If you’ve read my column much over the years, you should know that zinfandel is my favorite red wine. I just love the lively wild berry (often described as bramble) fruit, brash texture and spicy, peppery notes. It is especially enjoyable this time of year with all manner of grilled vegetables and meats, not to mention barbecue and other spicy foods.

And while the zinfandel grape, like so many other California grapes, actually has a European origin, it really is one of the few that makes indisputably better wine in California than anywhere else. And it is grown successfully all over the state. As it turns out, my recent tastings yielded recommendations dominated by Sonoma, with good representation from Napa and Mendocino. They follow roughly in order of preference.

• 2009 Amapola Creek Sonoma Valley Monte Rosso Vineyard Viñas Antiguas ($42). After 15 years at Chateau St. Jean and 25 years at his own Arrowood Winery, Richard Arrowood, with his wife, Alis, established a vineyard on the western side of the Mayacamas Mountains and began producing estate wines under the Amapola Creek label. This wine shows the pedigree of its mountain source and 118-year-old vines. It is dense, with oak touches, mineral and spice notes, sleek texture and noticeable but soft tannins.

• 2009 Paraduxx Z Blend Napa Valley Red Wine ($48). When cabernet sauvignon and merlot specialist Napa Valley’s Duckhorn Winery wanted to produce a zinfandel-based blend, it decided to create a stand-alone label and winery. Following the duck theme, the new project was named Paraduxx, with a label displaying, well, think about it. The idea was to emulate the Super Tuscan wines of Italy and the Shiraz-cabernet sauvignon blends of Australia. Z Blend fuses 62 percent zinfandel with 31 percent cabernet sauvignon and 7 percent merlot to make a complex, robust wine with the personality of zinfandel and structure of cabernet.

• 2009 Frank Family Napa Valley ($36). About twenty years ago, Hollywood executive Rich Frank and his wife, Connie, began a project to revitalize the historic Larkmead Winery (dating to 1884) on the Napa Valley floor near Calistoga. Today, they also own several vineyards and produce a variety of outstanding wines. The zinfandel is one of my favorites. You’ll find abundant fruit, with leathery and spicy notes, silky tannins and a bright finish.

• 2009 Paraduxx C Blend Napa Valley Red Wine ($48). This wine flips the focus with 62 percent cabernet sauvignon and 38 percent zinfandel. The power and herbaceousness of cabernet complements zinfandel’s bright fruit and spice.

• 2010 Frei Bros. Reserve Dry Creek Valley ($20). The Frei Ranch in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek Valley dates to 1890, when Swiss immigrants purchased the core property. The Gallo family has bought grapes from Frei Ranch since Prohibition and purchased the ranch in the late 1970s. The Frei wines typically are solid values representative of Sonoma’s top appellations. My favorite, though, has always been the zinfandel. This wine is intense, almost jammy but with a firm structure.

• 2009 Murphy-Goode Liar’s Dice Sonoma County ($21). Close friends, the Murphy, Goode and Ready families began making wine together in 1985 and continued doing so successfully until the winery recently was sold to Kendall-Jackson. Notably, Murphy-Goode is a sponsor to Operation Homefront, a nonprofit organization that honors our active-duty soldiers and veterans by supporting their families with emergency financial assistance. Liar’s Dice uses Dry Creek and Alexander Valley fruit to make a generous and flavorful wine.

• 2008 Clif Family Winery Gary’s Improv ($32). Since 2006, Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford, owners of Clif Bar & Co., have operated a farm and winery along with their successful natural-foods business. They also employ various sustainable practices. I have tasted many of their wines since the beginning, and always find them to be quite good. This rich, fruit-forward Napa Valley zinfandel is quite aromatic, with intense fruit and a dense palate.

• 2010 Artezin Mendocino County ($18). Artezin is a brand of the Hess family, the Swiss industrialist who owns the Hess Collection in Napa Valley, as well as wineries in Sonoma, Argentina, Australia, and South Africa. Artezin specializes in wine from zinfandel, petite sirah, Carignan and charbono. The lively fruit and lush mouthfeel of this wine are nicely compliment by subtle spices.

• 2009 Dry Creek Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley ($30). Founded in 1972 by David Stare, Dry Creek Vineyard was a pioneer of modern winemaking and viticulture in the Dry Creek Valley. Although the winery initially made its name with sauvignon blanc, it has recently gained much-deserved attention for its zinfandels. Buttressed with 14 percent petite sirah, this is a rustic, though expressive wine building layers of flavor with intriguing chocolate and toasty notes.

• 2009 Rodney Strong Estate Knotty Vines ($20). Rodney Strong was one of the pioneers of Sonoma County’s modern wine industry when he established his winery in the Russian River Valley in 1959. More recently, the winery has become a leader in sustainable practices, including air water and soil protection, solar panels, carbon-neutral production, fish-friendly farming, and social responsibility. This wine is intense and spicy and displays zinfandel’s brash side.

• 2010 Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve ($17). The late Jess Jackson began his career in the wine business with the purchase of a vineyard in Lake County, Calif. Over the next 35-plus years, he and his family and partners built one of the most successful wine conglomerates on the planet. Even as the business has grown to include some 35 wineries around the world, quality has remained remarkably high. That certainly is true with the signature brand, Kendall-Jackson. This one has zesty fruit (mostly from Mendocino) and subtle spice, with an herbal note and a soft texture.—Rich Mauro has been writing about wine since 1995. He is a policy analyst for the Denver Regional Council of Governments. Reach him at rich@rmpeoplespalate.com or 30 S. Prospect St., Colorado Springs 80903.