Aha, this week we have some unique US wines, all well recommended by reviewers or store owners.

1) Firestone Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Santa Ynez Valley, California) - I'll highly recommend this because not only was it an excellent balanced classic cabernet, it had a touch of boldness yet not too much.    I think it would appeal to most people whether they like Old World or New World style.  Also it's neat that the ownership really did come from one of the families originally connected to the early car industry.  So both historic and good.

2) Cartlidge and Browne Pinot Noir 2005 (California) - A quality traditional Burgundy style wine.  Certainly good.  But I'd still say New Zealand pinot noir has an edge.

3) Coturri, Testa Vineyards, Mendocino County, Charbono 2004 (California) - Wow.  Wow.  This was a treat.  Flavorful, unique, and tart.  So, my boss had mentioned he'd heard about this type of grape and never found it to try it.  We looked around separately in stores and the internet and all we could find were $30+ bottles of it.  So I waited hoping to find a better price elsewhere.  At Wine Emporium in the South End I stumbled across it for $25 so I bought two bottles, one for each of us.  Today I opened it and what a cool wine.  It's kind of like a very ripe Zinfandel but with a touch of fresh tartness.  In fact in some ways it reminds me of the Black Muscat and reported on way back near the beginning.  This is an exotic and rare wine to find.