Many of you by now are familiar with some of the wines created by Rob and Kat McDonald, like ‘The Girls in the Vineyard’ and ‘The Messenger’ Red Blend, which I highly recommend, even if you are not familiar with Rob and Kat.

Rob McDonald, and Australian, and Kat created a company called Old Bridge Cellars, and were importing into the US many of the top Australian boutique wines, long before it was fashionable to do so. Remember, Leeuwin Estate, Salitage or Cullen Estate? I sure do! Well, Rob has moved on, into Napa Valley and onto producing an eclectic assortment from around Northern California. Their company is Art+Farm Wine and is based in Napa Valley.

One of their newer projects comes to us under the CIRCADIA label, and includes Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The name is derived from the Circadian rhythm, a type of built-in biological clock displayed in plant life. The word Circadian is derived from ‘circa,’ meaning around or approximate, and ‘diem,’ for day. You can certainly plan your day around a bottle of one of these beauties! As interesting as the choice of name, is the artwork adorning each label. It seems Rob and Kat took a map, pinpointed the spots on the map where each component of the wine originates (including label, cork, bottle, grapes, etc.) and connected these dots into the art you see on the labels!

So, a little about the wines…

Cabernet Sauvignon 2010: Rob & Kat blended 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec and 10% Petite Verdot. The Malbec brings flavors of plum and cherry; Petite Verdot adds hints of violet and leather, bringing the blackberries of Cabernet to the forefront. This Cabernet is made from a blend of fruit from Lodi, Lake County and Napa. It is aged in a combination of stainless steel and used French Oak to preserve the wonderful fruit characteristics. An alluring wine, with seductive dark fruit flavors, medium body and exquisite, soft texture. $25

Chardonnay 2010: They combined fresh aromatic Chardonnay from Clarksburg, tank fermented with no malo-lactic, with a more full-bodied Chardonnay that spent time on French Oak. This results in a wine that is fresh, crisp and fruit dominated with just a hint of French Oak to round it out and give the wine a silky texture. This Chardonnay unveils a delightful array of tropical fruit flavors gently rippling through the rich and silky palate. $25

Sauvignon Blanc 2011: The intense fruit used for this Sauvignon Blanc is picked before dawn and kept very cold through the whole winemaking process. Through crushing, pressing and the long, cold fermentation the wine is kept relatively oxygen free. The result is a fresh, crisp, aromatic, fruit-forward wine. The tantalizing aromas offer a hint of the citrus and tropical fruit flavors to come. These fresh, crisp characters draw the wine’s many elements into a long, elegant finish. $20

Shayne Hebert, Central Florida Wine Supervisor. Follow me on Twitter @abcwineshayne.