Drink This Now: 2010 Twomey Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley

Lots of pinot noir lovers, if you can pull them away from Burgundy, focus on the bright, acidic pinots from Oregon or New Zealand. But it'd be wise to not overlook California. This beauty from Sonoma has a perfect Burgundy nose: dark-ish fruit, cherry, a little chocolate. It's a fairly big wine, but not particularly sweet or hot, mostly thanks to a very bright cranberrry-like acidity. With nice texture and lovely levels of flavor, it could be held in your cellar for three to five years, but it's also very drinkable now. In these last days of Indian summer, I love it with grilled fish or light grilled meats.