Archive for the ‘Stainless Steel Whites’ Category
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Region: Sonoma County – California – USA
Cost: $20 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Straw, yellow-green in color with aromas of crisp coconut, pear, and citrus. Richly expressive with great mouth-feel, good acidity, and a touch of butter. Pairs well with Lobster ala creme, seafood lasagna, braised chicken, gnocchi with brown butter, Fontina cheese.
My Review: It was a helluva weekend around my house, and while I won’t go into details, suffice it to say that Saturday called for some wine. So when my wife and I decided that our dinner would be a mix of some cheese, crackers, and somosas, a crisp white wine sounded like a great idea. Fortunately we happened to have one chilled in the fridge.
I hope everybody had a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend filled with friends, family, cookouts, and good wine. On Saturday my wife and I decided to jump on the Virginia Wine Trail and hit a few vineyards – some we had been to before and others we hadn’t visited yet. Four vineyards, several bottles, and a wine club membership later and we lived to tell the tale, and now I get to share it with you.
- A shot from outside White Hall Vineyards
We started out our tasting at White Hall, partly because of the area we were looking to go tasting in, they were the first one open, but also because I we hadn’t actually been out to the tasting room in many years. On the Saturday morning we stopped in they were pouring 9 different wines and my wife and I were happy to sample them all.
We started out with two Chardonnays, the 2008 Chardonnay ($15) and the 2008 Chardonnay Reserve ($24). The stainless steel Chardonnay featured all the usual citrus and pear notes I would have expected, but had a smoother finish than I anticipated, though certainly not “oaky”. The 2008 Reserve featured a bit of oaky nuttiness on the nose and while it had the “oaked” finish I would expect, it was subtle and even my wife, who doesn’t usually care for oaked Chardonnay, preferred it to the stainless steel.
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Region: California – USA
Cost: $10 (SRP)
Winemaker’s Notes: Picked at night or early in the morning, these grapes underwent fermentation in stainless steel tanks and were freed from the common secondary malolactic fermentation which is a frequent sentence for Californian Chardonnay. The result is a fresh and bright unoaked Chardonnay that is more reminiscent of an aromatic white that its namesake. Flavors of pear and green apple will pair well with braised scallops, pork tenderloin, roasted chicken, or fresh pasta with olive oil and basil.
My Review: When I was offered a sample of the 2009 Big House Unchained Naked Chardonnay I didn’t even hesitate to say yes. I’ve had several Big House wines in the past and have mostly enjoyed them, and given my wife’s preference for stainless steel Chardonnay, I take every opportunity I can to try one she might enjoy – I’m thoughtful that way.
Varietal: 100% Chardonnay
Region: California – USA
Cost: $20 (SRP)
Golden in color with aromas of pears, Gala apples, stone fruits, and pineapple. Hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, panna cotta, and hazelnuts that all carry through to the palate. Pairs well with chicken, seafood, and pork dishes as well as some softer cheeses.
Recommendations: I’ll admit that with the colder weather I’ve been on somewhat of a red wine kick, not the least of which has to do with my food selections. However, when the bottle of 2008 Robert Mondavi Chardonnay showed up at my office the other day, I will admit that I was happy for it as A) I don’t have a lot of white in the house at the moment, and B) I was kinda in the mood for a nice Chardonnay.
If you’ve followed this blog for any amount of time you know that I have a bit of trouble picking out Chardonnays because my wife doesn’t like oaked Chardonnay. While the Robert Mondavi has spent some time in French oak to age, it was fermented in stainless steel, and so I was hoping that the distinctive finish wouldn’t be too bad for her. It wasn’t. Read the rest of this entry »
Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: Virginia – USA
Cost: $16
Light gold in the glass with aromas of citrus, lemon, lime, green apple, quince, and white peach. A hint of melon on the palate and just a touch of minerality lead into a slightly floral finish. Pairs well with grilled or roasted chicken.
Recommendations: Back in March when my wife and I spent a few days in Virginia Wine Country near Charlottesville, one of the places we stopped on our second day of tastings was Veritas Vineyards. We had been there before as her brother was actually married there a few years earlier, but we hadn’t tasted their wines in some time (having missed them at the 2010 Virginia Wine Expo the month before), and wanted to stop in for a visit.
