Most of the time, I do not much consider myself very badass or even particularly put-together as an adult, because I am mainly fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants and not terribly interested in grown-up rules, but sometimes that immaturity and disorganization goes so far out there that it comes back around in to Being Awesome. It hit me hard when I was making dinner for me and the kidlet tonight.

Yep. That’s right. Dinner was cartoon-character-shaped macaroni and cheese, chardonnay for me, milk for her, and a split Snickers. The kidlet had this Madonna-wannabe headband on and she had fluffed out the lace and pulled it around her face like a fascinator and was lecturing me in a very fancy voice with her hand on her hip about opening the packet of powdered cheese, licking my finger, and sucking off the cheese. She was very chic. I was impressed enough to almost consider not eating more of the cheese.

(Later, instead of digging up a tablespoon, I just eyeballed how much milk and butter I figured I needed. Totally overestimated on the milk. So when it didn’t set up right, I drained and poured some of the runny mix in to a plastic cup from the Olive Garden. I meant to pour it down the sink, probably, but I instinctively drank it instead.)

We’re eating macaroni and watching the live action Scooby Doo now, because kidlet loves the dog and Mommy loves Matthew Lillard. (Did you know he was The Fat Kid growing up, so everyone made fun of him, and it affected him very deeply? Because I know, because I love him.) Sometimes we play Scooby Dooby Doo in the bathtub — she is Scooby and I am Shaggy. The tub is the Mystery Van and we drive in it to solve crimes and say “like” a lot. Not gonna lie: we’re pretty awesome.

The 2003 Chardonnay Hyde Vineyard is a stunning wine of great individuality, with wonderful minerality, sweet lemon oil, honeysuckle, white currant, and floral notes intermixed with a crushed rock-like note, and a long, heady, full-bodied finish. Served at Nobles with Pan Seared Georges Bank Sea Scallops and Fava Bean Succotash. $49.95

This wine’s lovely bronze color, hints of butter, pretty green apple and Comice pear aromatics, make for an ultra smooth mouth feel. Lovely balance with gentle acidity and unobtrusive oak make for a smooth and lingering palate presence. Served at Zink American Kitchen with Roasted Sonoma Valley Foie Gras with Peppered White Peach Tatin, Fleur de Sel, Petite Opal Basil and Caramel. $35.00

Although any vintage coming on the heels of the 2000 Burgundies has a tough act to follow, the 2001’s trugged. In spite of this, top Burgundy producer Louis Jadot can be counted on to produce consistently delicious and palatable wines, often ageworthy like their Mersaults. The best Mersaults of this vintage possess silky textures, lovely purity of fruit, and solid structure. Served at Carmel Country Club with Frisee Salad with Baby Beets, Squash Blossoms, Roquefort Cheese, and Orange Herb Reduction. $57.00

Monterey County

$19 from San Diego Wine Co.

Jan: Impressive.  Great complex flavors of fruit and minerals.  Thumbs up!

Doug: Complex.  A nice balance of fruit and minerality.  A big thumbs up!  I can see why it’s #29 on the 2009 Wine Spectator Top 100 list.  A favorite!

In 2007, in addition to increasing the Rodney Strong portfolio of wines under their Estate name, proprietor Tom Klein added longtime Sonoma County Winery Davis Bynum to the lineup. The history of Davis Bynum dates back to 1973. The goal then as now is to focus on Russian River Valley fruit. Today I’ll look at two of the current release Davis Bynum wines. These wines represent the first Davis Bynum releases under winemaker Gary Patzwald who was already working on some small production Rodney Strong wines.

First up is the Davis Bynum 2007 Russian River Valley Chardonnay. The fruit for this wine is composed of four Chardonnay clones. This offering is 100% varietal and all Russian River Valley fruit. 75% of the wine went through malolactic. Barrel aging was accomplished over 11 months in French oak. 6,000 cases of this wine were produced and the suggested retail price is $25.

Apple, spice and hints of toast waft gently from the nose of this 2007 Chardonnay. The palate features an explosive burst of pure fruit. Apple, pear, pineapple, mango and more arrive in wave after wave of lush, mouth filling flavor. Spices, mineral notes and hint of burnt caramel emerge on the lengthy finish. This wine has excellent acidity and will pair will pair well with creamy dishes, roast chicken and soft cheeses.

