Drink the Bottles

We all know that Napa Valley is home to some of the most amazing full-bodied red wines in the world.  But it would be a shame for wine lovers to overlook the throngs of high quality white wines that are also available from this region.  When we first visited Napa in 2009, we found one of our favorite wines (a Chardonnay from a now defunct winery) and we have again found one of our favorite Chardonnay in this bottle.  The  2017 Patland Estate Vineyards Chardonnay is a prime example of delicious and age-worthy Chardonnay that we feel is a "must have" wine for your portfolio.  Much of the fruit in this offering is from the Stagecoach Vineyard (one of our favorite) and the wine is absolutely singing right now! Vanilla, baking spices and pear on the nose with hints of lychee fruit.  As always, we tasted this wine at room temperature and were introduced to flavors of homemade apple pie, toasted marshmallow and almost no oak.  While we tend to lean towards more oak-framed wines, th

There's no question that a quality Chardonnay really pleases the palate and is one of the world's most diverse and celebrated white wines.  We recently had the opportunity to taste this exciting wine and we know  that you will love it.  This is the  2019 Dawn's Dream Winery Frances Jane Chardonnay and like most wines that we love, it has a back story.  The Frances Jane name comes from Dawn's granddaughter and the fun label comes from the love that Frances Jane has for the four-legged fur babies.  In fact, $5.00 of every bottle of this wine is donated to Peace of Mind Dog Rescue.  We love this! This wine is on the drier side but welcomes the palate with toasted ciabatta, lemon cream and crisp pear.  It opens up the senses and warms the mouth with candied apples, hints of oak and bright acidity, leading to a lingering and satisfying finish.  While we tasted this wine without food (like we do all of our wines), we think this selection would be a lovely accompaniment to ha

  Fans of crisp, bright Chardonnay are sure to love the 2018 Lagana Cellars Eritage Vineyard Chardonnay .  This Walla Walla Valley selection isn't heavy and would be a perfect selection for sushi or a lighter baked fish dish.  Pale color yellow in the glass with stone fruits dominating the nose.  Wet river rock also makes an appearance.  In the mouth is a delightful and welcoming combination of more stone fruits, apple tart filling and hard pineapple candy.  This wine combines the right amount of sweetness and acidity, leading to a solid finish.  Best over the next 10 years.  This one is a reliable choice if you're looking for some Chardonnay to keep in your cellar. ABV:  13.4% Walla Walla Valley, WA Suggested retail price:  $22.00 Drink The Bottles score:  89/100

  The 2018 Knights Bridge Estate Chardonnay (Knights Valley) is a welcoming and affordable wine that can be presented as an every day sipper or for a lighter food wine.  While this particular vintage is no longer available from the winery's website, you can still find it readily available at many retailers.  In the glass is a medium golden apple color with crisp aromas of stone fruits, baked bread and vanilla.  In the mouth you easily embrace flavors of pear, vanilla bean, apple tart and lemon curd, leading to a solid and refreshing finish.  This wine is not overly oaked and should be drank in the next 2 years for optimum enjoyment. ABV:  14.5% Sonoma County, CA Suggested retail price:  $39.99 Drink The Bottles score:  88/100

We were very blessed to be able to travel to California recently for a wine trip with great friends.  We had planned the trip in 2020, but we had to postpone for a year due to most of the world shutting down from the Covid pandemic.  We decided that we would take this trip in 2021, come hell or high water. Our "Winos" group as we jokingly and affectionately call ourselves, spent a few evenings and many text messages back and forth to discuss the "must visit" wineries as well as those that had been on various wish lists throughout the years.  After much discussion and many emails back and forth to the wineries on our radar, we finally decided on nine wineries that would complete our adventure.  And, so we begun with Day #1...... Repris Wines. We love Southwest Airlines!  However, a non-stop flight from IND to OAK would be ideal. There were three couples who took part in our journey and each one flew into a different airport.  Kris & Scott flew into Sacramento.  R

This post is a couple of weeks overdue, but the timing is right considering the scorching heat that most of the US is experiencing right now.  Many people feel that heavier red wines are cumbersome when the heat index is hovering around triple digits and while I am not one of those people, I think some white wines (slightly chilled) are better suited for the sweltering heat.  With that, I give you the 2016 Frank Family Vineyards Carneros Chardonnay.   This is Chardonnay exactly - e x a c t l y - how I like it to taste.  Whether or not oak is your thing, this 100% varietal has just enough that isn't overpowering, but it definitely helps bring the flavors together.  This wine has a really welcoming light gold color with lemon candy and warm buttered bread dominant on the nose.  Extremely creamy on the palate (again, just how I love it), lemon cake, baked cinnamon apple and baking spices combine beautifully and create a finish that clean and extremely satisfying.  This is defin

