My wife has some business associates in L.A. for a few days and they expressed an interest in trying California wines. She asked what she should know, and they said they’re from Northern Italy and like chianti and sangiovese. I’ll probably pick up a couple of bottles from K&L in the next couple of days - any recommendations? I’m going to keep it under $60 per bottle.
I would go with Pinot Noir from Santa Rita Hills. Occasionally Chianti from Radda gets confused with Pinot Noir at my house.
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I’d probably do Bedrock, Once and Future, Old Hill Ranch, Easton and not focus on Sangiovese. All of them make pretty good food wines.
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Goodfellow Pinot Noir. If you are looking for recs for someone who likes Chianti, think high acidity, and likely red fruited. There will still be misses with that profile, but I think it is where you will find the most hits.
I have been wanting to dive in to CA to find a bright Merlot. I have yet to do so, but there must be a cooler climate Cali Merlot made by someone who doesnt intervene too much. That would likely be a good match too.
If they give up on US wines, I can give much more Sangiovese suggestions 
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I can’t help much on the domestic wines but a few European producers I know often want to drink American IPA’s over here because they are hard to find over there.
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Could be fun to share with them an American version of Sangiovese. Pride makes a really good one, but is above your price range (~$100), Benessere also makes one (~$50), although it’s been 10 years since I had it. Was very good at the time. Not sure if they have any local distribution for you, so may need to be ordered from the winery, so may not fit your timing.
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Not domestic, but @Dan_Kravitz thought this Greek wine was Chianti-esque.
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They’re from N Italy and like Tuscan wines…weird. That aside, Giornata makes very good stuff with Italian varieties.
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If it were me, I would be more interested in trying some iconic CA wines that I never/rarely get to try rather than a Sangiovese. That would be a lot more fun than something that, even with the best example, is only going to be as good as what they drink all the time.
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Yeah, think I’m aiming at something like that - not imitative of Italian wines, but interesting to their palate, or something that they couldn’t get at home. I like the Carlisle/Bedrock idea - I know that a few people have said when they visit Bordeaux they bring zinfandel with them, as the bordelaise allegedly are intrigued by it (?) - wasn’t sure if there was an equivalent for lovers of Italian wines. So far, some great ideas though.
Hit 'em with a Sabelli-Frisch mission.
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I would stay as far away from Italian varietals produced in this country as you can. Give them what the West Coast does best. Red Zins, Cool Climate Pinot Noir and slutty Cabernets.
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I agree. Who goes to Italy to eat McDonalds or drink Cab, Merlot, and Chardonnay? 
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I would go with something lighter bodied and higher in acid. From SoCal, as someone said, Sta Rita Hills. DDLC comes to mind. From Northern California, leaning into the higher acid bit, I would consider one of the Arnot-Roberts Syrahs, which often have a nice savory quality too.
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Unti produces some of the most interesting examples of Italian varietals in California, I would definitely try some of those.
Santa Cruz has some interesting Nebbiolo, Thomas Fogarty stands out. I would also run a few examples of Santa Cruz Cabernet by them as well as they tend to not be what “Cali Cab” is supposed to be. Can be surpring.
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To the Merlot question - if Cabot still makes one, that’s excellent cool climate Merlot.
As far as California producers using Italian varieties, of course they wont be interested in “just good”. But, there are wines that are excellent and would be interesting to them, showing the grapes from fitting and distinctive sites with winemaking that is attuned to those grapes.
The easiest to find might be Idlewild. A couple different bottles of their’s in the mix with some Santa Cruz Mountains and other more acidic wines might be good.
If you can find Ghostnote, buy it. Made by Fogarty’s assistant winemaker. Largely sourced from grapes Bryan Harrington had planted. Fogarty’s Walker Nebbiolo is good. Their club-only Gist Ranch Neb, which I’ve never seen at auction or retail, is possibly the best CA Neb. Serious wine needing age, but I’ve been blown away by barrel samples and the young bottles show great potential.
For SCM Cab, look for Mount Eden and pretty much any producer using Bates Ranch or Peter Martin Ray Vyd fruit.
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Monte Rio Cellars. A Zin and Sangiovese comparison!
My two cents are avoid Italian varietals (or trying to find what “tastes like Sangiovese”) and focus on what is unique to California. Bedrock and EWCY would be at the top of my list. A good cab too if you can find it in that price range (you’re the expert there).
I don’t know what EWCY is, alas.
In true berserker fashion, this went sideways but it worked out well. I wanted to give the Italians a bottle of Bedrock or Carlisle Zinfandel - I had a few choices - but I genuinely couldn’t find them. They must be in a box in my offsite. So at the last minute I pulled a Chris Tynan L’enclume De Velours, which was sort of a bonkers choice. BUT holy cats, did it ever gobsmack our new friends. This was on a convention floor, red solo cups, and a bunch of Italians rolling their eyes at California wine, then being - silenced. Like: wait, really, what is this? Then telling their friends to try it, followed by more stunned reactions. They drank it to the last drop and photographed the bottle and texted my wife afterward saying it was incredible.
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Are you dead set on CA? I have to admit, the brighter/red fruit profile of Italian wines seems a better match to WA. Some really good producers making Sangiovese, including Leonetti, which might be a better fit to the palate.