Region: Source vineyards primarily in Napa & Sonoma

Founded: 2009

Winemaker: Dan Petroski

Vineyards: Various (see tech sheets for exact sourcing)

Environmental: Organic & sustainable

Winemaker Dan Petroski founded Massican in 2009 as Napa's 'only white wine winery.' Petroski makes 'Mediterranean' wines, which refers to not only their style (high-acid, floral, salty) but their ambition: to grace tables, not stock cellars. Massican has grown to nearly 8,000 cases, and while Petroski makes Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, and Chardonnay, the soul of the project comes from his bottlings of native Italian varieties planted in California. These include Annia, a Tocai-Friulano-and-Ribolla-Gialla-based blend from Napa and Sonoma counties, and Gemina, a blend of the Southern Italian varieties Greco and Falanghina.

This unique take on American wine - and his outsized presence in the wine world at large - inspired the San Francisco Chronicle to name Petroski 'Winemaker of the Year' in 2017, writing: "Not that all the Massican wines are identical to each other, each wine performs its distinctions...yet they all, somehow, taste like Massican. Like paintings in a series, cast from the same color palette yet individual, the pieces cohere."

Score:  93 points, WE.