Sunset's western wine awards: a toast to our favorite people, places, and bottles

The West has its jaw-dropping mountains, its breathtaking coastline, and its wine--some of the best in the world. Awesome human talent applied to just the right soils and climates produces the likes of elegant Willamette Valley Pinots, concentrated Napa Valley Cabs, and powerful

Dry Creek Valley Zins.

This year Sunset launched an awards program to honor the people who are on the leading edge--growing and making fascinating wine in new places, making those regions great destinations, and informing us about wine with wit and without pretension.

Nominations included almost 100 wines in three price ranges, plus dozens of wine professionals and regions. Here are the winners for 2005.

J. Christopher Croft Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2004 (Willamette Valley; $18)

"This is no California Sauvignon Blanc!" exclaimed one judge. She'd nailed it--it's from Oregon Crisp and lively, with pink grapefruit and honeydew, it's an exceptionally fresh and balanced Sauvignon Blanc.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

BEST WINE TREND

Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris Sunset Wine Club members have spoken--they approve of all the Western-made Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris appearing on restaurant wine lists and shop shelves. Two wines; one grape. In Italy, Pinot Grigio is a light, zingy, no-thought-required sipper. In France (where the grape is from), Pinot Gris is rich and layered with stone fruit, citrus, and minerals. Here it spans the spectrum; winemakers tend to name it for the end they're shooting for. In Oregon, they're pulling out Chardonnay to grow Pinot Gris. Good trade-off.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

DESTINATION OF THE YEAR

Walla Walla, Washington In the state's southeast corner, plowshares have been turned into ... whatever it takes to tend grapevines. All around this college town at the base of the Blue Mountains, wheat is giving way to wine as we speak. And downtown, more than a dozen tasting rooms have made Walla Walla just about the best wine destination in the country. Innovative restaurants like Grapefields (above), the Whitehouse-Crawford, and 26[degrees] Brix offer grand food to sip that concentrated Cab and Syrah with.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Miner Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (Oakville, CA; $50)

Dave and Emily Miner stole the main show in our tasting, with this rich and structured Cabernet. Lean, briary red fruit and coffee aromas are balanced with tannins and oak for a great model of a Napa Cab. Their hillside winery on the east side of the valley also gets our vote for an excellent place to visit (www.minerwines.com).

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

FARTHEST OUT ON THE EDGE

Randall Grahm The encyclopedic winemaking knowledge of Bonny Doon Vineyard's "president for life" is an asset, sure. But Grahm's true genius is in building zany fun into good wine. Bonny Doon bottles have been paired with alien ray guns, and the winery's Death of the Cork parties (Grahm's a proponent of screw caps) were the funerals of the century. Grahm's irreverent newsletters unstuff oenological stuffed shirts. www.bonnydoonvineyard.com or 831/425-3625.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

BEST TASTING ROOM

Niebaum-Coppola Estate When Francis Ford Coppola hooked his passion for winemaking to that of Captain Gustave Niebaum, founder of Inglenook (and Napa's wine industry in general), we got creativity on a grand scale--and One from the Heart Get a museum-quality look at Napa Valley winemaking and Hollywood moviemaking in the historic Inglenook chateau. Tours end in private tastings. 10-5 daily; $15 tasting fee. Winery tours 10:30, 12:30, 2:30 daily ($25), vineyard tours 11 a.m. daily ($25), 1991 State 29, Rutherford, CA, 707/968-1100.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

GREEN AWARD

Benziger Family Winery What with employing birds and bees to do what they do naturally and an insectary garden to drive diversity, the Benzigers have, in Mike Benziger's words, "created an environmental safe house" for grapevines. The Sonomo clan is committed to biodynamic farming--attracting pollinators, using natural controls, and recycling water and waste. Their Tribute, a Bordeaux blend, is the first certified biodynamic wine from Napa and Sonoma Counties. www.benziger.com/tribute or 888/490-2739.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

MOST INFLUENTIAL WINE PROS

Mark Chandler One judge captured the effect on us all of the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission's executive director: "Mark's indefatigable efforts to gain Lodi [California] the recognition it deserves have opened the door for much more excellent wine to enter the market at a very competitive price point."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Andrea Immer Robinson TV, books, the Web--there's not a medium this Master Sommelier-at-large doesn't reach, with pretense-shattering advice on wine. This year Immer took on a new last name and, when she moved from New York, a new address: Napa Valley. She's one of us now.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Bogle Petite Sirah 2003 (California; $10)

Best in the under-$15 category, this great-value Petite Sirah from Clarksburg, California's longtime winegrowing and winemaking family is "Jimi Hendrix purple," as one taster put it, with terrific berry flavors and well-managed tannins (Petite Sirah tends to be big).