A few suggestions make life rosé-ier THE SPLURGES 2018 La Crema Monterey Rosé of Pinot Noir, California

This wine is sourced from a number of vineyards throughout the Sonoma Coast, using inland vineyards to give a soft plushness to the wine and southern vineyards for fruit and mineral verve. This pleasing Chard is bright and fresh with yellow apple, peach and subtle baking spice flavours. Invitingly creamy on the palate with a bright zip of mouthwatering acidity, this is a great pairing for grilled freshwater fish, turkey burgers and mango salads. 3½ stars

This light-ruby rosé comes from an appellation that is blessed by the cooling winds off the Pacific's Monterey Bay. That freshness translates to aromas of strawberries and watermelon, vanilla, cedar and tangerine, which lead to a tangy and off-dry palate with exuberant fruit and a slick, fresh finish. 4 stars.

The Vintner's Reserve label is best known for its rich and ripe Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon bottlings, which are staples on Canadian wine shelves. Made in a similar vein, here's a ripe and fleshy style of Pinot Noir with a crowd-pleasing full-body and smooth texture. A mix of spice and smoke notes add interest to the core of fruit, which reveal sweet strawberry and plummy notes. The rich and flavourful style makes it easy to appreciate. Drink now to 2022. 4 stars.

Thirty years on and Kendall-Jackson's Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay continues to be one of California's most successful brands. Made in a rich and rewarding style, this attractive Chardonnay offers appealing tropical and peachy fruit accented by smoke, toast and sweet oak notes. The rich and flavourful style is mouthfilling yet balanced, with a long, persistent finish. Drink now or over the next two years. 4 stars.

Look for very attractive flavours in this food-friendly Cabernet. They're concentrated but by no means intense, and in fact the wine is balanced and judiciously crafted throughout - an excellent answer to the widespread notion that California Cabs are all heavy fruit. The acidity is fresh and well calibrated and the tannins have a slight nip and are easily managed. 4½ stars.

This is a real user-friendly red wine. Made up of 50 percent zinfandel and 36 percent syrah along with a smattering of six other red grapes, this wine delivers a bold, mouth-filling experience that over delivers for the price with luscious cherry, raspberry and blueberry flavors.

This ready-to-drink, bright, fruity cabernet sauvignon is made from 80 percent cabernet sauvignon along with a smattering of merlot, petite verdot, and cabernet franc. Luscious and smooth with cherry, berry and mocha notes.

Murphy-Goode is another member of the Jackson Family Wines and reflects a commitment to quality. A complex wine for the price with cherry, herbal and mocha notes.

Wine of the week: Easter reds RAS EL HANOUT LAMB SHOULDER WINE PAIRING: YANGARRA OLD VINE GRENACHE 2017 If ever there was a wine made for drinking with lamb, it was this: Yangarra – a biodynamic wine farm in the South Australia’s McLaren Vale – uses sheep in winter to graze under vine. The winemaker’s philosophy is all around healthy and alive soil, which involves no use of synthetic herbicides or fungicides, preferring compost and biodynamic preparations. Mix this with the fruit of bush vines planted in 1946, and the result is a complex, perfumed and elegant wine with plenty of tannins. The latter helps the wine stand up to the punchier Middle Eastern flavours of ras el hanout. Make sure you chuck on some pomegranate seeds to take the edge off the spices – and be sure to decant this one at least an hour before you dive in.

Wine of the week: Easter reds SLOW-COOKED LAMB SHANKS WINE PAIRING: LASSEGUE 2012 If you’re now having to juggle being a full-time teacher or nursery carer with working from home, the slow cooker is your new friend. Chuck everything in when you get up; enjoy the tempting aromas wafting through your house during the day; and then tuck in once the kids have gone to bed. Naturally you’ll want a serious red to get over the day, so let us recommend the 2012 Lassègue. This captivating claret has all the new leather and cigar box characteristics of a bordeaux, lifted violet and lilac notes. There’s an earthy quality which will go great guns with slow-cooked porcini mushrooms, and an innate mintiness that will that makes it a great sparring partner with lamb.

