Ridge: A California Legend

If pressed to take just one producer of full-bodied Californian reds, I would strongly consider Ridge. From home base high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, for decades Ridge has been producing its emblematic Monte Bello blend, a wine that easily lives in the pantheon of the great American wines. So far so easy, but it's the rest of the range that makes Ridge such a compelling proposition.

A sleeper is always the Estate Cabernet Sauvignon; essentially everything from Santa Cruz that does not make it into Monte Bello ends up here. This is a gravelly and richly-fruited expression of Californian fruit. The other unmissable stop on the Ridge portfolio tour is the Zinfandel wines; with one or two exceptions (Bedrock and Turley, probably), Ridge treats this variety with more care than most. The benchmark Geyserville bottling (a single vineyard, Zin-led field blend) has been made since 1966 and is justly celebrated for its depth of flavor and complexity.