Balou — named for Avi Deixler's dog, who rode shotgun on every trip into San Francisco to sell this wine one sommelier at a time.

Absentee Winery — Avi Deixler's barn on a Point Reyes dairy farm, Absentee — pouring Abouriou, a French grape that survived only because someone found it climbing the wall of a ruined castle.

André Heucq — four generations farming a clay called 'green illite' found nowhere else in Champagne, plowing by horse since before biodynamics was fashionable.

Attilio Ghisolfi — a family that's worked the Bussia cru since 1985, farming organically without ever bothering to get certified. Bussia is loved by many!

Belle Glos — Joseph Wagner's (yes, that Caymus family) single-vineyard Pinot Noir project. Clark & Telephone is the bold, dark-fruited one.

While Gilbourg is often his "tête de cuvée" (top Chenin from older vines, more intense and structured), Empreinte is seen as a more immediate, fruit-forward expression, sometimes from slightly different or younger parcels, making it a great entry point to his whites.

Benoit Courault — an Anjou natural winemaker working old vines with almost no added sulfur. Gilbourg is one single parcel, bottled alone.

Named for the peacemaker in Romeo and Juliet — Benvolio is easy, well-made Friuli Pinot Grigio, sustainably grown, and priced so nobody has to think twice about a second bottle.

Bingham Family Vineyards — 250 estate acres on the Texas High Plains built around Rhône whites, and Roussanne is where they shine brightest.

Boroli — a family Barolo estate holding vineyards in Serralunga and Cerequio, two of the appellation's most prized crus.