From the coldest summer in 50 years in California, to early fall rains, to countless stories of wine grapes rotting on the vine before they could ripen throughout the western U.S., the 2010 vintage is well-documented as a very tough one for domestic wineries. As more red wines are released, though, bright spots continue to show up - so many that the adage of "buying producers over vintage" appears to be more true than ever.

Perhaps the most notable bright spot comes from the iconic Napa Valley, known as the center of the United States wine industry for decades and home to some of the greatest Cabernet vineyards on the planet. Prior to all of the challenges in 2010, the 2007 and 2008 vintages were being celebrated by most of us in the "wine press" as the best back-to-back vintages for Napa Cab ever. As these two great years were being released, we were just starting to recognize the weather challenges that 2010 was presenting. There was much hand-wringing, including my own.

Now that we are in the midst of the release of the Napa reds from this year, we likely overreacted. The 2010 wines are clearly different than those from 2007 and 2008. They are leaner, show lower alcohol and may be more age-worthy, as the cool year produced wines with lower sugars and higher acids. The 2007 and 2008 wines were super-ripe, lush and rich on the palate, and more consistent with what wine consumers think of when it comes to Napa. The '10s, though, have an elegance about them and if the vineyards were carefully managed are quite stunning, although it was a tiny crop and there is little wine around from that year.

The high-end Napa makers are consistently receiving 100 point scores for their 2010 efforts. Producers like Phelps, Spotswoode, Harlan, Pride Mountain, Turley, Dominus and others all made great wine that year. But if you traffic in those names, be prepared for the wines to show more restraint than what you are used to.

For most of us wine consumers that drink more affordable names, there are many good wines to enjoy; Skylark, Ridge, Steele, Copain and others also appeared to pull the proverbial "rabbit out of the hat." While for both the low end of the price spectrum and the more expensively priced wines supply of 2010 is short and disappearing quickly, there are producers from California that are worth buying.

The 2010 wines from Northwest producers ought not to be overlooked, either. Just like our friends in California, the best producers from Washington State and Idaho made some wonderful wines. We continue to consider John Abbott from Abeja to be one of the best at his trade in the state, and while his production in 2010 was tiny and, at this point, tough to find, his wines are stellar again. Others that did a great job include Alexandria Nicole, Forgeron, Kiona, Gamache and Saviah, where Richard Funk remains at the top of his game.

While the challenges of 2010 reinforce the notion of sticking with great producers over dicey vintages, we also acknowledge how important caution is in tough years. Buying wines blindly from lesser years can lead to disappointments, so whenever possible, it remains vital to try wines a bottle at a time or by the glass at your favorite restaurants before backing up the forklift to grab a palate. When you do find wines you like from 2010 - and the same will certainly hold true for 2011s (another tiny crop year) - it would be wise to get them quickly.

As always, checking with your favorite wine professional on the 2010 vintage will help, also. We try most every wine of every vintage before we put it on the shelf, so if there are wines lurking that don't quite measure up, chances are we will know about it.

If there is a topic you would like to read about or if you have questions on wine, you can email [email protected], or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d'Alene Press.

George Balling is co-owner with his wife Mary Lancaster of the dinner party, a wine and table top decor shop in Coeur d'Alene by Costco. George is also the managing judge of The North Idaho Wine Rodeo and is the wine editor for Coeur d'Alene Magazine (www.cdamagazine.com). You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. You can get all of these articles, as well as other great wine tips, by friending us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.