Samuel Louis Smith: The Central Coast Winemaker to Watch

When K&L Domestic Buyer Ryan Woodhouse stops a tasting and says "keep an eye on this winemaker," you listen. That was six years ago, and Samuel Louis Smith has been one of our favorite producers ever since. He makes about 1,300 cases a year across Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gamay, and cool-climate Syrah from some of the most compelling sites on the Central Coast — all organically farmed, all minimal intervention, all genuinely outstanding. We've visited him in the vineyards, poured his wines at our tent events, and we're re-running our 2019 interview now that new vintages are in stock.

Create your Dream Cellar with Private Client Services’ Curated Picks

Most serious collectors share a common frustration. The desire is there: the curiosity, the passion, the genuine excitement about what's in the glass. What's harder to come by is the time to track down the right bottles, the relationships to access what never makes it to a shelf, and the confidence to know you're building something coherent rather than just accumulating. The wine world doesn't make it easy. Allocations disappear before you hear about them. Producers you've read about for years are nearly impossible to source. And the sheer volume of what's out there, across regions, vintages, producers, and formats, can make even an enthusiastic collector feel like they're perpetually one step behind.

That's the problem Private Client Services was built to solve.

Building a Cellar Worth Drinking: Meet the Private Client Services Team

Think of us as the advisor you've always wished you had on speed dial. Someone who knows your cellar, understands what excites you, and does the legwork: the sourcing, the vetting, the relationship-building with producers and brokers, so you don't have to. Our team brings decades of combined experience, deep buying relationships across the U.S., Europe, and beyond, and the kind of access that comes from being one of the most respected wine retailers in the country. When something rare surfaces, a private cellar acquisition, an early allocation, a parcel directly from Bordeaux or Burgundy, our Private Client advisors hear about it first.

Premier Week in Napa: Confidence, Character, and a Whole Lot of Green

We landed early: caffeinated and on a mission.

Premier week in Napa Valley is not a casual affair. Sunrise departure out of LAX, a Sacramento pickup, a quick team rendezvous—and suddenly we were off to two tightly packed days of tastings, sub-appellation deep dives, and enough Cabernet to recalibrate the palate for weeks.

Domestic Wines to Know

February offers a fresh look at the depth and range of American wine, and this month’s domestic lineup at K&L shows just how compelling and approachable the category has become. From sharply priced, high-scoring Napa Valley Cabernet to small-production Oregon Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with a real sense of place, these bottles highlight the sweet spot where pedigree meets value. We’ve also taken on one of our favorite challenges: just how well can you drink for under $30? Very well, as it turns out. Alongside those everyday standouts, you’ll find a selection of luxurious 97–100-point whites and reds suited for collectors and special occasions alike. Whether you’re refilling the cellar, discovering new producers, or hunting for benchmark bottles without benchmark prices, this newsletter will guide the way. And don’t miss our upcoming in-store tastings and events, where many of these wines come to life in the glass.

How Well Can You Drink For Under $30?

As the Domestic Wine Buyer at K&L the part of my job that takes up the vast majority of my time and effort is making sure we have a best-in-class selection of wines that over-deliver on value for money. I taste hundreds of wines every week, travel to wine regions to seek out new talent, and work with dozens of suppliers to try and find you the very best deals in wine, and to do so without cutting corners on quality, and still focusing on small production, artisanal wines.

Affordable, World-Class, 97-99-Point Napa Cabs (Yeah, You Read That Right!)

When starting to write this article I asked Google what I should expect to pay for high-quality, top scoring Napa Cabernet. The answer was $200 to $4000 per bottle! Well, I thought, we can do better than that. So I decided to write a list of what I consider to be some of the best of the best Napa Valley wines—these all deliver exceptional quality, respected pedigree, cellaring potential, and massive critical acclaim. Then I gave myself a budget not to exceed $100 per bottle, and here’s what I came up with.

Restocking the Cellar for the New Year

The end of the year is often when some of the best bottles get opened, and January is when the cellar shows the impact. This selection of old and rare wines and spirits is designed to restock cellars with bottles chosen for how they age, not just how they impress on release, including mature classics, proven benchmarks, and younger wines with decades ahead of them. You will find fully mature icons alongside bottles selected for long-term aging. For collectors looking beyond current inventory, our wine auctions and spirits auctions remain two of the strongest sources for rare, older bottles and singular releases that rarely reappear once they are gone.

Festive Sparkling Essentials—For You and Yours

Sparkling wine shines on jubilant occasions—whether you're pouring for a crowd or savoring something special with close company. Below is a focused selection of our essential bottles for welcoming 2026, drawing from Champagne, Spain, Italy, and standout domestic producers. These are the wines we trust completely, stock by the case, and reach for ourselves whenever celebration calls (often well before the clock strikes midnight).

Magic in a Bottle for Ringing in the New Year!

Our selection of fantastic Domestic Sparkling wines continues to grow from strength to strength and as we approach 2026 we have over 70 options in stock. So, what to choose? Well we have the classics: Roederer Estate, Schramberg, J Vineyards. But we also have a beautiful selection of small production sparkling wines that are very much following the boutique, Grower Champagne type model with unwavering focus on quality, complexity and expression terroir. So, as we get ready to ring in another new year (my 15th here at K&L) I decided to highlight a few very special wines that are on my short list for popping when the ball drops (likely at NY time)! Wishing you all a wonderful New Year and health and happiness for 2026 and beyond! Cheers!

All Things Bordeaux

Bordeaux grapes have traveled farther, and adapted more brilliantly, than any varieties in the world. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Sauvignon Blanc have taken root in new landscapes, absorbing local character while retaining the structure and poise that define their origins. This month, we look at how these grapes express themselves from the Gironde to the Andes, from Napa Valley to the Tuscan coast, and beyond. Along the way, our buyers highlight the benchmark wines, the unexpected values, and the producers shaping the next generation of Bordeaux-inspired winemaking.

Napa Valley: A Millionaire’s Playground? Or Something for Everyone?

On a visit to Napa you’ll also find a thriving agricultural community, young winemakers from all over the globe working in a melting pot of vinous cultures. There are epic food trucks lining Soscol Rd with Google Stars in place of Michelin ones. There are old-school, multigenerational farming families working tirelessly, like their grandparents before them, to eke out a living from this special land.

K&L Wine Merchants

www.klwines.com