Chris Bilbro was one of California wine’s unsung heroes. He founded Marietta Cellars in 1978 and grew the winery into one of the preeminent producers of excellent value, honestly made California wine. Chris sadly passed away in 2019, and today his son, Scot Bilbro, runs the winery. The lineup is as good as it’s ever been: full of delicious, gutsy wines that overdeliver at all prices.
 
The Marietta wines have been customer favorites at the shop for some time, from their sub-$20 Zinfandel-based old vine blend (which defined the category for California), all the way up to their Gibson Block Syrah, which hails from a parcel planted in the 1880s. Their entire range routinely receives the type of critical praise you’d expect from much more expensive wines.

 
Fontodi is one of Tuscany’s most respected estates and produces some of the finest wines in the world. The estate’s vineyards are planted along a high elevation hill of Conca d’Oro (“the golden shell,” named for its shape) and its south-facing amphitheater. It is an utterly unique terroir. Here, the high elevation and shape of the land offer long and warm summer days and a wild diurnal temperature swing. The calcareous clay and schist soils are optimal for producing ripe yet balanced Sangiovese. The resulting wines are effortlessly delicious and harmonious, the gift of such high-quality base material.
 
The Manetti Family purchased their property in the village of Panzano in 1968. (Before that, they crafted terracotta tiles from the soil, so you could say they know the land intimately.)