Ravenswood Winery in the Sonoma Valley produces a variety of wines, but it's really become synonymous with zinfandel. The winery's motto is ``no wimpy wines,'' but in this era of over-the-top, massively alcoholic, sometimes sweet zinfandels, Ravenswood's zins show admirable balance and -- dare I say it? -- restraint.

That's not to say that Ravenswood's zins, particularly the half-dozen vineyard-designate wines, aren't big. Founder and winemaker Joel Peterson's zinfandels offer lots of rich, spicy fruit and good structure. But they don't smack you upside the head.

The 2004 vineyard-designate zins were released last month. In blind tastings, I was particularly taken with four of them.

The 2004 Teldeschi ($30) from Dry Creek Valley is brimming with ripe, juicy blackberry and plum, accented by some lovely spice and smoke. It's a blend of 78 percent zin, along with a little petite sirah and carignane.

The 2004 Big River ($30), from an Alexander Valley vineyard planted in the early 1900s, is a mouth-filling wine with ripe blackberry and cherry fruit and hints of white pepper, spice and anise. It's a little softer and rounder than some of the others, but still has sufficient structure.

The 2004 Dickerson ($30) hails from a vineyard on the west side of the Napa Valley on Zinfandel Lane (appropriate). It offers sweet, lush berry fruit with notes of cola, coffee and spice.

The granddaddy of the Ravenswood lineup, the 2004 Old Hill ($60), is from what's thought to be Sonoma's oldest zinfandel vineyard. The wine is big and ripe, with loads of blackberry fruit, notes of black pepper and coffee, and just a whiff of eucalyptus. The wine is really a field blend -- that is, its 76 percent zinfandel content is complemented by other red varieties planted in the vineyard, including tempranillo, syrah, grenache and mourvèdre. The Old Hill, like the other vineyard-designate zins, has a firm structure of acid and tannin that should allow the wine to age for a few years.

Not all the Ravenswood zins are so expensive. There's a 2004 bottling from Lodi ($15) that doesn't have the depth and complexity of the vineyard-designate wines, but it still has plenty of ripe, juicy blackberry fruit and firm structure. It's a good value.

For even less money, there's the widely available 2004 Vintners Blend Zinfandel ($10), an easy-to-drink zin with round berry flavors and nice spice. The bottle I tasted had some funky burned-rubber character when it was first opened, but with a good aeration, that faded, leaving behind a very drinkable bottle.

MORE WINE IN CARTONS: A couple of weeks ago, I told you about the proliferation of wines packaged in single-serving bottles and cartons. I didn't mention the Vendange wines packaged in half-liter cartons because they aren't single servings -- more like three servings -- but if you're looking for decent wine in a lightweight, unbreakable package, some of the wines are worth checking out. There are seven wines in these Tetra Prisma packages: chardonnay, pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, shiraz, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel, all priced at about $4. (The package size works out to two-thirds of a standard 750 milliliter bottle.)

I've tried three of the wines: zinfandel, merlot and sauvignon blanc. There was only one clunker.

The 2004 zinfandel was quite pleasant, displaying bright berry fruit and a note of tobacco. Inexpensive merlot is often coarse and astringent, but the 2004 Vendange merlot is soft and accessible, with bright fruit and a subtle herbal note. Unfortunately, the 2005 sauvignon blanc was dull and bland, with none of the fragrant, lively aromas and fruit that sauvignon blanc should offer. I'd avoid it.

CABERNET? IN SANTA CRUZ?: The Santa Cruz Mountains appellation is most often thought of as a cool-climate growing area, a place where chardonnay and pinot noir thrive. But climate differs quite a bit along the roughly 50-mile-long appellation, which extends from Highway 92 in the north to Mount Madonna, near Watsonville, in the south. And one of California's most famous cabernet-based wines, Ridge Monte Bello, originates in the hills above Cupertino.

Following the success of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers' annual Pinot Paradise tasting, the appellation's cab producers are holding an event called Premier Cruz on Nov. 4. The tasting will include nearly two dozen wineries, some of which will pour older vintages. Ridge Vineyards, for example, will have the 1968 Monte Bello. There will also be food by Michael Mina, executive chef of Arcadia restaurant at the Marriott Hotel.

The tasting runs from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Marriott, 301 S. Market St. in downtown San Jose. Tickets are $125, and attendance is limited to 200 people. For tickets, call (831) 685-8463 or go to www.scmwa.com.