theCompass mobile application is a winery, brewery, and distillery locator for North America.

Towards the end of harvest, as the days get shorter and the insanity grows longer, we tend to come up with some wacky ideas. We don't talk about the Fried Fried Egg anymore, that caused some problems. But one idea we stole from the French was to make about 20 cases of Beaujolais each year. We bottle the wine immediately after fermentation to capture the flavor of the grape right after pressing. Great for the holidays and for paying our harvest bills!

Our first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon even blew legendary New York wine critic Jeff Calaghan away. “Damn, bitch has got some *#$&!-in Grip!” he said, off the record. Deep, rich and enormously complex, loaded with ripe currant, black cherry, blackberry, anise, cedar and spice, with a long, lingering finish that keeps pumping out the flavors. Drink now through 2015.

The meal is a distant memory, just a ballast in your keel. The relatives have all put on their heavy coats and gone home, finally. The kids are in bed, quiet for the first time since waking. Even the dog has finally called it a day and guards the smoldering fire with snores and the occasional twitch of the tail. You open the liquor cupboard and shuffle some bottles around, careful not to make too much noise, dare the Misses hears you. There, just towards the back where that fat old spider lives, a familiar friend fills your palm and the heft of the glass is reassuring that the night is almost over. Our Santa Barbara County Tawny Syrah is a Port-style wine, but we can't call it that, thanks to the international trade agreement. This is a big, massive wine that will make it holistically apparent why we call it The Eliminator

Santa Barbara County Very ripe, rich and smooth, velvety as can be. Tastes like a terrific grand cru white Burgundy, showing supple character, with toasted hazelnut, spicy, smoky, grilled meat and pear-tart notes. A great, full-bodied with rich intense flavors of pear, peach, and violets.

A stunning array of blue and black fruit--blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry and currant--that is pure, driven and refined, with licorice, sweet spice, vanilla, mineral and sanguine notes flittering throughout. Despite its concentration, it's remarkably elegant, with superb length and a seamless finish.

A soft, satiny, sexy wine, with voluptuous black cherry and blackberry fruit, plus layers of chocolate and spices suggestive of cinnamon, mint and more. Powerful and complex, yet open and accessible.

Spain has given us many gifts throughout the ages--Florida, Antonio Banderas, Real Madrid, low-interest financing for Columbus--but perhaps the most overlooked is the thick-skinned, early- ripening Tempranillo grape. Early to rise and quick to please, this is not the same old over- oaked, super ripe wine that makes you want to break the neck off the bottle and watch the UFC. This poco loco screams (with a light Spanish accent)of the best California can do with balance, reserve, and a touch of the old world.

Verdelho was once Portugal's most common white wine, but centuries of market trends towards chardonnay have left it nearly extinct . . . until now. With the flavors of tropical fruit and guava, and the supple body that makes Viognier so seductive, Verdelho is destined for popularity. A wonderfully rich honey-suckle wine that goes great with Asian cuisine, spicy foods and sushi, this wine will be gone before most people know what they are missing.

Satiny, ultrarich and deeply complex, with layers of floral, butterscotch, fig, apricot and pear flavors that are impeccably balanced; while the flavors are bold and concentrated on the entry, this wine turns amazingly elegant and sophisticated on the finish. Goes great with summer’s bounty on the grill

Vibriant violet like colors quickly please the eye as a burst of tropical fruit flavors rain down on the tongue. The finish reminiscent of dark arabica beans with an earthy truffle undertone. Vineyard charateristics shine through bright as a raven's eye.