Wine of the week: Easter reds ROAST LEG OF LAMB WINE PAIRING: LA CREMA MONTEREY PINOT NOIR 2017 Simply cooked with garlic and rosemary, the juicy, sweet flavour of roast lamb is difficult to beat. A leg of lamb is a great shout, as you’ll enjoy leftovers for days. To accompany, we’d go for a new world pinot noir. Try La Crema 2017 from Monterey, California. This bright, plush wine is bursting with black plum, cherry, and rhubarb on the nose. Its flavours of plum and raspberry can cope with a healthy helping of redcurrant jelly on the side.

Anderson Valley – the tasting notes Vineyard planted at an elevation of 600 m on sandstone. Planted in 2011. Robert Young and Upper Barn selections. 18% new oak. 500 cases. Fruit rather simple on the nose. Some lychee interest underneath though. Crystal clear. With a lightly savoury note on the end. Hint of popcorn but not too much. 16+

Anderson Valley – the tasting notes Wente clone. 37-year-old vines. Lower and warmer vineyard than Skycrest. 67% foot trodden. 25% new French oak. Tastes a little more old-school California Chardonnay than Skycrest Copain Chardonnay. Satin texture. Some freshness but also some sweet popcorn flavour. 16

Anderson Valley – the tasting notes Same fruit source as the Maggy Hawk Chardonnay but presumably picked earlier. 67% foot trodden. No new oak. 285 cases. Livelier, greener fruit than the Maggy Hawk with structure and citrus-peel zest. 16.5

Anderson Valley – the tasting notes Jackson Family’s northerly vineyard in California at 75–150 m. Mix of clones. Each lot vinified separately with an average of 20% whole cluster. Aged separately with an average of 20% new oak. 480 cases. Very fresh and pure on the nose. ‘Stereotypical feminine’ characters. Great purity with a light hazelnut character. So pretty! But there’s a little structure there too. 17

Anderson Valley – the tasting notes Jackson Family Wines brand. Native yeast. Small lots. 16 months in French oak, 35% new. Fruit from Maggy Hawk vineyard at an elevation of 76–152 m in the far north of the valley. All 777 Dijon clone according to the tech sheet. 275 cases. Pale blueish crimson. An attractive savoury quality to this. Very juicy and fluid with the merest hint of coconut. Then dry and appetising on the finish. Needs a little bit of time to settle down but there is freshness of fruit here. I’d love to taste just the fruit! 16.5

Anderson Valley – the tasting notes Copain is now part of Jackson Family Wines. Abel is the name of the vineyard near Navarro, not the clone. 20-year-old vines at an elevation of 61 m. All destemmed into open-topped fermenters. 20% new French oak. 350 cases. Quite a bit of grunt, even (positive) earthiness, on the nose. Smooth texture and rather sophisticated and layered. Still quite youthful and tense. 16.5

At Freemark Abbey, A New Chapter Continues Its Storied History A blockbuster, the 2017 Merlot offered abundant fruit, firm tannic structure and a smooth finish and the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, an opulent Bordeaux blend, was full bodied with dark fruit and chocolate.

At Freemark Abbey, A New Chapter Continues Its Storied History A blockbuster, the 2017 Merlot offered abundant fruit, firm tannic structure and a smooth finish and the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, an opulent Bordeaux blend, was full bodied with dark fruit and chocolate.

At Freemark Abbey, A New Chapter Continues Its Storied History The 1999 and 2015 wines from the Sycamore Vineyard, a cooler climate vineyard set along the Mayacamas Range, were intensely dark in color and presented rich black currant flavors.

At Freemark Abbey, A New Chapter Continues Its Storied History The 1999 and 2015 wines from the Sycamore Vineyard, a cooler climate vineyard set along the Mayacamas Range, were intensely dark in color and presented rich black currant flavors.

At Freemark Abbey, A New Chapter Continues Its Storied History The 1999, 2009 and 2015 Cabernets from the Bosché vineyards, known for its wines of “sophistication, depth and longevity,” exuded signature notes of florals and full-bodied fruit, especially dark cherries.

At Freemark Abbey, A New Chapter Continues Its Storied History The 1999, 2009 and 2015 Cabernets from the Bosché vineyards, known for its wines of “sophistication, depth and longevity,” exuded signature notes of florals and full-bodied fruit, especially dark cherries.

At Freemark Abbey, A New Chapter Continues Its Storied History The 1999, 2009 and 2015 Cabernets from the Bosché vineyards, known for its wines of “sophistication, depth and longevity,” exuded signature notes of florals and full-bodied fruit, especially dark cherries.