Item description: 4 bottles of Italian and American Rhone varietals, including:

• 2011 Marchesi di Gresy Barbaresco Martinegra (valued at $50): Winemaker's Notes: Brilliant garnet red color with light orange hues. Intense and harmonious aromas, reminiscent of violet, wild wood berries, strawberries, and sour black cherry jam with a pleasant balsamic note of cloves. Full, harmonious, with good complexity and persistent aftertaste. Critical Acclaim: James Suckling - "Wonderful aromas of strawberries, cherries and flowers. Full body, firm, silky tannins and a tangy, fresh finish. I like the dried-berry and orange peel character to this. Needs three to four years of bottle age to soften: better in 2017. " Wine Spectator - "A light-bodied, elegant style, offering pretty floral, cherry, and berry fruit playing off menthol and herb notes. Firm yet balanced, with dusty tannins lining the long finish. Best from 2016 through 2024." Donated by Ellen Aquila.


• 2009 Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino (valued at $34): Winemaker's Notes: The Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino displays deep garnet color with full and penetrating aromas of wild berries. The palate is dry, warm full-bodied while harmonious, delicate and austere at the same time, persistent. Critical Acclaim: The Wine Advocate - "The 2009 Brunello di Montalcino is one of those wines that seemingly benefitted from the warm vintage. The style is rich and opulent and there is enough layered oak spice and tannin to support the softer nature of the fruit. Ripe cherry, blackberry, and dark plum abound. My only note of hesitation is sparked by the mouthfeel that is slightly thinner and shorter than past vintages. This Brunello is aged in a combination of botte grande and smaller oak barrel. The wine is fleshed out, approachable and almost ready to drink now." Tasting Panel - "Smooth, ripe and juicy with soft, rich flavors of plum, ripe berries and spice; dense, deep and balanced, long and lush. Sangiovese Grosso." Donated by the Kobayashi Family.

• 2014 Dirty & Rowdy Mourvèdre (valued at $35): 100% Mourvèdre. Winemakers notes: If we could create an audio tasting note, it would be like Alice Coltrane’s “Journey in Satchidananda.” A deep composition of jazz harp, sax, and bass. If popping a Shake Ridge late at night, it is acceptable, and encouraged, to keep your shades on. The 2014 Shake Ridge Ranch is a ball of potential energy.  A bottle of sun, soil, sweat, and sassafras. A stoney nose accented by dark fruits lures you in, strikes, and begins to gently squeeze your palate with mineral driven quartz sitting on top of purple, brambly fruit.  Cross stitched tannin builds and ramps up to a long finish that finds itself tickling the spot where your cheeks meet your ears. Though often the most fruit-driven of our Sierra Foothills Mourvèdre wines, it is no less mineral, and no less exotic.  No matter how gentle our extraction or how light it is in color, Shake Ridge always has one of the darkest flavors of our 8 Mourvèdre vineyards. Cellaring is encouraged, but if you chose to open it early, a healthy 90-120min decant and a slab of gamey meat is recommended, in lieu of game, even just a couple of leather straps to gnaw on may do the trick. Donated by Natalia Rabovsky.

• 2013 Broc Cellars Carignan (Alexander Valley) (valued at $27): 100% Alexander Valley Carignan that's fermented spontaneously in whole-clusters and basket pressed. Light to medium-bodied, dry. Notes of blueberries, lavender, even a little mushroomy hint. Classic soft tannin Broc-ness, though it would certainly hold up to white meats like roast pork and chicken, blue cheeses. Donated by the Menger-Thau Family.