"Leave it to the company behind America’s best-selling California Chardonnay to supply the masses with great Pinot Noir. In 1993, Jess Jackson and his wife and business partner Barbara Banke purchased a fledgling Pinot Noir brand—then dubbed La Crema Viñera—co-founded by Joseph Swan winemaker Rod Berglund. Jackson, who died in 2011, and Banke believed in the grape variety’s potential to stand on the same level of excellence as Cabernet Sauvignon. La Crema would be the brand to underscore that theory, exploring cool-climate sites through the lens of Pinot Noir.

Fast forward to today and Pinot Noir has met Cabernet at the pinnacle of popularity among Golden State red wines. However, as the grape has become more successful, small-volume, expensive bottles have become more prevalent, while high quality yet affordable offerings have mostly eluded the category. Bucking those trends, La Crema has been riding Pinot’s wave over the past two decades to become a ubiquitous brand on retail shelves, delivering exceptional value at an impressive scale.

Growing your own grapes is always a recipe for controlling quality and prices, and Jackson Family Wines is among Sonoma County’s most significant vineyard landholders. Winemaker Craig McAllister credits the wine’s quality and growth partly to California vintners’ freedom to blend across AVAs, citing the vastness of the Sonoma Coast appellation, which includes the Russian River Valley and Los Carneros subregions.

Tasting Note: Offers a friendly mix of loganberry and damson plum allied to a bright, racy frame, with a nice piercing savory thread running through the finish. Drink now through 2028.—James Molesworth