One of my friends had a group of women over for dinner. Since she always makes the most fabulous healthy dishes, I took along a bottle of wine that I hoped would match up with her cuisine – a Viognier 2008 from River Run Vintners, even though Viognier is not always the most food-friendly wine. Most white wine drinkers love Chardonnay, but it makes a nice change to try something els

Sure enough, my friend produces a splendid main course of curried chicken salad—delightful in its simplicity and packed with flavor. I open up the Viognier for the six of us, already wishing I had brought more. This golden-hued beauty has an intriguing heady bouquet of peaches and flowers. Thanks to the warm climate of the Tanimura-Antle Vineyard where the grapes are grown, the fruit ripens perfectly in October—producing this marvelous white wine with a weighty mouthfeel.

Soquel Vineyards is one of the primo wineries belonging to the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation. Owners Peter and Paul Bargetto, along with their partner Jon Morgan, deserve many congratulations for recent awards. The Partners’ Reserve 2008 Pinot (Santa Cruz Mountains Lester Family Vineyard) won a gold medal at the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle wine competition, as did their 2007 and 2006 Pinots. Check the website for Soquel Vineyards’ full range of wines and awards. They have won a multitude of gold and silver medals at various competitions.

For all those fortunate people attending the release party of Bargetto Winery’s La Vita 2006 in May, it was a perfect day of wine, food and ambiance.

In the winery’s beautiful Creek Side Courtyard overlooking Soquel Creek, hors d’oeuvres are passed, luscious wines are tasted, music is played—and a buzz of excitement is in the air before the unveiling of La Vita 2006.

This is no ordinary wine. It’s produced from a unique blend of northern Italian varietals grown in Bargetto’s estate vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Made up of 58 percent Dolcetto, 24 percent Refosco and 18 percent Nebbiolo, this handcrafted wine is aged for two and a half years in oak barrels, and then aged for an additional 18 months in the bottle.

J. Lohr Vineyard & Wines is one of the most known wineries in the Bay Area and elsewhere. It’s also one of the largest. Started by Jerry Lohr in the ’70s in San Jose—when he planted his first 280 acres of varietal grapes—the business has grown to include more than 900 acres of cool-climate estate vineyards in Monterey County, producing Chardonnay, Riesling, Valdiguie and Pinot Noir, to around 2,000 acres in Paso Robles focusing on Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Petite Sirah and other red varietals. Sauvignon Blanc grapes are grown on another 33 acres in Napa.

What goes really well with meat and zesty barbecue? The answer is Zinfandel. This spicy, jammy wine is a fine match with just about anything barbecued or grilled and it’s also fabulous with pizza.

As my husband and I head over to Aptos St. BBQ one Saturday night, we grab a bottle of Sones Cellars Zinfandel, Central Coast ($26 from DeLuxe Foods of Aptos). Friends kept telling me how good the barbecue place is, so we had to try it. Being very familiar with Sones Cellars’ wines, I knew we would have no problem enjoying the Zin. Thanks to the expertise of winemaker Michael Sones, it’s a sure thing that the full-throttle flavor of a good Zin will be captured in every bottle.

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La Honda Winery specializes in producing small lots of distinctive wines from carefully managed vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains and throughout California. Winemaker Ken Wornick is truly dedicated to his craft – working hard to produce his award-winning wines. The 2006 Cabernet/Sangiovese is a blend of 57 percent Cab and 43 percent Sagiovese—all from grapes grown in the La Honda vineyard on the “stunning” Modica family ranch. When you open up a bottle of this superb wine, you’ll get a touch of spice mixed with coastal fog. At only 12.5 percent alcohol, it’s a very food-friendly wine for taking on picnics or to drink on a summer’s day.

Birthdays are always an occasion to dine out. Five of my women friends and I headed to The Greek restaurant on Front Street to celebrate a friend’s birthday. One friend in our group, who is Greek, knows the owner, Vasili Karagiannopoulos, so as soon as we were seated he started plying us with typical little appetizers – in true Greek hospitality style. Meantime, we had all ordered an entrée, so in less time than it takes to say yassou (hello in Greek), our table was weighted down with all kinds of good Greek food.