chardonnay

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What wines have you been drinking lately? I am all about winter whites these days; they pair well with some of the fun spicy veggie dishes I have been experimenting with and it can be downright refreshing to have a cool glass in front of the fire.

Liquid Farm Golden Slope Chardonnay This bottle of 2012 Golden Slope Chardonnay by Liquid Farm, given to us by a friend, is one of those whites that we opened recently and noted we would buy again.

Liquid Farm is a pretty cool winery with an interesting philosophy and story behind their winemaking. Their preferences laid outside of what they were finding in California wine, so they decided to make their own:

Before Liquid Farm, our glasses were often filled with old world wine. We preferred the lower alcohol, cooler climate, and more earth-driven characteristics of European wines to their more so often ripe, fruit-focused, more alcoholic Californian counterparts.

As we believe, the first bottle to disappear at your the table is really the best wine for you – period. And, for us, when we tried to support California, there was typically wine left in the bottle the next day while the old world bottles, not a drop in them, would be lined up like proud dead soldiers.

We were eating local, supporting mom and pop restaurants and farmers markets – it was time to make wine in a style we craved from our own backyard.

This Golden Slope Chardonnay is delicious. It’s weighty enough for this time of year, a little spicy and smoky, with notes of honey and lemon meringue, round yet still bright and with enough acidity to balance it all out and to pair with food. You know I love Chardonnay of all types, and this one’s elegance and surprising layers of flavor make it a new favorite. I think a wine trip to Santa Ynez is in order.

Tags: California wine, chardonnay, Santa Ynez, wine, wine blog, wine of the week, wine tasting

Somewhere between our Savor Healdsburg food tour and tasting at Cartograph, we had a few extra minutes to wander around Healdsburg and decided to pop into the Banshee tasting room. We’d heard great things about their wines, and the tasting room had a good energy to it, little seating areas filled with small groups tasting and chatting.

Banshee Sonoma Coast Chardonnay

The Banshee tasting room has comfy couches, a cool vibe, with wines by the glass or bottle, along with tasting flights. It seemed like the perfect place to hang out, and overall we loved the concept of taking your time with a tasting and being comfortable while doing it. There were a couple of downsides worth noting though.  They had one spit bucket for about 30 people, so we felt forced to drink the pours we were given, something we tend to not want to do when tasting all day. And the person pouring for us actually badmouthed other wineries in an attempt to sell theirs. . .We would have felt a lot better about the experience if that hadn’t happened, but we tried to brush it off because we liked the space and the wines, which were really memorable and delicious and worth stopping for.

One of the wines we brought home is this week’s wine of the week. We love Sonoma Coast Chardonnays and have been inspired by visits to places like Flowers to drink more wine from the far reaches of Sonoma County.  The 2012 Banshee Sonoma Coast Chardonnay comes from a cool climate and thus ripens later in the season. Due to a blending of styles, which includes both oak and stainless, the wine is super balanced, with notes of vanilla bean, tart apple, and citrus. It’s far more delicate than some other California Chardonnays, and it is very easy to drink as well as to pair with food.

If you’re in Healdsburg, I would definitely recommend a stop into Banshee tasting room for a little relaxation. If it’s not too crowded and you can grab a dump bucket, you might just love it.

Tags: chardonnay, Healdsburg, Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, wine, wine of week, wine tasting, Wine Wednesday

Just like the name, it is sunny and delightful, one of the best parts of summer. I simply love a clambake, especially one by the beach. Lobsters, clams, mussels, corn, potatoes, and butter are, together with sunshine, the most perfect foods.

Just as clambakes cheerfully punctuate summer, so does the 2012 Clambake Chardonnay, from the Santa Lucia highlands.

This Chardonnay is not the California Chardonnay you may have come to expect (Though really, that has changed so much!)

Clambake Chardonnay

This Chardonnay is bright and acidic, refreshing, fun, flirty, and perfect for pairing with food It definitely has a hint of richness and body, but there’s no overpowering oak or butterscotch in sight. Or taste.

Clambake Chardonnay

I could drink this delicious wine with roasted clams and drawn butter, and it would go perfectly with some of my favorite summer dishes, like this Grilled Corn Salad. Summer wine, like summer food, should be fresh, tasty, and most of all help you make those relaxed memories you’ll hold on to long into the winter.

Tags: California wine, chardonnay, Summer wine, wine, wine of the week, wine tasting, Wine Wednesday

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