zzzDunne's Picks

Wine competitions traditionally organize entries by varietals or styles. A few also define classes by price. A growing number, inspired by wine's historic association with place of origin and by an attempt to level the playing field, arrange classes by region, or what in wine circles is called appellation.

At Heritage Oak Winery of Lodi, the past isn't pickled and idly displayed, but continues to inspire, energize and contribute. The "heritage oak" itself is a tall blue oak wide enough to shade both the winery and the visitors who relax just outside the tasting room.

California's more storied vineyards always are at risk. They can get diseased and die, of course. They can be abandoned in the wake of economic downturns or unanticipated shifts in consumer tastes. Or they can be torn out in favor of a shopping mall, subdivision or freeway.

Don't know what to do with those empty wine bottles other than toss them into the recycling bin? For ideas, go to the website Pinterest.

In early January, on the sort of bright and balmy day that would become more rule than exception in Northern California this winter, Dave Koball is escorting us about the vineyards of McNab Ranch south of Ukiah in Mendocino County.

You can order wine online when you visit the website of Domaine de la Terre Rouge and Easton Wines, twin Amador County brands founded and owned by the husband-and-wife team of Bill Easton and Jane O'Riordan.

Just about every vintner who makes syrah will tell you that the varietal is a tough sell. The reasons for syrah's struggles are many:

A prevailing myth on the California wine scene is that you need to pay at least $25 per bottle to savor a pinot noir of character and charm. The inspiration for that view likely is the equally persistent perception that exquisite pinot noir can be made only in small and scarce batches by artisan vintners.

If they follow their usual timetable, federal and state agricultural officials any day now will release their annual calculation of vineyard acreage in California.

Spring. Too early to haul from the recesses of the closet the white pants and the white shoes, but not too early to start stocking the refrigerator with bottles of pink wine.

Early on in their annual update of grape acreage in California, the federal and state agricultural officials who track this sort of thing include a long list of synonyms for the names of grape varieties. Mataro, for example, also can be called mourvedre, sangiovese can go by brunello, valdepenas can be substituted for tempranillo, and so on.

During the distractions of the year-end holidays, you may have missed the news: Researchers at Michigan State University concluded that three corporations account for slightly more than half of all wine sales in the United States.

In the 1990s, after living in Germany for several years, where they were involved in the music business, Hank Beckmeyer and Caroline Hoel agreed that it was time to do something different.

"Gamay noir à jus blanc" is the long, formal and traditional name for a variety of grape that yields a popular but largely underappreciated style of wine, Beaujolais.

After an unusually cool growing season left his Santa Barbara County stand of touriga nacional in poor shape in 2011, Ken Volk went looking for a new source of the black Portuguese grape variety.

A little more than a decade ago, Jacques Mercier and Andrea Hamer, returning to their home in the San Francisco Bay Area after a skiing holiday at Lake Tahoe, detoured off Interstate 80 for their first look at Nevada City and Grass Valley. They'd heard from friends that the area was beautiful. They wanted to check it out for themselves.

Wine pilgrims eager to explore Calaveras County have it easy.

Sacramentans eager to get to the heart of Napa Valley for a day of wine tasting customarily speed by the first winery they encounter along Highway 12 connecting Interstate 80 with the valley's main route, Highway 29.

Nearly 100,000 acres of chardonnay are planted in California, by far more than any other wine grape. It accounts for more than half of all white-wine varieties in California.

As other Napa Valley wineries of longevity and prominence have done, Signorello Estate has staked its standing to the appellation's signature grape, cabernet sauvignon.

Gold Rush prospectors may have had an easier time discovering pay dirt in Nevada County than their winemaking descendants are having finding their identity.

It isn't too late to add a resolution to the New Year's list, is it?

This is the week during which wine columnists across the country write their annual tribute to sparkling wine. Consumers have come to expect a little helpful guidance as New Year's Eve draws near. Winemakers also appreciate the recognition, though they wish a bit more of it would appear in May or September or some other month not as closely identified with sparkling wine as December.

The clubhouse at Yocha Dehe Golf Club is stocked with all the requisite gear to ruin the perfectly beautiful day outside – balls, tees, sets of clubs not yet tarnished by clumsy swings and frustrated hopes.

Soon as you unwrap your calendar for the new year, flip to October and jot down a note to remind your- self to buy tickets for Roots to Wine.

Earlier this fall, principals of 26 wineries scattered through the redwoods and oaks of the American Viticultural Area called Mount Veeder, a portion of the much larger appellation called Napa Valley, convened their 13th annual tasting at The Hess Collection, one of the 26 estates.

Michael McCay and his winery, McCay Cellars, are something of an anomaly for Lodi, where the winemaking culture stresses old vines, old farming families and old viticultural and enological traditions.

Varieties of grapes and styles of wine often develop fan clubs. There's Zinfandel Advocates & Producers, the International Riesling Foundation and the Rhone Rangers, to name a few that have been around awhile.

Whether it be science, craft or art, winemaking at its most ambitious and precise is when the winemaker gets to blending.