The second wine is the Davis Bynum 2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Fruit from five clones was used in crafting this wine. This offering is 100% Pinot Noir and all Russian River Valley fruit. Barrel aging occurred over 11 months in French oak. 6,500 cases of this selection were produced and the suggested retail price is $35.

Black cherry, wild strawberry and vanilla cream aromas emerge prominently from the nose of this 2007 Pinot Noir. Hints of raspberry along with mushroom and continued cherry and strawberry make up the balanced palate of this wine. The finish on this wine is lengthy and smooth with gently gripping tannins and excellent acidity. As with most well made, well balanced Pinot Noir, this wine will pair beautifully with a wide array of foods.

It had been several years since I’d had any wines from Davis Bynum. For a period of time they’d been a regular Russian River stop for me. For no reason in particular they fell off of my radar a bit at some point. So I was curious and eager to see what the Davis Bynum wines tasted like today. Particularly since the winery is in a second life cycle now under the Rodney Strong umbrella. I’m happy to report that these are quality wines that do a nice job showcasing lots of fruit and varietal character. Each is also a fine example of what these Burgundian grapes can achieve in Russian River Valley. Too often, in California especially, Pinot & Chardonnay are overwhelmed with oak. Both of these offerings have their fair share of oak on them but thankfully in these wines it enhances the fruit as it should. With 6,000 or so cases of each, these selections won’t be difficult to fine. If you like Russian River Chardonnay and/or Pinot Noir, here are a couple of solid bets to consider.

Please take a moment to vote for my blog.

Product updates:
The extraordinarily rare Finca El Reposo St. Jeannet is back in stock! As the linked-to blog post alludes, there are possibly only 500 cases of wine made from this grape in the world, annually.

The Ancient Age Bourbon (not the 10 Star) in 750ml travelers is back in stock as well.

New Wines for the Week

Many of you have asked for the mythical “sweet red wine,” something other than a true dessert wine, and definitely something other than a “red” muscadine wine. Well, we have a new option for you now, the Jam Jar Sweet Shiraz from Australia. Also from Australia we now have the delicious Yard Dog White, a blend of 55% Chardonnay, 18% Gewurztraminer, 15% Sauvignon Blanc, 9% Viognier and 3% Semillon.

From Bordeaux we’ve also picked up a value-priced red (a blend of Cabernet and Merlot) and a value-priced white (100% Sauvignon Blanc), both from Chateau Chartron La Fleur.

From Austria, we’ve added the Hagen Grüner Veltliner. Grüner Veltliner is on our “under-appreciated” list, if you ever want to explore life beyond Pinot Grigio. Has Pinot Grigio jumped the shark yet?

New Spirits for the Week
The most interesting thing we added is the five year old Ara Jan brandy from Armenia. It has a flavor distinct from French, Spanish, Mexican and U.S. brandies and is quite tasty if you want to try something different.

Ara Jan Armenian Brandy

We added the Antioqueno Aguardiente in 1L bottles. Aguardiente means different things in different parts of the world, but in this particular Colombian context, it is sort of a flavored rum, as it is distilled from cane and has an anise flavor akin to absinthe, ouzo, sambuca and the like.

Also from Colombia is the Ron Medellin Rum Anejo (ron / rum … is that redundant?). The Ron Medellin is priced similarly to the ubiquitous Bacardi Gold, but is superior rum for the money.

Speaking of Bacardi, as it has been requested, we’ve added the “Dragon Berry” flavored rum, infused with both strawberry and dragonfruit flavors.

Lastly, maybe you thought sweet tea vodka was the latest bandwagon every spirits company is falling all over themselves to jump onto, but it might now be whiskey-based honey liqueurs. So, we’ve added the Evan Williams Honey Liqueur, in 50ml and 750ml sizes, just in case you want to try something other than Wild Turkey American Honey, or the older Yukon Jack, Drambuie, Celtic Crossing and Irish Mist brands. Each is unique in flavor of course — and based upon different types of whisk(e)y — but it is kind of funny to watch this trend unfold.

