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.

Holocene: Oregon Pinot Noir and Chardonnay for the Ages

The Holocene wines are some of the most exciting wines I’ve seen out of Oregon in the past few years. They’re very small production wines, typically only a few hundred cases of each bottling. The wines are made with precision and poise but without too much winemaking input. Native yeasts, minimal intervention, modest use of oak. The purity of all the wines is compelling, as is their vibrancy and transparent sense of place.

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.

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!

The First Annual Great West Coast Wine Tasting Tent Event

Welcome to the wine list for our first annual West Coast Wine Tent Event at K&L San Francisco! This is more than just a wine tasting. It’s a rare opportunity to sample over 100 wines from California and Oregon’s most celebrated and emerging producers—all poured by the people who made them. Meet legendary and emerging producers alike, from wineries including Ridge, Spottswoode, Rhys, Hundred Suns, Walter Scott, and more! If you love West Coast wine, this is an event you don’t want to miss.

New in 2025: Twice the Tent Events!

On the heels of our highly successful Champagne Tent Events, we’re now bringing you not one but TWO new tent events coming in 2025—and we love the idea so much, we’re making it an annual tradition. On May 18th, we’re bringing winemakers and other winery representatives from all over the West Coast to San Francisco for the Great West Coast Wine Tasting! On June 8th in Culver City, we’re celebrating the dolce vita with Italian winemakers and winery reps! Our Domestic and Italian Wine Buyers have worked hard to bring you absolutely stellar lineups, and, at $50 a pop for two-and-a-half hours of tasting and mingling, we think these tickets represent the best deal in town! More info below—snag your tickets before they sell out.

Dynamic Domestic Wines: New Discoveries and Inspiration

The endless diversity and discovery of domestic wine are on full display in today’s buying guide. Leading the way is the vintage that almost wasn’t but has become one of our absolute favorites: 2022 in Oregon. We’ve also consulted our domestic wine experts in each store to share their favorite picks. Next, we highlight STiRM, showcasing stunning expressions of a minimalist approach at remarkable prices. We’re also ready to take non-alcoholic wines seriously, as evidenced by the offerings from Kally. Rounding out the guide is a review of our most exciting Insider's Advantage opportunities, featuring some of the fine wine market's best deals in the domestic category.

Oregon’s Brilliant 2022 Vintage: The Harvest That Almost Wasn’t!

The wines from the 2022 season are fantastic across the board. The fruit profiles are pure, expressive, rich, and vibrant. There’s plenty of freshness and definition to the wines. The delayed harvest meant, despite the warm weather that persisted into October, the shorter days and longer, cooler nights at that time in the season allowed beautiful acid retention to balance the ripe fruit. The critical acclaim for the vintage bears witness to this; every report published has been bristling with huge scores and glowing praise for the wines. They’re easy to love, supremely accessible, flavorful, and energetic. I’m thrilled to have such a fantastic array of these 2022 wines in stock right now.

Thrilling Domestic Discoveries with Ryan Woodhouse

Domestic Buyer Ryan Woodhouse has been on a tear lately, unearthing one new fantastic discovery after another. This month's newsletter shines the spotlight on three exceptional finds from California, encompassing not only some of the best hidden-gem, hand-crafted Pinots and Cabs, but also a sparkling wine producer that's set to make a big splash on the scene. We'll also check in with a perennial favorite Oregon producer that's taking their game to a whole new level in the 2022 vintage.

Oregon's Hundred Suns Wines: As Good As Ever!

Despite being a relatively new project (founded in 2015) Hundred Suns very quickly became a huge staff favorite here at K&L. They have the magic trio of factors to become such “house wines” with our staff: phenomenal quality, really cool people, fantastic value for money.

A Winter Wonderland of Wine from the U.S.

Today's Domestic Newsletter must be one of the broadest and most comprehensive editions we’ve written to date. Domestic Buyer Ryan Woodhouse starts off with the highly anticipated 2019 vintage in the Napa Valley then moves his focus to the exceptional, world-class wines coming out of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Next, SoCal Domestic Buyer Kaj Stromer gives us a look back at some of the brightest spots to come out of 2021 by recapping the best Domestic deals. Unprecedented times produced unprecedented deals. Continuing on the theme of wines that overdeliver, Kaj highlights his favorite bottles for under $25. Finally, Kaj looks at what K&L staffers are drinking during these long winter months. Read on and enjoy!

From Amador to Zinfandel: A Mammoth Domestic Wine Newsletter

From busting myths to discovering cool new wineries, K&L’s Domestic Team has been busy finding the greatest wines from the U.S. of A. to bring to our customers. This week’s mammoth 12-page newsletter has the fruits of their labor. Whatever your fancy, allow Ryan Woodhouse and Kaj Stromer to be your guides, as they champion the depth and breadth of wines from our home turf.

K&L Wine Merchants

www.klwines.com