We were all silently stunned by the departure of our guest. I don’t know what offended our winemaker. Chef Kenny couldn’t be more handsome and charming, and Mr. Vino was his cordial self. I just poured her overpriced zinfandel and smiled.

“I think I may have offended our winemaker when I suggested that her wines were a little overripe and had a little too much hang time,” Mr. Vino said sheepishly.

“I think she may be a little too sensitive to criticism,” I said after taking a large taste of zin, “even if she thought it would be better to pick a little earlier, before the grape sugars got too high and the varietal characteristics are lost to the alcohol.”

“The popular style of winemaking is for this rich and monster mouth feel,” Mr. Vino said. “You will not get good wine press unless you conform to this style.”

“Well, I feel sorry for the winemaker,” Chef Kenny said. “The wines and the winery suffer to invoke this style of wine.”

I grabbed a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Brut and poured each of us a glass. Mr. Vino went on with conversation about the dilemma for winemakers. “It is easy for us to criticize wines and winemakers, but the financial pressure they are under is very intense. There are styles of wine, and the overripe style is in. It is like the fashion industry, baggy pants are in and next year baggy pants are out.”

“I know that a wine that gets a 90-plus score or a low score in The Wine Spectator or The Wine Advocate can make or break a winery or a winemaker’s career,” Chef Kenny said. “I think the problem is that we are only accepting one style of wine, which is both rich and big and that is a 90-point wine,” I said.

After taking a sip of champagne, Mr. Vino responded: “It is like accepting only one style of painting. Claude Monet and his impressionistic paintings are great, and Pablo Picasso and Vincent Van Gogh’s styles are different but equally wonderful.”

“And the big-and-rich style at times distorts varietal characteristics,” Chef Kenny said.

“That is the chief problem,” I interjected.

From behind Mr. Vino’s head, I saw our winemaker friend, Heidi Starr, return. She apologized to us for leaving so abruptly and pulled out a bottle of Russian River pinot noir that she made for her own private label.

“This is a wine that I made for myself and my closest friends,” she said. “It is not in that overripe style that you all abhor. It is light and elegant.”

That pinot was a beautiful expression of the varietal, like a kiss from heaven. We had another bottle of this super pinot and then our conversation turned to our favorite red-wine producers from California.

Heidi Starr smiled and said: “My favorites are Von Strasser and Joseph Swan. Swan is producing some of the best wines in the Russian River, whether pinot noir, zin or their gorgeous syrah. Von Strasser wines are a true expression of Diamond Mountain in Napa – beautiful cabs.”

It was Chef Kenny’s turn. “I love Ridge and Heitz Cellars. Ridge’s Geyserville is what California wine is all about – a beautiful zin blend,” he said. “And Monte Bello cabernet sauvignon is so great it bring tears to your eyes. Heitz’s Martha’s Vineyard and Bella Oaks are fantastic cabs. They’re so good it’s sick!”

Mr. Vino then took center stage. “I love all the wines you’ve mentioned, but when it comes to red wine there are two great producers, year in year out,” he said. “Mayacamas Vineyards – their cabs and merlots are gorgeous, and Caymus – their Special Select is just awesome. What a beautiful wine.”

The spotlight turned to me. “I love Frog’s Leap. Their cab, zin and merlot are simply the most drinkable wines coming out of wine country,” I said. “I love wineries like Rudd, Clos du Val, Stags’ Leap and Karl Lawrence. I think Silverado Vineyards is producing some of most interesting red wines out of the Napa Valley. The cabernet Solo is unbelievable.”

We argued about why there were more pinot noir producers on our lists than any others and so forth until we got tired and Chef Kenny’s limo drove us home.