Champagne by Larmandier-Bernier

We were so lucky. When Timo visited us a couple of weeks ago, he brought with him a bottle of ‘Blanc de Blancs, Premier Cru, Extra-Brut’ by Larmandier-Bernier, Champage/France. We do not drink much champagne these days, just too expensive in Thailand. I was more than happy to fetch the champagne glasses when Timo produced the bottle from his luggage. I admit that I had never heard about this producer but since I do not know much about champagne that did not bother me.

Timo Meyer pouring the champagne

But this drop deserves a special mention. It was the perfect wine to celebrate a reunion. Larmandier-Bernier is a small champagne house. Pierre and Sophie Larmandier’s basic philosophy is to make a natural wine starting in the vineyard right through to wine-making. They go for small yields, old vines, and hand picking. They practice biodynamic viticulture. The motto is balance in diversity.

The ‘Blanc de Blancs’ is mainly made of the 2006 Chardonnay vintage with reserve wines from 2004 and 2005 of about 40%. It is an elegant champagne, mineral, floral notes can be detected, a sparkling wine with a beautiful finish.

Champagne producers are hard hit by the decline in demand partly caused by the impact of the global financial crisis. In the USA sales of champagne shrank by about 43% in 2009. In Britain and France the decline was lower, 33% and 7% respectively. In contrast lower-price sparkling from other sources, mostly cheaper wines from Italy and Spain are up this year. I just hope that especially the small champagne houses can weather this crisis. It would be a shame to lose them.

I’ve been meaning to update this blog with the results of a fantastic Burgundy tasting I hosted for the staff of the Nota Bene a few weeks ago, but I never got around to it (I think finals, which start next week, has something to do with it).  However, a post on the Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant blog “Inspiring Thirst” inspired me to post at least a short entry on a few of the wines we drank that evening.

We had a spate of seven wines for the tasting, starting with the decidedly NOT Burgundian Drappier “Carte d’Or” Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne which I included because, hell, it’s 100% chardonnay, and hell, who doesn’t like Champagne?  We went through three whites–a basic Mâcon-Villages, a Chablis, and a Chassagne-Montrachet–and three reds.

The first red, the 2005 Domaine René Leclerc Bourgogne, was a basic rouge I picked up at MacArthur Beverages for around $25.  However, it was really, really good, with nice acidity, some spice, and a hint of funk.  This is definitely something I’d pick up as a “house Burgundy” if I ever make that much money in the future.

The second was Kate and Rahul’s favorite red, the 2005 Domaine du Clos Salomon Givry Premier Cru (around $30-$35 on sale at MacArthur).  I have to say this was very impressive, just really well integrated with nice body, a bit of berry, a bit of mushroom, and a lot of pepper on the finish.  Though pinot isn’t the first varietal that comes to mind when eating steak, this particular wine would make a good match.  I could imagine lamb as well.  Watercress, escarole, or arugula would make good sides.

MY favorite of the evening, however, was the 2005 Nicolas Rossignol Pommard ($70 at the Wine Specialist).

Pommard was apparently the most popular Burgundian appellation in the US market back in the 60s and 70s.  This popularity may have led to some degree of complacency: as at least one commentator has noted, Pommard now has a reputation for being among the worst values in the Cote d’Or.

Nonetheless, there are always exceptions, and this offering from Rossignol was one of them.  I had tried his 2005 basic Bourgogne rouge a few months ago and was not impressed–it seemed thin and lacked focus–so I didn’t have any expectations for the Pommard.  I popped it open about an hour before the tasting and poured it into a decanter to open up… I took a sniff once it was in the decanter, and man… already it smelled wonderful.

So, the moment of truth.  It was the last wine of the tasting.  I poured a bit in everyone’s glass, we swirled and sniffed.  Gorgeous, gorgeous nose reminiscent of lavender, purple fruits, slight trace of earthiness.  Into the mouth.  OMG.  A stunning, shimmering mouthfeel, like velvet or silk.  Absolutely seamless integration.  Very fruit-forward, a basket of berries picked in the shade of flowering bushes.  Lingering hint of violets on the finish, like the footsteps of some forest-fairy.  Magical–one of those precious few wines that elicit a slow spreading smile upon tasting.

