(Wine-Searcher) - California makes plenty of expensive Cabernets, but a younger group of winemakers is doing something very different.

For some time now, California's wine industry has been thoroughly lambasted for not offerings its fan base an affordable middle ground.

"The market for Californian wine continues to be polarized between big mass-market brands and premium wineries ... as a whole, the category still struggles to fill the gap in the middle," said UK-based wine buyer Lynne Murray, in 2013.

Indeed, such views have been regularly expressed by the global wine trade over the past two decades and cannot simply be dismissed as Anglophile sour grapes; affordable premium Californian wines have undeniably been a bit thin on the ground. In the UK, for example, your choices were often limited to expensive Napa Cabs or jug wine from Ernest & Julio Gallo; until recently, characterful, well-made but inexpensive wines were nowhere to be seen.

However, in recent years a younger group of artisan wineries has emerged in California, run by individuals who don't play by the traditional rules. For a start, they generally eschew Cabernet Sauvignon, instead producing everything from Syrah to Albarino and even a bit of Portugal's Touriga Nacional. Their premises are typically small, based in Sonoma, and lack both estate vineyards and the financial clout of the big boys, meaning the owners actually get their hands dirty and make the wine you drink.

They were founded by people like Duncan Arnot-Meyers, enophiles who initially started their projects without any ambition to leave a lasting mark on the Californian wine scene. "My business partner Nathan and I started Arnot-Roberts in 2001, just to make some wine for ourselves," admits Arnot-Meyers. "In 2002, we decided to take things a little more seriously and buy a couple tons of good-quality fruit and make enough wine to sell. We have slowly increased our production over the years and were both able to quit our day jobs in 2008. We now make about 6000 cases and over 16 wines."

Their wine offering includes a superb Syrah, a funky Touriga Nacional and an excellent Chardonnay from a single vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Yet, the Chardonnay retails at less than £45 ($66) in the UK, a steal when compared to Grand Cru Burgundies of equivalent quality.