We will run our contributor’ picks for Producer and Wine of the Year in this space almost every day as 2011 winds down, so please check back frequently to see the year’s best. M.F.]
Wine Producer of the Year 2011: Sebastiani
I’ve been drinking Sebastiani wines for, well, way longer than I’d care to admit publicly but let’s just say for many, many years. The wines have always been perfectly fine, reliable, 
serviceable, affordable, seldom disappointing. Every now and then a really good vintage came along, but until recently there was never anything that made you jump up and shout, “Woo-hoo!”
Sebastiani is one of California’s most iconic wineries, having been founded in 1895 by an immigrant from Tuscany named Samuele Sebastiani. Unlike most American wineries, which were driven out of business by Prohibition, the Sebastianis managed to keep their estate afloat by producing sacramental and medicinal wines. Over the ensuing decades the Sebastiani family continued to manage the estate, sometimes for better, sometimes not so much as they rolled with various economic and stylistic punches. In 2008 Sebastiani Vineyards & Winery became part of Foley Family Wines. Mark Lyon, who has been the winemaker at Sebastiani for some 30 years, has lately been turning out some astonishingly good wines. Among the most noteworthy are “Cherryblock” Cabernet Sauvignon, Russian River Pinot Noir, and Sonoma County Chardonnay. The surprising 2007 Barbera is not to be missed, ditto the exceptional ‘08 Alexander Valley Cabernet, 08 Zinfandel and the 2007 “Sonoma County Red” (a succulent blend of Cab Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Sirah). Taste any of these wines and I think you’ll join me in an enthusiastic “WOO-HOO”!
Wine of the Year 2011
Singling out a specific wine from all the many exceptional ones enjoyed over a twelve month period is always a tough assignment, but you know the cliché: Someone has to do it. Although I hesitate to fling kudos at a wine that I couldn’t possibly afford to buy myself, I 
nonetheless have to say that the Chateau la Nerthe Châteauneuf du Pape “Cuvée des Cadettes” 2005 ($165, imported by Pasternak) that I was fortunate enough to sample a few months ago was undoubtedly the most exciting and memorable wine to cross my lips all year. Made from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, this sublime Châteauneuf du Pape tasted of the sun-baked earth and herb-scented wind that characterized the warm, dry summer of 2005. Supremely rich, ripe, powerful and fragrant, with extraordinary complexity and remarkable length this is a wine that will age beautifully. I will probably never have the good fortune to drink it again myself, but I will remember my encounter with it in 2011 for a very long time.
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