<< Back to Commendations F&W's ninth annual American Wine Awards celebrates some of the most remarkable wineries and wine professionals in the United States. Among those selected this year by our panel of 41 distinguished judges are a five-year-old Napa winery already producing cult Syrahs and an importer who continues to discover many of Austria's and Germany's most dazzling wines. You'll also find our picks for the most outstanding American wines, ranging in price from $11 to $175 a bottle. 2002 Ramey Wine Cellars Hyde Vineyard-Carneros ($56) David Ramey has worked at many top wineries (Dominus and Rudd, to name just two), but since 1996 he has run his own outfit in Sonoma. Ramey made this dense, flowery Chardonnay with grapes from the famed Hyde Vineyard and aged it a full 21 months in French oak. It emerged sensationally complex.