I would highly recommend the Rossignol Pommard to any Burgundy lover.  It would be a great wine with which to impress anyone.  I wouldn’t pair this one with food because it is so delicate, so utterly perfumed and graceful that drinking it with food would coarsen the experience.  If I HAD to pair it, however, I would do so with mousse patês, duck stewed with cherries, or with fruit/dark chocolate-based desserts.

Clark Z. Terry of KLWM wrote in the aforementioned post: “Burgundy fanatics often talk about their ‘Burgundy moment’: The bottle that flipped a switch in their brain and set them on a destructive path to buy all the Burgundy they can in search of more wine that will replicate that vinous epiphany.”  This wine is fully capable of inspiring any number of Burgundy moments.

Tonight’s beverage selection includes a popular chardonnay from the Barriques Middleton tasting menu.  The Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Estates Chardonnay 2007. Not much background on this one.  I’m drinking it with some chicken scallopini (recipe forthcoming) I made for dinner tonight.  Let’s get to it.

Wine: Sonoma-Cutrer Russian River Estates Chardonnay 2007

Style: Sonoma Coast (California) Chardonnay

Vitals: 14.2% abv

Company line: “I know of no other wine that better captures the spirit, passion, and dedication of those who grow and make it.  -Terry Adams, Winemaker”   Umm, ok, guy.

My take: straw yellow and crystal clear in the glass, notes of honeyed pear, pineapple and buttery oak.  High minerality leads to a clean, mostly dry, lightly acidic mouthfeel.  Great balance all around yields high drinkability.  To use a beer analogy, this is the casked English bitter of wines – clean and refined, more than the sum of its parts.  Class in a glass.  I could go on.  I won’t.  $18-$20/bottle range.  Or come to Barriques and I’ll pour you a glass.  Lord knows I could use the company.

Saint Laurent Lucky White, Columbia Valley, WA, 2008

Aromatics:  This blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Chardonnay offers a generous nose of gardenias, lemons, and ripe apricots.

On the Palate:  More ripe apricots and gardenias. A simple daily drinker that won’t break the bank.

88 Points. Retail $16.

Sonoma County’s Rodney Strong Vineyards is one of the wineries I’ve gone back to time and again for a look at current releases. In addition to being a consistent producer at a wide-ranging number of tiers, they’re wines are also extensively available throughout the country. My next few posts will look at six wines in their portfolio that I recently tasted and enjoyed. In addition to wines under the Rodney Strong Vineyards name I’ll also look at a few releases from one of their other labels. Today I’ll cover one of their Chardonnays and a Cabernet Sauvignon.

First up is the Rodney Strong Vineyards 2007 Chalk Hill Chardonnay. This selection is produced using estate fruit. This wine is 100% Chardonnay. 97% of it underwent malolactic and was aged in French oak for 9 months.  The suggested retail price for this offering is $20.

Intermingling fruit aromas, particularly pear and apple burst from the nose of this Chardonnay along with vanilla and toasty oak notes. The orchard fruit theme continues throughout the palate where Macintosh apple and Asian pear notes are prominent and layered along with hints of crème fraîche, pie crust, and baker’s spices. This solid core of persistent fruit leads to a nice finish that shows off a flourish of lemon custard, wisps of smoke and a final echo of crème brûlée

The Chalk Hill Chardonnay does a nice job straddling the oak line. It has added complexity and spice characteristics that have been imparted from its time in barrel. Importantly though the oak never detracts from the fresh and lively fruit. This is a very solid Chardonnay in its price category, and a consistent one from vintage to vintage too.

The second wine I’m recommending today is the Rodney Strong Vineyards 2006 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is made from estate fruit. In addition to Cabernet Sauvignon (92%), Merlot (6%), and Petite Verdot (2%) are also blended in. Barrel aging was accomplished over 21 months in a combination of French and American oak. The suggested retail price for this wine is $25.

Black cherry, plum and hints of ash waft with conviction from the nose of this 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon. A back and forth tussle for your taste buds between red and black fruits occur throughout the rich and persistent palate. Dried cranberry, blackberry and continued plum notes are the most prominent. These lead to a lingering finished most notably marked by tobacco, earth, leather and a rich vein of mineral notes. A hit of sour cherry provides a final, memorable reference point. This wine has yielding tannins and good acidity.

