SANTA ROSA, CALIF. – Each year Wine Spectrum reveals its Top 100 Wine List—experienced wine buyers (sommeliers, former wine buyers and directors) select the most exciting wines from thousands of wines they’ve evaluated during the course of the year. Wine Spectrum’s 2020 Top 100 honors the ‘best-of-the-best’ wines—a diverse group ranging from Napa Valley and Sonoma County icons to international gems, artisan brands, emerging labels and superb values. Wine Spectrum’s selection is based on quality, value, excitement and accessibility. The Top 100 is a reflection of the special spectrum of wines our wine buyers, wine advisors and clientele are passionate about. Many of this year’s Top 100 winners are still available for purchase (some at limited quantities). Visit Wine Spectrum’s Top 100 Wine List at: winespectrum.com/top100.
“The Top 100 exemplifies a key reason why our customers love us. We are the ‘treasure hunters’ of the wine world with decades of wine buying clout resulting from our deep relationships in the wine industry. We provide consumers access to some of the best wines in the world delivered with pristine provenance,” said Glenn Siegel—Wine Spectrum’s Founder and President.
Wine of the Year
Wine Spectrum honors Chappellet ‘Signature’ Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley 2018 as the #1 Wine of the Year. The stunning ‘Signature’ Cabernet has been Chappellet’s flagship wine for more than three decades. The dry, rocky soils of Pritchard Hill produce small, intensely flavorful grapes. ‘Signature’ is a benchmark for the long-lived hillside wines of the Napa Valley; full of structure and aging potential, yet seductively forward in its concentrated varietal character. To purchase, or for more information, visit Wine Spectrum’s Top 100 Wine List: winespectrum.com/top100.
Winemaker of the Year
Wine Spectrum honors Jesse Katz of Aperture Cellars in Healdsburg, CA. Katz honed his winemaking skills with stints at Pétrus, Viña Cobos, and Screaming Eagle. He spent five years as winemaker at Lancaster Estate in Alexander Valley. In 2009, he founded Aperture Cellars, a collaborative project with his father, renowned vineyard photographer Andy Katz. Aperture Cellars champions a range of expressive Bordeaux style wines from Sonoma County’s premier cool-climate Bordeaux varietal vineyard sites. Wine Spectrum recognized two of Aperture’s wines in the Top 100: 2018 Aperture Bordeaux Red Blend Alexander Valley (winespectrum.com/wine/2018-aperture-red-blend/) and 2018 Aperture Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley (winespectrum.com/wine/2018-aperture-cabernet-sauvignon/). The wines are intensely scented, layered and texturally stunning representing some of the best Cabernets coming out of Sonoma County today. To purchase, or for more information, visit Wine Spectrum’s Top 100 Wine List: winespectrum.com/top100.
About Wine Spectrum
Wine Spectrum—in the heart of Sonoma wine country, provides discriminating collectors a spectrum of diverse, rare and highly allocated wines through personalized selection and guidance. For more information on Wine Spectrum Inc. visit: winespectrum.com or http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wine-spectrum
“This wine is inspired by my grandmother, Marina Portalupi, who immigrated to Northern California from Piemonte, Italy. She believed wine was a staple, like milk and bread, and kept a barrel of her vino di tavola in her small grocery store. Every day, customers would fill their empty milk bottles to take home and pass around the dinner table. Vaso di Marina is a rustic yet refined wine in that same tradition and we hope you’ll enjoy it the same way.”
“We are in the thick of it, and Gracianna has felt the effects of this shutdown,” said Gracianna Winery co-founder Ashley Amador. “We have kept our team employed and are open limited hours but we are still going. And while we keep going others are struggling. Our responsibility is to pitch in with the community to support affected people today, right now. It’s one of our core values to always help others when in need, and that’s especially relevant now as the four entities we selected to support have helped us and others tremendously.”
The idyllic location overlooking Dry Creek Valley is the destination for an exceptional wine education experience hosted by The Pour House collective team, with future winemaker tasting seminars to be led by Nick Goldschmidt. Reservations are requested in order to safely monitor and accommodate each guest. Tastings are $10.00 per person for four (4) wines; tasting fee is refundable with a bottle purchase. Visit 
During the event, weekend wine tasters may purchase “futures,” essentially a chance to buy, often at a discount, a wine that is still aging in the barrel now, then come back to the winery (or have the wine shipped) when the wine is bottled, typically within 12-18 months. Many wines are so limited, buying futures is the only chance to purchase them. In addition to sampling wine from the barrel, most wineries also provide pours of a limited number of current release wines.
“We are so thrilled that BACA now has a home where Zinfandel lovers can come and experience our wines. We are so proud of this tasting room and all of the love that has gone into it,” says BACA Director Jennifer Brown. “BACA is all about adventure, and that can be experienced throughout our tasting room with games, our wines’ playful names or a walk through the expansive vineyards. Healdsburg is a special place – we could not be happier to call it home.”
Saturday evening’s Project Zin event lines up 21 of the most highly acclaimed Zinfandel wines from Northern California. The number 21 is significant: in most cases of Down Syndrome there is an extra copy of chromosome 21, which changes the body and brain’s normal development. Clay and Carrie Mauritson’s ten-year old son Brady was diagnosed with Down Syndrome at the age of 2 ½, which led the Mauritson family to seek support from friends, family, and community organizations, including the Down Syndrome Association, North Bay (DSANB). In addition to DSANB, Clay solicited the aid of his close friend and winemaking partner, Chef Charlie Palmer, and Project Zin was born. In the years since Project Zin’s inception, the Sonoma County winemaking and culinary community has come together to raise over $750,000 for DSANB, providing much needed funds for research and support for individuals and families affected by Down Syndrome. A letter from Clay and Carrie Mauritson highlighting their personal challenges with Down Syndrome and the subsequent support they received from the DSANB can be found 