Characteristics of the Best Wines

Join a wine club to discover the best wines.

Deciding which are the best wines in Napa or any other wine-growing region is very much a matter of personal taste. Some people like red wines, while others prefer white. Some people prefer greater fruitiness, greater acidity or more tannins.

Still, there are certain general rules most people agree on. The best wines are complex and intense, with connoisseurs able to detect a variety of aromas in the nose and flavors in the taste and finish. Fruit flavors tend to predominate, but spices, flowers, chocolate, tobacco and even leather, earth and stone have been detected. In the best wines, these flavors are well balanced, so that no one overwhelms the others. The flavor should linger in the finish as long as possible, with new notes becoming detectable as the old notes fade.

The Wine Advocate Magazine

One of the leading judges of the world’s best wines is The Wine Advocate, a magazine founded by Robert M. Parker Jr. in 1978. Parker developed a 100-point rating system for wine which is still in use today. But as with books and movies, it’s important to always read the whole review, not just the rating number, to figure out if you’ll like the wine. Wine experts can give you more advice on finding the join a wine club.

Best wines from a vineyard near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. Cave tastings are $65, but one tasting fee can be waived by joining their wine club or making a $100 purchase. Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards produces world-class wines at affordable prices. The vineyard is a 40-acre estate just south of Howell Mountain, and has been owned and operated by the Anderson family since 1983. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide.

The Wine Advocate praises their 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon for its “terrific purity, plenty of depth and ripeness, and a full-bodied mouthfeel” and describes the 2010 Cab as “an elegant, finesse-styled effort to enjoy over the next decade.” The 2010 Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is an intense dark purple and red wine with an aroma and palate of blackberry, blueberry, rosehips, licorice, anise, tobacco and smoke, all perfectly balanced and aged in French oak. The 2012 Estate Reserve Cab is similar in color, with an aroma of cloves, mocha, licorice and the ripest red raspberries. Its mouthfeel is silky and polished, flavored with dark red fruit, spices, new leather and licorice, with notes of white pepper and orange peel in the finish. Join the wine club and order a Cab today.