Check, Please! Bay Area's eighth season episode 12 (#812) profiles and reviews these three Bay Area restaurants:

1) Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar: | restaurant information + video | reviews | [CLOSED]

2) Turtle Tower Restaurant: | restaurant information + video | reviews |

3) Copita Tequileria y Comida: | restaurant information + video | reviews |

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-ejC64I18s]

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My name is Leslie Sbrocco and I'm the host of Check, Please! Bay Area. Each week, I will be sharing my tasting notes about the wine the guests and I drank on set during the taping of the show. I will also share some wine (and beer and spirits) tips with each episode.

2011 Wild Horse, "Unbridled" Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County, California ($24) -- With a silky, suppleness and dark red berry fruit notes that define Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara, this intense red is a wild one. Uncork and enjoy alongside roast pork loin in mushroom sauce or with a variety of soft (and preferably stinky) cheeses.

2010 Clarksburg Wine Company, Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg, California ($16) -- An under-appreciated white variety, Chenin Blanc, shines in the Clarksburg area of California. Cool nights and warm days allow the grapes full maturity so they can express jasmine and peach aromas but still capture zesty flavors on the palate. This balanced beauty is a great alternative to Chardonnay.

2012 Madrigal Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley, California ($25) -- From a small, family-owned Napa Valley producer, this crisp white shows what sunshine-laden Sauvignon Blanc vineyards can produce -- a wine that captures ripe citrus fruit with a tinge of herbal freshness. It's sunshine in a bottle.

2008 Madrigal Sonnet #63, Napa Valley, California ($65) -- With its depth, complexity, and age-worthiness, this is a red Bordeaux-style blend that would make Shakespeare proud. Dark fruit notes mingle with toastiness and hints of spice in a wine worthy of poetry.