2010 Martellotto La Bomba Paso Robles Cabernet Duo

Tastes like: Vanilla, sour cherry, black currant
Pairs with: Hard cheeses, salume
Good for: Upscale parties
Drink this: Within the next three years
Alcohol: 14%

2 x 2010 Martellotto La Bomba Paso Robles Cabernet

Greg Martellotto had intended to be a physician but, as with so many of us led "astray" by the noble fruit of the vine, took his Stanford education and followed his passion instead. Now he likes to joke he's into Liquid Public Health.

His pursuit of the grape may have been genetically encoded: His relatives in Puglia have grown grapes since the 1600s, and his grandfather utilized those skills to serve the needs of anti-teetotalers during Prohibition from his New York basement.

A couple of generations later on the opposite coast, Greg, a self-proclaimed "vegetarian yoga guy" taken by California's stunning radiance, is making fabulous New World wines under the Martellotto name, expertly crafted from sustainably farmed fruit, with strictly traditional, hands-off winemaking. One foot in the Old World, one in the New, as they say.

With his insider connections going way back, Greg is able to source fruit from some of the country's best vineyards. The secret is that his wines cost about half as much as wines from the same vineyards with different labels.

—Eric Lawrence Brown

Eric Lawrence Brown has 10 years of wine experience, with five years as Sales Manager at renowned Los Angeles retailer, Wally’s Wine & Spirits. Since relocating from the East Coast eight years ago, this formerly devout Europhile was converted into an avowed proponent of the region as one of the world’s finest – thanks to frequent tasting expeditions to California’s Central Coast, not to mention proselytizing by local wine gurus. Eric holds certifications from the Court of Master Sommeliers, as well as the Society of Wine Educators.