision on when to harvest grapes (the longer they hang the higher the sugar and resulting alcohol levels).

You may have read about an excellent Dry Creek Valley zinfandel from Dashe Cellars that I reviewed in my column on NBCNews.com. Its alcohol is a modest 13.7 percent. Another superb wine in this more modest style comes from Donelan Family Wines in Sonoma, which produces a line of vineyard designated wines, mostly syrahs, but also a pinot noir, a chardonnay and a rousanne-viognier blend.

One of Donelan's syrahs, the 2010 Kobler Family Vineyard Syrah from the Green Valley of the Russian River Valley, is among the  most beautiful California syrahs I have tasted, a wine of retrained elegance, wonderful balance and gorgeous fruit. And here's the kicker: the alcohol level is a mere 12.8 percent, a function, to some extent, of the cool 2010 vintage.

What does this mean in terms of what you'll experience in the glass? This is a wine that is at once complex and effortless to drink, a wine that easily invites you to take another sip, to pour the next small glass. Sip again and repeat. Aged for two years in French oak, none of it new, the wine is plummy with raspberry and blackberry notes. There's some spice here as well, along with cinnamon and touches of licorice and white pepper.

The wine reminds me more of the northern Rhone than California, but is, hopefully, another sign of a broadening return to leaner times in California winemaking. The suggested price is $45. Recieved as a press sample.

Quick Sips: Picket Fence 2010 Russian River Pinot Noir

Finding standout California pinot noir under $20 is a real challenge, and this $18 wine proves the point. Oak is heavy handed here and dominates the equation, providing spice, as the back label suggests, but barely permitting a cherry note to come through. Generic. Rating: FAIR. Received as a press sample.

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A critic’s lament: why can’t we taste and judge wine with a food context?

For the most part, critics taste and evaluate wine in isolation, often “blindly” so as not to be influenced by what’s on the label, be it a winery’s name, a pretty picture or a self-serving  description of what’s in the bottle. By isolation I mean without a food context, although wines are often judged in groups – 2007  Napa Valley merlots, for example.

I started thinking again about the importance (and under-appreciation) of the food component in wine tasting the other day over lunch – a plate of chicken stew with leeks and rice. When I decided that a little wine would be nice, I reached into the refrigerator to see what I had re-corked in the days before --wines that, on first tasting, didn’t capture my attention.

The wine I chose was from California, Hanna Winery’s 2008 Russian River Valley Chardonnay. Now, the night before, I had dismissed this wine as a bit too dominated by oak, at least at this stage. So back in the fridge it went in favor of something else. The next day I decided to give it another try, thinking that it might match well with the chicken and leaks and herbs and rice. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised. Here was a wine that came alive with the right food, which seemed to “tame” the oak and allow the fruit to emerge. Or, put another way, the oak blended seamlessly with the chicken and its accompaniments.

In this context, individual descriptors of the wine – the currency of wine criticism -- didn’t seem to matter so much as the fact that the food and wine had become one as each enhanced the experience of the other. And isn’t that what it’s all about? For the record, this $25 wine has notes of baked apple, a bit of pineapple, cinnamon, a touch of butterscotch, a lemony finish and, most importantly, good underlying acidity, which gave it a refreshing character with the food. As I tasted it again on the second and third day, the oak was less pronounced, reinforcing the fact that this is a young chardonnay that needs bottle age.

All of this makes me wonder, how many wines dismissed by us critics would actually end up being recommended if only they had a chance to prove themselves with a meal or could be tasted again after a day or two? (Wine received as a press sample.)

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The Daily Sip: an outstanding California sauvignon blanc

Today, I’m formalizing a core component of  Vint-ed, what I’m calling The Daily Sip – one notable wine (or two) that represents excellence and value in its class. Since I started writing about wine in 2002, and over the course of 350 weekly columns for MSNBC.com and now Vint-ed and Reuters, I’ve considered this my main mission. I will, of course, continue to bring you wine news and commentary as well.

A lot of 2009 California sauvignon blancs have been released in recent weeks and they demonstrate a continuing trend: California sauvignons are getting better and better. I’ll be  pointing to a number of them in coming weeks, but one that  particularly stands out is Frei Brothers’ 2009 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc. With a $20 suggested price (I’ve also noticed that sauvignon prices are creeping up), this one is light, expressive and perfectly balanced, which is everything I look for in sauvignon, whether from California, the Loire Valley, New Zealand or Chile. It shows lemon-lime and green apple notes with an underlying minerality. Part of the wine received “sur lie” aging for a couple of months, which helps provide an impressively long finish. For fish and shellfish, salads and other lighter dishes and for sipping as an aperitif. Alcohol is 13.9 percent. Received as a press sample.

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A trio of California chardonnays

I’ve been sampling California chardonnays in recent days with an eye, as always, toward well-balanced wines that are not infused too heavily with oak and that are not overbearing in style. Three are worth considering.

Freemark Abbey’s well-focused 2008 Napa Valley Chardonnay is an excellent value at $22. It opens with a bit of citrus, which leads to notes of ripe melon, vanilla and butterscotch, with all the elements nicely integrated in a bright, refreshing style. With relatively modest alcohol of 14.1 percent,  the wine   was a perfect match with grey sole fillets roasted with Dijon mustard and a splash of vermouth.

Sbragia Family Vineyards’ 2007 Home Ranch Chardonnay from the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County is nuanced and balanced, quite Burgundian in character with pear and pink grapefruit tastes and judicious use of oak that leaves a subtle vanilla note on the finish. An elegant and sophisticated chardonnay. Another excellent buy at $26.

For a slightly richer style, consider another Sonoma wine, Rochioli Vineyards’ 2008 Russian River Valley Chardonnay. This highly enjoyable wine, with a suggested price of $50, shows pear, a considerable note of vanilla extract, some herbs and minerals and a touch of orange on the finish. All three of these wines were effortless to drink and matched well with foods, from fish to pan-seared pork chops to roast chicken. And remember, to enjoy their subtleties, don’t drink them too cold. (Wines received as press samples.)

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Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

For more than three decades, Merry Edwards has been making a range of small-production pinot noirs from various appellations in California’s Sonoma County. The 2006 Russian River Valley “Flax Vineyard” Pinot Noir is one of the best Merry Edwards wines I have tasted. This ruby-colored wine is all elegance, made in a style that eschews the over-the-top, massive-fruit style that has come to define too many California pinot noirs in recent years. The Flax Vineyard, from which the grapes are sourced, is planted entirely with the Pommard clone of Burgundy, and the wine, focused and reserved, is refreshingly Burgundian in style.

It shows a gentle but firm tannic structure, ample acidity and notes of sweet cherry, spice and cocoa. We enjoyed it, slightly chilled, with a pan-roasted sirloin steak with which we wanted a “lighter” red. The 2007 vintage is currently for sale, at $54, from the winery.  (Received as a press sample.)