For $25 (less if you shop wisely) this Cabernet Sauvignon provides good varietal and regional character. It’s also a fine wine to drink while your reserve Cabernets are gaining some bottle age. Much like the Chardonnay above this wine has been a consistent performer from vintage to vintage.

 Please take a moment to vote for my blog.

Classic rock fans can now pour themselves a bit of Pink Floyd or Rolling Stones.

Wines That Rock has announced the first three of its rock-themed wines: Forty Licks Merlot, Dark Side Of The Moon Cabernet Sauvignon, and Woodstock Chardonnay.

Each feature iconic art work on the labels.

The wines are made through California winemaker Mendocino Wine Company, which prides itself on earth-friendly production.

A three-pack sells for about $50 at www.wines-that-rock.com. The wines will be sold in stores beginning next year.

Other rock-themed wines are in the works.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Watching the Liberal Party rend themselves to pieces over Climate Change this week I perchanced to pick up a paper I had printed out from the John Howard Decade Conference held at the Australian National University, Canberra, 2-3 March 2006.

This particular paper is entitled “‘You lucky, lucky bastard!’. The Extent Of John Howard’s Political Genius.’ by noted chardonnay swillers Wayne Errington and Peter van Onselen. An extract appears on-line here under the far less spicy title of ‘Howard The Ideologue’

Errington and van Onselen note that Howard extinguished true liberals from the Liberal Party and sound a warning from the dark ages past of early 2006 that Howard’s suppression of moderates and championing of the ideological right within his party sharpened factional lines within the Liberals while concealing this division behind the whitewash of electoral success. They state that:

While this doesn’t seem to have done much harm in terms of the harmony and discipline of the party in government, a less successful federal Liberal Party may reap the whirlwind of the divisive practices of the Howard years.

And further:

The extent of damage caused by Howard’s factional warfare will only be known well after he has retired, and will likely cause some reassessment of his political skills

Got That Right

Well many congrats to Errington and van Onselen. The John Howard Decade Conference at elite feminist pinko bludger central ANU no doubt set international records for the consumption of taxpayer-funded Chardonnay, but also produced an Oracle for the future. Surveying the Liberal Party in advanced factional rabble mode must be causing Errington and van Onselen to emit quite a glow of professional satisfaction as their predictions settle nicely into history.

As the Lavartus Prodeo commenter, Katz, succintly put it “This is the end of the party that Ratty made.”
Nyet

Nick Minchin is the perpetuator of the Howard example of ideological refusenik. Nyet! No stolen generations; Nyet! No multiculturalism; Nyet! No acknowledgement of any latent Australian racism; and now Michin’s contrribution Nyet! No climate change.

Minchin, like Howard, is chained to the past but Howard’s chains were cultural, not political. Howard at least gave lip-service to Climate Change, but Minchin is dying in a ditch on this and could take the entire party with him. Psephological analysis of the electoral devestation to be wrought on a Climate Change Denialist Liberal Party shows that the only electoral survivors will be those on the ideological right – leaving essentially a rump of old men sailing surely into an ideologically blinkered, though iceberg-less, oblivion.

The Taste Of Stale Rump

My contention that the Liberals will be left as a ‘rump of old men’ is based on polling that shows it is men and non-capital city dwellers that are Australia’s AGW Denialists according to this poll and analysis by Possum with the 55 yrs plus demographic easily the Coalition’s best demographic at 47.5% voter share vs. 38% across all voters as of 1st December 2009.

Surveying the electoral prospects of an AGW denialist Liberal Party, The Australian poll and article of Nov. 28 bluntly forecast “Liberals Facing Election Rout” due to metropolitan Libs deserting a Climate Change Denialist Lib/Nat coalition.

Part of Howard’s legacy then, his championing of the ideological right, may end up contributing to the consignment of the Liberal Party to complete irrelevance – a DLP that will slowly peter out of existence. To be fair to Howard, he was smart enough to know that Climate Change was a vote-winner and he wouldn’t have nailed his party’s colours to such an unsteady mast as Climate Change Denialism as Minchin has so foolishly done.

So while Howard elevated the right to dominance, it is Senator Nick Minchin, who, unlike Howard, has never faced the electoral pressure of a MHR will bear the ultimate credit or blame for the fate of the Liberals over the next election and beyond. I hope he enjoys the view from the ivory tower of his unloseable no.1 Senate ticket position.

