Kirigin is the oldest active winery in the Santa Clara Valley. Its history goes back before Prohibition; the original Bonesio Winery was founded in 1916 by Pietro (Peter) Bonesio. In 1976 it was taken over by Nikola Kirigin-Chargin, who renamed it Kirigin Cellars. Then in 2000, aged 84 he finally retired and sold to Dhruv Khanna, founder of Covad. Khanna apparently has little interest in wine; his real passion is sport, and the vineyard would soon be augmented with cricket and football (soccer) pitches.

The winery continues to operate under his patronage, in the main producing fairly unremarkable wines. One standout is their Malvasia Bianca. The winery's own description (Flowery, grapey aroma, noticeable flavor, slightly sweet) doesn't do it justice.

2008 Kirigin Cellars Malvasia Bianca, California
An initial note of struck match soon blows off revealing nice pear and lychee aromas. On the palate there's lots of tropical fruit - gooseberry, lychee, melon and kiwi. The finish is rounded though perhaps a little short. 88 $18 ($9 after case discount.)

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Some people think I'm a wine snob. And maybe I am; I just don't see any point in drinking things that don't taste good. By that token I'm a whisky snob, a beer snob - even a pop snob. If the only beer on offer is Coors Light, I'll have a Coke, and if it's Diet Caffeine Free Vanilla Cherry Coke then sod it, I'll just drink water.

That's not to say I won't experiment. I've had cheap wines that surprised me, and expensive wines that were undrinkable. I try not to assume anything from the label; after all you never know until you try it. But there are a few warning signs that can make me approach the bottle with the reticence of a four-year-old faced with an unfamiliar green vegetable.

California AVA I've had several really good wines that carry the California appellation. Stefania Haut Tubbe for example is a blend of Santa Clara valley and Santa Cruz Mountains fruit. Kathryn Kennedy's Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best Californian examples I've tasted - it's sourced from vineyards in three different counties. Fogarty's Skyline and Cinnabar's Mercury Rising are good examples of decent value blends that carry the generic appellation. But overall those are the exceptions rather than the rule, and they come from winemakers that I already know and respect. On the other hand, the supermarket shelves are full of generic California crap, blended from bulk purchases and perked up with residual sugar, oak powder and Mega Purple.

Non-vintage is fine for Champagnes and fortified wines, but is rarely a good sign on table wines. There are of course exceptions; for example ZD Abacus is produced using the Solera system and thus can't carry a vintage date, but overall it's a bad sign.

French AOCs on labels, such as "Californian Champagne", "Mountain Chablis" or "Burgundy Select". It's the wine equivalent of buying a "Rolex" watch from a street trader. The exception to this rule is of course Claret; I can't understand why the EU decided to make this a protected term, especially considering that it's British not French in origin.

Rapazzini Burgundy Select managed to hit all three trigger points at once. A non-vintage blend of un-named grapes - is there any Pinot Noir in there at all I wonder? - it's a light, soft, fruity wine; the sort that comes in litre carafes in Italian restaurants.

Kirigin Estate Red, Santa Clara Valley is honest about what it is and where it comes from. At a guess it's a blend of Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon, possibly others, with a fair amount of oak influence and a little more character than the "Burgundy Select".

There's nothing wrong with either of these wines; then again there's nothing particularly right with them either. They are drinkable, but not memorable, and not something I would consider buying again. In the $10-$15 price range there are plenty of better options, particularly from South America or Australia.

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Bonesio Winery was founded in 1916 in the Uvas Valley, though vines are believed to have been in place for at least 40 years prior. It was home to the Bonesio family until 1976; the main home is one of the oldest wooden structures in the county. The winery was noted for vintage dated Grignolino as early as the 1940s.

Nikola Kirigin-Chargin comes from a long line of Croatian winemakers. He studied oenology in Zagreb before emigrating to America in 1959. Following a career at San Martin, Almaden, Pirelli-Minetti, and Canadagua Wineries he retired and purchased the Bonesio Winery, renaming it Kirigin Cellars. In 2000, aged 84 he decided to retire properly, and sold the winery to Dhruv Khanna, one of the founders of Covad. Khanna's primary appears to be sports; he has used part of the land to establish the area's first regulation cricket pitch and has since added football (soccer) pitches.

The 30 acre vineyard is planted with several different varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon and 50 year old Malvasia Bianca. The vines are trellised in the single wire "California Sprawl" system, where the canes are allowed to hang down the sides, shading the fruit. Proponents of the system say this prevents overheating, particularly in areas where the summers can get very hot, but nowadays most premium wineries employ a multi wire "VSP" system.

The winery has a historic plaque, ECV1850, placed by the esoteric Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus.

With the exception of the Estate Reserve all the wines carry the California appellation, even though the fruit is all either estate or sourced locally. Tasting is free; all the wines are generally available to taste with the possible exception of the Reserve. There's also a non vintage "Champagne" that I didn't taste.

2008 Sauvignon Blanc
A light, grapefruit nose and sweet flavours of grapefruit and kiwi. Seems to have some residual sugar. $15

2008 Chardonnay
Lemon nose, pear flavours and a slightly bitter finish. Dry $15

2008 Malvasia Bianca
Made from 50 year old vines, this could easily pass for Gewurztraminer. It has a similar spicy, flowery nose and crisp floral flavours, good acidity and a nice dry finish. My favourite of the wines tasted. $18

NV Estate Red
A blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Pinot Noir and 20% Zinfandel. Has a light raspberry, fruit punch nose with some coffee. On the palate there's a medley of fruit; raspberry, loganberry and cherry. There's a dry, tannic, almost cardboard-like finish. $15

2006 Pinot Noir
A light cherry nose and rich flavours of bitter cherries. There's a slight hint of oxidation on the finish. $20

2005 Syrah
Plummy and slightly porty with dark fruits and hints of black pepper. Lots of tannin. $20

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
The nose shows smoke, mint and menthol; on the palate it's chewy and tannic, with more mint and some eucalyptus. $20

2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Clara Valley
A smoky slightly oxidized nose. A big, structured wine with good blackberry flavours, but the oxidised note was offputting. $40

2007 Zinfandel
Raspberry on both the nose and the palate. Dry, tannic finish. $20

Vino di Mocca
Imagine one of those 'Ritter Sport' cocoa wafers in liquid form. Sweet, with nutty coffee, cocoa and tobacco notes. $20

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