While several of their wines were enjoyable, our hands down favorite of the whites was the Estate Bottled Chardonnay. Produced solely in steel tanks, it’s crisp with a nice acidity and flavors of melon. What I like most about it is that there’s just a bit of Viognier added to help balance out the finish and add that floral note on the finish that’s indicative of the Viognier grape. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, day one of mine and my wife’s weekend in Virginia Wine Country was enjoyable to say the least. We tasted lots of wine, purchased several bottles to bring home with us, and had dinner in Downtown Charlottesville at Siips Wine Bar – which I highly recommend to any visitors.
Our second day of tasting began when we arrived King Family Vineyards. A beautiful estate that is almost hidden (GPS makes it easy to find) off several small roads, we spent some time tasting their wines – the Roseland 2008, a blend of Chardonnay and Viognier offers the best of both wines, and their Crose 2009, a Provence style dry Rose’ made from Merlot grapes, were both especially enjoyable – and looking around the small shop within their tasting room. While this was April and my first stop, this would have been an ideal spot to stop for lunch, as King Family Vineyards has several items available for purchase that, when paired with wine, would make an excellent picnic lunch.
Our second stop on the day was Pollak Vineyards, with their new tasting room with a patio perfect for relaxing with a bottle of wine. A dry Rose’ stood out amongst the lighter wines, but their 2008 Durant Red, a 50/50 blend of their Merlot and Cabernet Franc, made me regret not getting to taste their Merlot (they were sold out) as the flavors I got that weren’t Cab Franc were quite enjoyable, with a bright flavor that still showed a bit of earthiness at the same time.
After relaxing for a bit, you have to pace yourself when wine tasting after all, April and I got back into the car and headed on to our next stop, Veritas Vineyards. Now, this was not my first trip to Veritas, as April’s brother (that’s my brother-in-law for those following along) had been married there coming up on 3 years ago.
However, on my last trip we weren’t wine tasting, and so I hadn’t had the opportunity to sample all of their wines. Veritas offers both a red and a white tasting, and being the good couple that April and I are, we decided to get both and share them. Ain’t love grand?
From the white tasting several wines stand out. The first thing we sampled was their Scintilla, a sparkling brut that was excellent, with a mineral flavor that was both dry and crisp and quite refreshing. Next up was their Sauvignon Blanc, a varietal that you don’t see much of in Virginia. Light and refreshing I liked it, but found myself craving the bolder flavors of South American Sauvignon Blanc. That said, this was still an excellent wine and one worth buying.
The other white to truly stand out was the 2008 “Estate Bottled” Chardonnay. The addition of some Viognier to this wine adds a floral nose and flavor that both April and I found very nice. We actually purchased a bottle of this to go home after having a bottle opened to enjoy with our lunch on the stunning grounds of Veritas.
From the reds, the 2008 Merlot was dry and earthy with flavors of black cherry and it was at this point that I think April officially became a fan of Virginia Merlot. The bottle that came home with us, however, was their 2008 Claret with it’s pepper nose (thanks to the 35% Cab Franc) and smooth finish (thanks to the 5% Petit Verdot). It’s a great wine for pasta, hamburgers, or just because.
Our final stop of the day was in part thanks to the suggestion of our pourer at King Family Vineyards. When asking about our day we told her what we had on our list and she suggested Afton Mountain Vineyards over our other choice (which I will not name) because of the wine selection and what she perceived to be our palates. It also helps that Afton Mountain is just down the road from Veritas, while the other place is not.
At Afton Mountains they also offer two different tastings (a House and a Reserve), and as at Veritas, April and I decided to get both and share. From the House Tasting, the Gewurztraminer was so impressive, with its dry, mineral flavors, that we actually bought a bottle of it to take home. The Cabernet Sauvignon from this tasting was also very nice with a good earthy flavor.
From the Reserve Tasting the Tete de Cuvee brut we started with had a nice mineral (which seemed to be a theme for the weekend) and their Festa di Bacco is nothing if not a great pasta wine.
Like all good things, this weekend came to an end. While this will not be my last trip to Virginia Wine Country, or several of these vineyards to be honest, I do hope that anybody that is in Virginia and reading this (and my previous post) that hasn’t gone out and spent some time in Virginia Wine Country will do so.
Thanks to all of the vineyards across both days for being your hospitality and your wine.