The Minister For Sucking Up To Big Business

While Mr. Minchin inhabits an ivory tower of electoral invulnerabilty, that ivory tower remains within instantaneous contact of any Multinational willing to donate a few (million) quid to the Liberal Party. The Australian today reported that Mr. Minchin is not only a Climate Change Denier but also a Tobacco/Passive Smoking Denialist.

In the mid-1990’s Senatorpor Minchin dissented from a Senate Committee opinion that Passive Smoking could cause Cancer, his ’scientific’ basis being a report sourced from the Tobacco Institute Of Australia.

The Senate Committe report said:

“Senator Minchin believes these claims (the harmful effects of passive smoking) are not yet conclusively proved. . . there is insufficient evidence to link passive smoking with a range of adverse health effects.”

But, reports The Australian:

Senator Minchin’s stance flew in the face of voluminous reports by the US Surgeon-General, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, documenting nicotine’s addictive hook and the serious health risks for people exposed to secondary cigarette smoke. Even the US and British tobacco companies acknowledged the health hazards from passive smoking in internal corporate research documents from the 1970s, obtained by the US congress and placed on the public record in 1995.

So Minchin is exposed as a patsy for fraudulent ’science’ produced by International Corporations with massive financial interest in the continuation of sociopathic consumption of poisons. The man is seriously deluded or simply not interested in truth.

Controlling weeds under vine is an important job in the vineyard. Weeds compete for water and nutrients and can lead to stressed vines and stressed vines = stressed wines.
The most popular method for controlling weeds is by spraying a band underneath the vine row with herbicide. This gives excellent control of weeds but does have disadvantages. We had found that we had in effect been selecting for hard to kill weeds.
Last year we bit the bullet and purchased an under vine weeder, to take out the problem weeds.

The weeder has a blade that slides along just below the surface slicing through plant roots. The obvious problem to overcome with the design of an under vine weeder is to not damage the grape vine. This has been achieved by the wonder of hydraulics. Above and slightly in front of the blade is a sensor bar which controls the blade; move the sensor bar and you move the blade. The sensor bar is 30 cm above the ground and as the weeder moves along the row the sensor bar is pushed back by a vine or post and slides around it and the blade follows the sensor bar.

It was necessary to put stakes around irrigation risers (pipes that feed the irrigation lines from the underground mainline) to catch the sensor bar and protect the riser pipes from being cut by the weeder. Other than that it was an easy change to make and in our soils the under vine weeder works really well.
Cheers for now

Stuart

http://www.toreawines.co.nz/
Join us on Facebook here
Join us on Twitter here

Bottle Shock (2008)
★★ / ★★★★

I decided to watch this movie because I was interested to learn more about one of the landmarks of the wine industry (even though I don’t know much about wine). That is, the creation of the perfect Chateau Montelena chardonnay. Alan Rickman stars as Steven Spurrier, the owner of Academie du Vin, who traveled to the United States in order to collect wine for the Judgment of Paris wine competition. One of the places he visited was Chateau Montelena which was owned by Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman), a man who was buried in loans and frustration with the fact that his son (Chris Pine) failed to show interest or enthusiasm when it came to the family business. The weaker and less interesting part of the film was the romance triangle among a Hispanic worker (Freddy Rodriguez) in Chateau Montelena, a new intern (Rachael Taylor), and Jim’s aimless son. Another negative was that even though the story was supposed to be set in 1976, it didn’t feel like it was because of both the actors and the script. That sense of authenticity was important to me because I really wanted to be sucked into the time period. I also felt as though the picture played everything a bit too safe. With each scene everything just felt nice and breezy instead of revolutionary, which is a problem because the core of the movie was how the events in the vineyard impacted the wine industry. Randall Miller, the director, should have taken more risks instead of resting on the romance between the three younger characters. In fact, I think the movie would’ve been better off if about thirty minutes were cut off because it would have been more focused and the pace wouldn’t have felt as slow. Still, I don’t consider “Bottle Shock” a bad movie because there were moments of true wonder for the audiences, especially when the wine suddenly changed from clear to brown. I had no idea whether that was a positive or a negative thing prior so I certainly learned something from the film. And the exciting competition scene was quite amusing because the French judges tried so hard to discern which wines were from France and which ones were from the United States. The looks on their faces after the competition was priceless.

