As we complete our fortieth year of existence and head into the next forty, it is fitting that this year has seen some of the finest wines yet produced in California.

These are both heady and tricky days for California's leading variety. The wines from the exceptional 2009 year headline this Issue, but things are little less clear with the new 2010s whose quality ranges from very good to disappointing.

Perhaps it is the party animals in us, but we have never given up our great love of Champagne over the years, and even as the vagaries of currency fluctuation have made French bubblies somewhat too dear, there is no question that there are lots of treats to be had.

Year In Review this year breaks new ground of sorts. Not only do we commend Sauvignon Blanc, of the 2012 vintage, to you as one of the year's most exciting tasting surprises, but we enthusiastically call your attention to our Winery Of The Year: Daou Vineyards & Winery from Paso Robles. It is too easy to dismiss Paso Robles as the home of wines whose ripeness has gotten ahead of their fruit. Daou is proving otherwise-as are many others.

Your editors have gone back over their tasting notes and each of us has picked out his favorite wines of the year. Not surprisingly, we agree on several, but even when we do not, there is not a clinker in this bunch of highly recommended beauties.