For centuries American winemakers have attempted to mimic their French counterparts. They copied their winemaking techniques and even grew the same grape varieties. But there were always differences - the French label focused on the village where the grapes were grown; the American label focused on the grape variety.

Now comes Jeff McBride, winemaker at the venerable Conn Creek Winery, who believes - like the French - that consumers should be able to taste the differences between wine-growing regions.

Napa Valley is an American Viticulture Area that is broken up into 14 sub regions with an approval for an additional one (Calistoga) pending. Although the goal of sub-AVAs was to identify areas with unique flavor profiles, the boundaries were often politically drawn for marketing reasons. Winemakers regularly source their grapes from a variety of regions anyway, so consumers will find, for example, “Central Coast” on the label - so broad a region that there is nothing unique about the flavor.

Mr. McBride wants to change that. For several years now he has been making a wine from each of the 15 sub regions. He sets aside 65 cases of each for future trade tastings and then releases four of the 15 wines for sale. Although consumers may not be able to compare all 15, they have a unique opportunity to tastes the differences between four of the sub-AVAs.

“Europeans have specific zones, historical references and traditional planting techniques,” Mr. McBride says. “We take a soup bowl of ingredients. Ours is a shotgun approach - Europe has a rifle approach.”

To make the comparisions reasonably fair, Mr. McBride attempts to standardize the process. For instance, grapes are picked at the same degree of ripeness and they spend the same amount of time in the same kind of oak barrels. He has only so much control over the vineyards Conn Creek doesn't own, but Mr. McBride works closely with their owners to achieve his goals.

The two 2003 single-vineyard wines we tasted offered the interesting differences that Mr. McBride had hoped to achieve. The 2003 cabernet sauvignon from the Collins Vineyard in St. Helena has black fruit (black berries) and chocolate flavors and grainy tannins identified with this area. On the other hand, the 2003 from the Herrick Vineyard in Yountville had red fruit (cherries and plums) and a softer mouthfeel.

Both were delicious, full-bodied wines - but distinctively different. They each cost $45. To compare them would be an educational experience for you.

Conn Creek makes other red wine separate from its sub-AVA program. Here are some of our favorites:

Conn Creek Cabernet Franc 2003 ($30). Not many winemakers have the grapes to make a multi-dimensional cabernet franc - usually a blending grape. This one doesn't have the vegetal characteristic often associated with the grape variety. About 15 percent of the fruit was whole-berry fermented to soften the tannins and preserve the fruit expression. Pepper aromas with chocolate and cherry flavors with soft mouthfeel.

Conn Creek Limited Release Cabernet Sauvignon 203 ($35). The blend is 82 percent cabernet sauvignon, 11 percent cabernet franc and 7 percent merlot. Lots of dried cherry and cassis flavors and a touch of chocolate. Complex and dense. Individual vineyard lots are barrel aged separately for 26 months in new and one-year-old French oak.

Wine of the week

Conn Creek Anthology 2003 ($40). Using all five Bordeaux grape varieties, this blend is full-bodied with an expressive bouquet, silky tannins and soft black fruit flavors. It has been barrel aged for a long 28 months in equal parts new and one-year-old French oak barrels, then held in bottle for another 12 months before being released.