Wine tasting: the "New California" wines

This tasting was inspired by Jon Bonné's book, The New California Wine: A Guide to the Producers and Wines Behind a Revolution in Taste: "The New California Wine is the untold story of the California wine industry: the young, innovative producers who are rewriting the rules of contemporary winemaking; their quest to express the uniqueness of California terroir; and the continuing battle to move the state away from the overly-technocratic, reactionary practices of its recent past." The tasting was a selection of the more reasonably priced options from several of the winemakers featured in the book.

Overall, I was very impressed with how good and interesting all of these were, particularly at prices in the mid-$20 range. My favorites in bold.

1. 2013 Arnot-Roberts "Luchsinger Vineyard" Touriga Nacional Lake County Rosé $23: a lovely, light rose made from a varietal better known in Portugal than in California. Great value for summer.
2. 2013 Tendu California Vermentino (1L) $19: a crisp, dry California alternative to Austrian gruner veltliner, made from a varietal brought to California by Italian immigrants.
3. 2013 Donkey & Goat "Lily's Cuvée" Anderson Valley Chardonnay Petillant $28: a lightly fizzy chard-roussanne blend with just hint of sweetness. A crowd pleaser, but not a favorite for me, thanks to the sweetness and beer-y yeastiness.
4. 2011 Tatomer "Vandenberg" Santa Barbara County Riesling $23: a serious, substantial riesling from Santa Barbara, with the petrol nose I like in riesling.
5. 2012 Peay Vineyards Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $40: although it's the most expensive bottle we had, I think it might be the best value. It's quite hard to find a cool weather, coastal pinot that is really good for less than $40. Well, now I have a great example exactly at $40.
6. 2011 Donkey & Goat "Five Thirteen" El Dorado Red Wine Blend $22: a crowd favorite, very high in acid, but very interesting blend of 34% grenache, 32% syrah, 23% mourvedre, 6% counoise and 5% cinsault.
7. 2011 Copain "Tous Ensemble" Mendocino Syrah $22: in some ways the opposite of #6 -- very true and pure expression of cool weather syrah, and a great value. I've also had Copain's $22 chardonnay, and it's also great. 
8. 2012 Lioco "Indica" Mendocino County Carignane $20: Mendocino County is the kingdom of the old vine Carignane: big, sturdy bush vines that have been doling out the high-acid grapes for many a decade, paying no heed to the fashion of the moment. This was nice, but outclassed by #7 at the same price point.
9. Sherman & Hooker's Shebang! "Seventh Cuvée" Red Blend $12: 46% Zinfandel, 40% Grenache, 5% Alicante, 5% Petite Sirah and 4% Sangiovese, a great balance for $12. Easy drinking, great everyday pizza wine choice.