These wines have several things in common. Like Chesebro’s Vermentino, they are just starting to get noticed. Two, they don’t need forever to mature—after all, not everyone has 10 years to wait for his or her wine to be drinkable. Finally, they are as approachable as a sunny patio table in Umbria.

2005 Madeleine Cabernet Franc ($18), Carmel Valley

Most people don’t have the money to drink Cheval Blanc (a Cabernet Franc from St. Emillion, France, that runs $1,000 a bottle in restaurants). Most people, then, would love to meet Madeleine. This wine has soft tannins (because it has undergone carbonic maceration—in layman’s terms, the grapes explode in the process of fermentation) and is easy to consume. Its bell-pepper nuances are far from offensive, and its cinnamon-cherry candy quality (kind of like Big Red gum) goes along with its thick and syrupy body. How many California Cabernet Franc’s come close? None. This is a Loire Valley-style Cabernet Franc that can be drunk young.

2005 Figge Syrah ($30), Arroyo Seco

The wine is inky-black in the glass and alive with black pepper nuances on the tongue, begging for some beef stroganoff. Trace bacon-fat flavors that mix with blueberry seem impossible considering how easy the wine is to drink. Aficionados of wines from France’s Northern Rhone Valley would go for this.

2006 De Tierra Pinot Gris ($20), Santa Lucia Highlands

This is Alsacian-style, which means the wine is clean, refreshing and—unlike most oaky California whites—a palate-cleanser that makes it easier for diners to appreciate food and its flavors. (Note to tastebuds: If oak is the only thing someone tastes, the wine is not worth sipping. It’s one-dimensional, homogenous and unable to remind the drinker of a particular wine region.) Fortunately, this wine tastes like Monterey.

2006 Chock Rock Chardonnay ($15), Arroyo Seco

Dan Karlsen worked at Chalone Vineyards for years. Now, he’s got his own label. The tropical fruit characteristics, typical of Monterey County, are integrated with minerality that reminds consumers why it’s so rewarding to seek out artisan wineries that have a sense of place.