Top choices in lighter wines as spring comes to Sonoma County

Spring coaxes us out of the house for impromptu picnics and patio parties. We set aside our novel and reading glasses to partake in gatherings, after a rainy-day hiatus from socializing.

And we acclimate our palate to the warmer season, where lighter menus support whites, rosés and light reds all the way through summer.

One of the most exotic of the white wines is the $22, 2009 Conundrum, a great food match. Winemaker Jon Bolta said the goal for this wine is to coax out the full flavored fruit, complexity and balance.

“The blend is designed specifically to pair with the creative dishes being offered by a new generation of chefs,” he said.

Aromas and flavors of the Conundrum include honeysuckle, peach, green apple, herbs and spice, with a lingering finish. The blend has chardonnay, semillon, sauvignon blanc, viognier and muscat in the mix.

The blend is bright and lively, and full of personality.

In 1988, Bolta was named winemaker for the white wines at Caymus Vineyards; that's when he began to craft a style for the Conundrum, challenging himself to make an untraditional white wine, one that would be coined “exotic.”

Other white wine standouts for warm weather include:

Box Car, 2009 Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, 13.4 percent alcohol, $25.

Patz & Hall, 2008 Zio Tony Ranch Chardonnay, 14.2 percent alcohol, $60.

Migration, 2009 Russian River Valley Chardonnay, 14.1 percent, $30.

Thomas Fogarty, 2009 Skyline Riesling, Monterey, 12.5 percent, $16.

Paul Dolan Vineyards, 2009 Mendocino County Sauvignon Blanc, 14.5, $18.