New Times / Kathy's Pick

Palmina 2010 Arneis Santa Ynez Valley Honea Vineyard

This lovely, elegant white wine by winemaker Steve Clifton is a great choice for an aperitif, or for pairing with raw or cooked fish. Pale in color and quite dry, it offers fragrant notes of sweet pear, honey, and minerals lifted by highlights of citrus. But it’s tasty enough to stand up to bolder foods than you might expect, such as Caesar salad topped with prawns or chicken, raw fish with a citrusy vinaigrette, or sand dabs with buerre blanc sauce. It’s best enjoyed young; you’ll find it in local restaurants, their Lompoc tasting room, or online at palminawines.com. It’s a very good buy at only $18 retail.

Saucelito Canyon 2010 Zinfandel Estate Arroyo Grande Valley

I loved this elegant Zinfandel (I can’t remember the last time I described a Central Coast Zinfandel as elegant) at first sip. An amazing blend of red and black berries with notes of briary boysenberry, it’s a wine that’s exemplary on its own or a great choice for the table. Pair it with a great steak, roast chicken, or a very special pizza and you can’t go wrong. Just coming into the marketplace, it’s available at the tasting room in Edna Valley for just $30. Zin this good won’t last long in the tasting room or the market.