2012 was a good year for California's wines

Just in the event that you have not noticed the 2012 vintages are now hitting the market and a fine vintage it is. Everything clicked in the grape growing regions of California; the weather, the temperature and even the cool evening breezes off of the Pacific Ocean all combining to produce one of the best growing seasons in a long time. The wines resulting from this gift from Mother Nature are now arriving on store shelves and in restaurants.

While the individual winemakers stamp are to be found in each of the wines, we have yet to taste one that is in any way below par. One maker, Ghost Pines has just released its 2012 wines and they are excellent. To be totally honest, we were so taken with the Ghost Pines Red Blend that we served it at a dinner with some friends to accolades from one and all.

Ghost Pines 2011 Red Blend ($20). This wine is a blend of Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Verdot and displays a dark, almost black ruby color. Although the wine is dry, the aroma suggests sweet blackberries and blueberries which blend with notes of caramel, spice and mushrooms. These are carried over to the flavor which is intense and vibrant followed by an equally long and fruit loaded finish. Pardon our enthusiasm but this is really one very fine wine and definitely deserves your interest because it certainly got ours.

Ghost Pines 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon ($23). This wine is full-bodied with a deep, almost violet color and displays its flavor in almost obscene quantities. Plum and blackberry dominate the flavor with black cherry bringing up the rear. There are the under flavors of mocha, cedar, pepper, oak and vanilla lying in the background all of which serve to add extra layers of complexity to this very excellent wine Serve this wine with meat, hearty pasta dishes, full-flavored cheeses and roast pork. While Cabernet Sauvignon wines are getting to be commonplace and some even boring, this wine is a level or two above the rest of the pack in the same price range and definitely deserves to be tried.

Ghost Pines 2010 Merlot ($20). After saying so much about the cabernet sauvignon we now present its more fruitier (if that is possible) cousin the Merlot. The aroma is powerful and fruity with a background of spice. The flavor is ablaze with plums, dark cherries and wild summer berries riding on a toasty smoky oak cloud. The Ghost Pines 2010 Merlot can accompany almost any meat dish as well as a great many non-meat dishes. It is an all around wine that we feel is sure to please.

Two other wines that came to our attention come from the prestigious Biltmore Resort and Spa of Ashville North Carolina and if these wines are to carry the Biltmore label, they have to be of quality.

Biltmore Century Red ($15.99). The Biltmore vintners blended Sangiovese, Merlot and Zinfandel so as to create what they consider to be an ideal mealtime beverage. The color is a dark cherry red and displays the aromas of blackberry, plum and violets backed up by hints of vanilla, blackberry and oak. On the palate blackberry and raspberry dominate followed by a long and fruity finish. If you plan an opulent dinner, serve this opulent wine; you will not be disappointed.

Biltmore Century White ($15.99). Bowing to the current trend toward sweeter white wines, Biltmore vintners crafted this very nice wine, made from the most popular sweet wine varieties, Muscat Canelli, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Malvasia. The aromas imparted to this wine are complex, culminating with Lychee, licorice and lime. The taste is a fruit basket of tropical fruits, homey, lime and lemon. This is definitely the perfect wine for Asiatic foods as well as Mexican and any other fruit that displays heat. It is also the wine for those warm weather lawn parties or just for sipping while sitting on the patio, deck or poolside.