I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving day yesterday with family cooking, talking, eating, and of course, drinking lots of wine. I don’t have reviews ready for all of them, but I will get them all reviewed.

And I’ll start with the 2008 Edna Valley Vineyard Paragon San Louis Obispo Chardonnay. I love this wine. Usually I find California-style chardonnay to be completely cloying and way too over the top due to the focus on heavy oaking and full malolactic fermentation at the expense of the fruit. I admit there is something to be gained by oaking and malolactic fermentation, but like almost anything, it can get out of hand very quickly. Most California chardonnays that I have had in the past left a sort of bitter taste in the back of my mouth (which I now always think of whenever I hear the dreaded C word), which makes me want to keep clearing my throat and spitting.

But, the Edna Valley Paragon Chardonnay is not like this. I think it achieves a nice balance between the often too tart and fleeting totally unoaked style and the California super oak style. Edna Valley Vineyards puts part of the wine through primary fermentation in oak followed by malolactic fermentation. Thus, part of the wine is left unoaked without secondary fermentation, retaining the tart fruit flavors of the grapes. If they had stopped there, I don’t think the result would have been nearly as complex and full as the wine actually is. To achieve an added complexity, the winemakers also age the wine on the lees in small oak barrels.

The first whiff of this wine is pear, pear, pear, followed by a hint of lemon and honeysuckle. The first taste of this wine is also, not surprisingly, pear, pear, pear. It takes on a little vanilla and honeysuckle (and even some butterscotch which to me is usually a sign of a hyper-oaked wine, but here it works) as it warms and aerates. It’s moderately tart, but nicely balanced with a soft, creamy feeling.

I’m surprised I like this wine so much. I’m definitely going to be seeking out some more chardonnays in this mixed style.

Today’s guest blogger is winemaker Teresa Heuzenroeder.

Teresa Heuzenroeder

I often get told that winemakers must be relaxed outside of vintage. After all, what else is there to do for the rest of the year? So I thought this might be a good opportunity to provide a winemaker’s post-vintage snapshot from a Chardonnay perspective.

For me there are three distinct stages Chardonnay needs to go through once the hyperactivity and nervous anticipation of vintage is over. We know the flavours and textures we tasted in the vineyard, but there’s still a way to go before we can realise that vineyard vision in the final bottle and it goes something like this;

The hard work behind the scenes is the real grunt work that no one sees and is hardly glamorous but every bit as important as what happens during vintage and blending. It’s all about barrels – stacks of them (literally). Each barrel has to be tasted, mixed and topped every couple of weeks from the end of vintage until about now. This mixing process helps build texture and body into the wine and gives that palate creaminess and toasted nut complexity that is so important for top-notch Chardonnay. At the start it’s difficult to see any difference at all, but as the year goes on you find yourself catching a tantalising glimpse of the complete wine. So close, but still more work to do!

Checking each barrel

Blending is the culmination of all our work and it’s make-or-break time for each barrel; will they make the cut or are they out? This is what we’re up to right now (just in case you thought we might be celebrating the Festive Season with a glass of Chardonnay in hand). Throughout November and December we are busy tasting and deciding on that critical final blend.  It’s important to assess every barrel as each is a complete wine in itself. However, the sum of the whole is far more important than any individual barrel and that’s what we always consider when we make our selection.

The final countdown is the point at which we realise the flavours we saw in the vineyard all those months ago are indeed still there but they’re even better. For some wines (like Eden Valley Wild Ferment Chardonnay) this will be the end of the journey and they’ll be prepared for bottling early next year. For others (such as the Adelaide Hills FDW[7c] Chardonnay) the blend will be put together and go back to oak for another few months to quietly mature and complex before bottling in the middle of next year. By which time the next vintage will be being feverishly worked on (see “hard work behind the scenes” above). So the winemaking cycle continues.

Now what was that about nothing happening outside of vintage?

Chablis for less?

The vineyards of the Petit-Chablis appellation lie on either side of the River Serein. These carefully selected terroirs occupy the higher portions of the winegrowing slopes at altitudes of between 230-280 metres and are planted on mixed limestone soils.

