Chris Macias

Sean Minor Wines, headquartered in Sacramento's Sierra Oaks neighborhood, recently received some news that the company's been ranked among the nation's best. The April issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine features its 24th annual poll of the favorite wines served in restaurants, and Sean Minor Wines earned two nods.

The dreaded "D" word has the California wine industry on edge. We're talking about "drought," given that January and February were deemed the driest on record in the northern Sierra Nevada, the heart of water supplies for California farmers.

The wine shipments going out of Lodi's Woodbridge Winery on Feb. 14 were a first of their kind. The 3,500 cases were off to Brazil, marking the debut of Lodi wines in this large South American country, which drinks relatively little wine.

The news comes as buzzkill for the state's hobbyist winemakers: The California State Fair Home Wine Competition has been canceled for the second consecutive year, purportedly due to budget constraints and other factors.

Sacramento became the temporary heart of the domestic wine industry last week as a record 13,400 people attended the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium.

Some Sacramento-area wine enthusiasts made a case in 2012 that chenin blanc should be Sacramento's signature grape. While this white wine grape is best known as a signature varietal of France's Loire Valley, chenin blanc has been planted for decades in Clarksburg and is a hallmark of the Sacramento Delta.

Back in August, we mentioned a new wine tasting room coming to downtown Sacramento at 12th and K streets. Downtown & Vine was originally set to open in October, but hey, food and beverage establishments rarely open according to schedule – especially when the red tape of securing liquor licenses is involved.

Last week, "Wine Buzz" visited Shafer Vineyards in Napa, which recently earned "wine of the year" honors by Wine Spectator magazine. Turns out one local winery earned some year-end kudos from Wine Spectator as well.

The news arrived at the perfect time for Shafer Vineyards of Napa. On Nov. 16, Wine Spectator magazine named the 2008 Shafer Napa Valley Relentless as its wine of the year for 2012, besting such top producers in the wine world as Chateau Leoville Barton of Bordeaux and Sonoma's famed Marcassin Vineyard.

Let's take this time to make a toast to tempranillo. It's one of Spain's signature wine grapes, and also finds a home around Northern California's wine region. Bokisch Vineyards of Lodi scored a gold medal with its tempranillo at the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, while Berryessa Gap's 2008 Rocky Ridge Tempranillo was named as one of the San Francisco Chronicle's top 100 wines of 2010.

Stuart Spoto will soon be leaving on a jet plane, and with plenty of wine on his mind. Spoto, who runs the boutique Spoto Wines from his Arden Oaks home, will be among the vintners pouring at "A Taste of Oakville – Live at Carnegie Hall" on Nov. 14.

Ah, the heart of the harvest season. Drive around wine country this time of year and you're likely to find trucks hauling freshly picked grapes and catch the tangy whiff of juice that'll soon be fermented into wine.

Is Sacramento's central city, the nonpastoral land of sidewalks and street parking, on the verge of hosting its own wine trail? That's in the talking stages, as a new wine tasting room is expected to open by mid- November in midtown.

"Wine Buzz" has previously touched on a wine-enclosures study that could have huge ramifications for the global wine industry.

The tomato reigns as Sacramento's signature food item, but how about a wine that sums up the area? That's a tricky proposition, given that the greater Sacramento region hosts more than 200 wineries producing everything from such consumer favorites as chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon to Rhone varietals including syrah and grenache.

Now that September's here, it's time to once again raise a glass in honor of California Wine Month.

Laurence Juber has played alongside the biggest names in pop and rock music, including a lead guitar stint in Paul McCartney's Wings. And if you happened to see "The Muppets," that's Jubers playing when Kermit the Frog plucks his banjo.

About a year and a half ago, "Wine Buzz" gave some scoop about a new wine bar coming to downtown Davis. Well, as anyone who pays close attention to the food and beverage business knows, opening a new establishment on schedule tends to be the exception rather than the rule.

Wine unplugged: A few weeks ago, "Wine Buzz" delivered some scoop about a new music series coming to the Rail Bridge Cellars Penthouse Lounge (921 11th St., Sacramento).

Congratulations to Naggiar Vineyards & Winery of Grass Valley, which recently scored a big win for one of its wines.

"Wine Buzz" focused on screw caps a couple of weeks back, mentioning a UC Davis study that's analyzing their effectiveness, along with referencing a recent line of screw cap wines from the band AC/DC.

For those about to drink, we salute you. Just came across two bottles of AC/DC wine – 2008 Highway to Hell Cabernet Sauvignon and 2011 Thunderstruck Chardonnay – which were released recently by the long-running rock band.

Last week in Vintages, Mike Dunne took readers to Berryessa Gap Vineyards, a Yolo County winery that emphasizes grape varietals closely associated with California history.

Thursday morning it was time to rise and shine – and get ready to judge some wine.

Look for LangeTwins Family Winery to make a big push from its Lodi home base. The winery recently partnered with Robert Oatley Vineyards USA, a global import company, which will distribute LangeTwins to more than 30 states.

The event's billed as something of a barbera boxing match. In one corner, there's Popie Wines; in the other, Ciotti Cellars. The third member of this throwdown is Cristaldi Vineyards. And all are bringing their best barbera.

Lodi's wine country received a big marketing push last year with LoCA, a campaign designed to increase awareness about that area's wineries – especially with tasters in their 20s and 30s.

We've just about landed on Mother's Day, and Wine Buzz has mimosas on the mind.

With Cinco de Mayo on tap for this weekend, "Wine Buzz" is switching up the subject matter to talk tequila.

And now, "Wine Buzz" gives what could be a final toast to Rominger West, a winery on Second Street in Davis.

Earth Day arrives Sunday, and the family behind Bogle Vineyards invites you to come out and maybe get your feet a little muddy, too.

In terms of the local wine scene, the view from Rail Bridge Cellars' tasting room is tough to beat. It's situated 13 floors above J street in the Elks Tower penthouse, which overlooks the entire city and beyond.

Sacramento's underground rappers have sold millions of CDs and you probably know little, maybe nothing, about them. Bee pop music critic Chris Macias and photographer José Luis Villegas spent five months exploring the south Sacramento hip-hop scene that is known across the country for its extreme lyrics, gangsta images and big beats.