Something felt different this year. As I struggled to whittle down this year's Top 100 down to just 100 wines, I couldn't help but conclude that now is the best time in many years to be drinking American wine. The Top 100 is, of course, about the Best of the West. Up and down the coast, there is better quality, and diversity, than ever. Even as the largest wine companies keep expanding, some of the best work is being done on a small scale. This year's list includes both familiar names, like Hanzell and Larkmead, and nascent ones like Jolie-Laide and Lost & Found. In all cases, they're pioneering the best of West Coast wine. The past few years have been tough for the wine industry -- a combination of the recession and a few nail-biting vintages. That's prompted a bit of soul searching, with people thinking hard about the wines they were making and about the industry's sometimes wonky economics. Out of this many winemakers found a renewed sense of purpose -- including, hopefully, a desire for honest wines that cater to our tastes not just for special occasions but also for Tuesday spaghetti nights.

This regrouping has also brought a great raft of innovation. It's no surprise that has been happening at new labels like Nick de Luca's Ground Effect, which took the popular combo of Chenin Blanc and Viognier and created an artisan version. But it's also happening at established labels; that's why Turley Wine Cellars bottled its own White Zinfandel -- not the wine you expect under that name, but one that makes an important point about Zinfandel's possibilities. This year's list brings a great set of vintages to the fore. That includes Cabernet from 2009, a beautiful year for moderate ripening, as well as Pinot Noir and Zinfandel from 2010, a trickier year in California but ultimately one with some great successes. While 2010 was also a nail-biter in Oregon, it turned out wonderfully well, with a crop of Pinots that surpasses even the beautiful 2008s. For white wines, the successive cool years of 2010 and 2011 brought no end of great bottles. That's one reason the Other Whites category is chock-full this year.

Speaking of Pinot, it seems to have finally calmed down after a whirlwind dance with fame. There's still plenty of iffy Pinot out there, and the grape's stylistic clash continues between those who want it to explore scenic back roads, and those who view it as a bullet train to Flavor Town. But the best American Pinot Noir now fulfills the dreams of pioneers like Andre Tchelistcheff, David Lett and Josh Jensen, who saw the opportunity in the New World to rival the magnitude of Pinot's purpose in Burgundy. New labels like LaRue and established ones like Littorai and Londer continue the tradition. Wine's geography is similarly growing ever more diverse. This year's Top 100 class hails from vineyards both young and ancient. The Sierra foothills continue their revival, while a remote spot like the Margarita vineyard, 30 miles south of Paso Robles, has again proved its value. Remote coastal Sonoma and the original core of the Sta. Rita Hills remain Californian jewels, as do Oregon spots like Temperance Hill, perched at the edge of the coastal wind.

Those coexist with sites like the Bedrock vineyard in Sonoma Valley, its ancient vines still alive and thriving. This year's boundaries have expanded even farther, to a frontier in Western wine just east of California. And the fields hold a diversity of grapes unlike we've seen for decades. That includes renewed attention for grapes like Malvasia and Trousseau, which may seem new but have been on these shores for more than a century. Chardonnay isn't losing a popularity contest anytime soon, but long-held assumptions about what constitutes a quality variety face some long-overdue scrutiny.nyc wine tours long island Particularly in California, the full scope of wine history is now back in the conversation. best wine from brazilThe rift created by Prohibition hasn't quite healed, but our wine ways are stronger than ever. best fruit wine to buy

More than four decades ago, a generation of pioneers pursued their dreams, believing that American wine could create its own indigenous culture. As this year's Top 100 Wines shows, those dreams are being realized today in better ways than ever. Cabernet and Merlot | Zinfandel and other reds | Sauvignon Blanc and other whites | Jon Bonné is The San Francisco Chronicle's wine editor. Linda Murphy picks 10 top wines from California Cabernet 2012 vintage, and speaks to producers about that successful year.red car winery ratings ‘2012 was an outstanding vintage,’ says Chris Carpenter, winemaker for Jackson Family Wines’ high-end Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons, bottled under the Cardinale, Lokoya, La Jota and Mount Brave labels. best wine list in paris‘In 2011, we sourced Cab from just three Napa Valley sub-appellations. buying wedding wine france

In 2012, we used seven sub-AVAs. The mountain vineyards [on Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Spring Mountain and Diamond Mountain] did well in the cool 2011, as they got more warmth at the end of the growing season. But the warmer conditions in 2012 gave us more [blending] options from other regions.’ NEWS: California Cabernet 2013 ‘better than 2012’ Tim Bell, winemaker for Dry Creek Vineyard in Sonoma, says: ‘2012 was a blessed relief. 2009 was cool, with rain at harvest. 2010 and 2011 were cool and produced Cabs with a herbal, Bordeaux character. 2012 was just beautiful: no rain at the wrong time, and with armer temperatures that eliminated excessive herbal characteristics.’ READ: California Cabernet: Time to invest?Steve Peck, maker of red wines for J Lohr Vineyards & Winery, points out that 2012 was the first year of a four-year drought in California, which currently has residents and businesses rationing water. ‘The warm and dry conditions of 2012 caused early budbreak and early veraison,’ he says.

‘We saw greater tannic structure in Cabernet in 2012 as a result. It was an excellent vintage, though 2013 has more body to go with the tannin.’ Cardinale, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley 2012 Rating 19/20pts A Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant blend that’s voluptuous and polished, yet with acid and… Corison, Kronos Vineyard, Napa Valley 2012 Rating: 18.5/20pts Old, low-yielding vines produce a wine with effusive aromas and flavours of… Lokoya, Diamond Mountain, Napa Valley 2012 Rating: 18.5/20pts Black minerality and liquorice distinguish this heady, tannic wine, though it’s remarkably… Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Cask 23, Estate, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley 2012 Rating: 18.5/20pts The best Cask 23 in… Ramey Wine Cellars, Pedregal Vineyard, Oakville, Napa Valley 2012 Rating: 18/20pts Excellent grip and complexity, with unfolding cassis, chocolate, forest… Frog’s Leap, Estate Grown Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, Napa Valley 2012 Rating: 18/20pts There’s more oak here than in most wines…

Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, FAY Estate, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley 2012 Rating: 18/20pts Pretty and elegant, with floral and… Corison, Napa Valley 2012 Rating: 17.5/20pts The mouthfilling cherry and berry fruit is perfectly ripe, with enhanced fresh herb, cedar… Far Niente, Oakville, Napa Valley 2012 Rating: 17.5/20pts Lushly textured and polished, with juicy red cherry and berry, creamy vanillin… Silverado Vineyards, SOLO, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley 2012 Rating: 17.5/20pts Suave, supple and brimming with bright black cherry and… Aron Weinkauf, winemaker and vineyard manager at Spottswoode Estate in Napa Valley, sums the Californian Cab scene up by saying, ‘Coming on the heels of 2011, which produced quite restrained, aromatically driven Cabernet Sauvignons, 2012 ripeness was decidedly not a challenge. We strived to achieve a balanced ripeness that underscores the density and structure of the vintage, while preserving the aromatic freshness and beauty of the wines.