The St. Francis Winery 2008 Chardonnay is a straw-golden color with green-tinged edges and nice clarity. The flavors of this dry, full-bodied Chardonnay are very aromatic and consist mostly of apple, pear, and creamy vanilla. The acidity is strong enough to make the St. Francis Chardonnay quite refreshing.

The Paso Robles 2008 Sauvignon Blanc from Robert Hall is a bright straw gold with distinct green edges. It's color depth is fairly pale in nature and it has nice clarity. The flavors of the Paso Robles 2008 slightly fruity, but there is also some herby and mineral edges. It's a medium-to-full bodied wine with marked acidity and it is fairly dry.

The 2008 Wyatt Chardonnay is a pale greenish-yellow with clear edges. The nose of the Wyatt Chardonnay is clean with distinct notes of pear, melon, and other tropical fruits. This Chardonnay is a dry, full-bodied wine with crisp acidity and moderate flavor intensity. For a Chardonnay that isn't oaked at all it's hard to avoid the impression that it still tastes a little oaky, but that's countered a bit by the mineral flavors.

Appellation: 20% Monterey County, 35% from Yolo County, 45% Mendocino County

This is a dry, medium-bodied wine with marked acidity. The Priest Ranch 2007 Sauvignon Blanc doesn't taste nearly as strong as it smells. The flavors are only low to moderate, with some barely detectable apple and maybe tropical fruit as well.

At times it has a slightly bitter aftertaste and it really needs to be cold to be enjoyed properly — as it warms, an unpleasant alcohol burn develops. Unfortunately, the colder it is the more the flavors are suppressed. In the end, this unresolvable tension causes the wine to be too unbalanced.