This AOC was instituted in 1944 and is considered to be bottom of the rung of the Chablis Appellations. So is this Chablis for less? From a good producer I would agree but there is a lot of disappointing Petit Chablis being made. I would certainly be suspicious of seeing bottles of Petit Chablis for €8 or €9 and this is even more pertinant for bottles of Chablis under €10.

This Christmas we will see a swathe of Chablis and Chateauneuf du Pape etc at fantastic prices. Most of these will be Buyers own Brand or specifically created labels for a multiples or discounters. These will look great but tasted in context they will fall short. So when is Chablis not Chablis so to speak?

The laws of a particular appellation are in place to safe guard the traditons and quality of that region but there are some flaws.

The maxium yiled for Chablis is 58hl/ha (60hl/ha for Petit Chablis both yields incresed from 50ha/hl!!) so why is some better than others. There are 2 ways of achieving your maximum yiled. One is to prune and green harvest so that you do not overproduce bunches of grapes and maintain the concentration of flavour. The other way is not to debud or control the number of bunches per vine.  This will save labour costs etc and you then pick the maximum bunches of grapes and leave the remainder on the vine. Under the appellation laws your yield is 58hl/ha but one is going to be far more dilute and less concentrated than the other. Hence you can make a Chablis than costs less which can be sold for less. Stupid and flawed.

This Petit Chablis from Domaine Chatelain has great length, good concentration of flavour and all the attributes you would expect from a good Chablis. At €16.99 I would much prefer to taste a good wine than buy a cheap imitiation at half the price.

(CFD.net.au – Contract for Difference, Share, Forex, ETFs, Commodities Traders) –

Ian Johnstone said his company was pushing ahead with plans to make chardonnay sexy again after its image was decimated by the hugely popular TV comedy show.

“They weren’t our best sales people,

Kath & Kim

, and it created a negative feel for what is the world’s most flexible grape,” he e said.

The foxy morons’ mispronunciation of chardonnay as “Cardonay” in their international hit comedy series has clearly not left the wine industry laughing, judging from Foster’s judgement of the market.

Combined with the tax advantages which New Zealand imported white wines shared with the Australian industry, Foster’s nominated its wine area where it faced challenges – but confidently.

“We’ve all been seduced over to that (sauvignon blanc) and forgotten some of the old favourites,” Mr Johnston said.

As confidence returns, so does the start of the group’s lucrative “party season’”- after footy grand finals, the Spring Racing Carnival and the festive season.

“It is a peak period for alcohol consumption particularly around things like sparkling wines,” Mr Johnstone said.

Foster’s said beer sales in Australia were continuing to benefit from positive market conditions and “earnings momentum remains strong”.

Source: Sour grapes over Kath and Kim"s "cardy" | Business Breaking News | News.com.au

While discovering new wineries is terrific, I like to balance that with a look at releases from producers that I have found to be reliable over a period of time. Lucas & Lewellen is one such Winery. I became aware of them a few years ago when some selections from their sister label Mandolina were featured over at woot.com. I’ve come to like not only their wines but also the value they represent. Today I’ll look at one of their current releases of Chardonnay.

This fruit for the 2007 Lucas & Lewellen Chardonnay is sourced from their Goodchild and Los Alamos Vineyards. Both of these are located within the Santa Barbara County AVA. This selection is 100% Chardonnay. Fermentation was accomplished in stainless steel. 1,002 cases of this wine were produced and the suggested retail price is $16.

A combination of orchard and stone fruit aromas waft from the nose of this Chardonnay. Both pear and apple intermingle throughout the palate, with the pear notes leading the way. Hints of lemon pudding kick in about midway through and carry through the finish which is lengthy and also features baker’s spice and a hint of white pepper. This wine has excellent acidity and will pair well with a variety of foods. A cheese and fruit plate would be a particularly excellent match.

If you’ve read this site for any length of time you’ve probably gotten the drift that over-oaked Chardonnay is something I have particular disdain for. I don’t mind some oak, but I’m always wary when approaching a Chardonnay. No need for concern here as this offering is made in Stainless Steel. The fruit here is so fresh, so gloriously sumptuous that I’m glad there was nothing in the way to detract from those wonderful flavors. This is another excellent value from Lucas & Lewellen, once again they over deliver on price point.

Please take a moment to vote for my blog.