Bright golden yellow in the glass, this 2016 Chateau St Jean Creamy California Chardonnay is a solid pairing for spicy Spanish foods.  A complete steal at under $15, this wine displays notes of baked apple pie, lemon and mineral.  In the mouth is a medium bodied and luscious creamy combination of creamy lemon cheesecake, stone fruits, dry mineral and hints of cedar.  Straight forward with a finish that is silky and sweet, this Chardonnay could be a daily drinker and I've seen it closer to the $10 price tag online, so you're going to really win with this one! ABV:  14.5% California Suggested retail price:  $12.99 Drink The Bottles score:  87/100

When one thinks of white wine in the Napa Valley, Chardonnay is the immediate varietal that pops into mind and almost always the star of the show.  What I love about Chardonnay, is like Cabernet, you can taste 10 of them glass-to-glass and have 10 very distinct flavor profiles and tasting experiences.  The 2015 Beringer Napa Valley Chardonnay displays a bright lemon peel color in the glass, aromas of pineapple, Caribbean fruits and buttery biscuit.  On the tongue is a really nice, brighter feeling that makes this wine a good companion with many types of food.  I would imagine this with a hot buffalo chicken dip, jalapeno poppers or a spicy Thai dish.  The flavors of nectarine, brown sugar and creamy bread pudding are well blended and lead to a bright and airy finish. ABV:  14.1% Napa Valley, California Suggested retail price:  $24.00 Drink The Bottles score:  87/100

While one of the most popular white wines in the world, I feel like Chardonnay has become a little more forgotten with the popularity of Moscato and Riesling continually on the rise in most areas.  Why is that?  Because, frankly a lot of Chardonnay is very similar in taste and presentation.  There typically isn't a lot going on that makes you get excited.  But the 2016 Truchard Vineyards Chardonnay is a real head turner and one that will re-kindle your love for this varietal.  This Chardonnay, while spending time in oak, is nice and bright in the nose and in the mouth.  Pear, pineapple and toasted brioche are what I picked up on primarily in the glass.  In the mouth were some lovely flavors of lemon pie, baking spices, fresh cut apple and a finish that was clean and refreshing with a mineral presence.  The wine is absolutely delightful and a change from many heavy Chardonnay that are on the market.  Don't get me wrong.  I love a heavily oaked Chardonnay as much as the nex

What do you see here?  Champagne!   No.  It's sparkling wine.  But we don't need to get into the whole conversation about sparkling wine and Champagne right now, do we?  If you want to know the history behind it and why this is sparkling wine....perform a quick Google search.  Now, me personally.....if someone says they are serving Champagne with hors d'oeuvres at brunch, well, I'm not going to get mad at them when it's American sparkling wine nor  am I going to correct them.  In many cases, sparking wine has much more appeal than several Champagne I've tried over the years, both in flavor and price point.  This NV Treveri Cellars Brut Blanc de Blancs is made in the Champagne style and expresses green apple and a beautifully balanced warm bread yeasty flavor that is delicious.  Beautiful pale golden color (this is a Chardonnay blend).  Micro bubbles help lift and muted apple and pear aromas and when served slightly chilled, this sparking wine is refreshing

The 2016 Dawn's Dream Winery Chardonnay (Escolle Vineyard) is a flavorful, welcoming and refreshing Chardonnay with layers of flavors.  Medium golden in color, this wine presents nose-filling fruitful aromas of juicy pineapple, vanilla, lemon, spring flowers and........ a faintness of orange peel?  It seems like this wine changes every minute and I find it extremely intriguing and satisfying.  In the mouth it's a collaboration of flavors that include citrus flavors, lemon zest, light green grasses and brown sugar.  For such a young wine, it is drinking spot on and I (of course) sampled this around room temperature.  It's not overly oaked and not heavy at all.  I'd suggest some pasta with light cream sauce (fettuccine maybe?) or a roasted chicken dish with fresh garden vegetables as a well-paired duo. ABV:  14.0% Santa Lucia Highlands, California Suggested retail price:  $30.00 Drink The Bottles score:  92/100

If I was able to take a thermos of lunch to work in the summer, I'd probably fill it with this 2016 Avalon Winery California Chardonnay.  Why?  Well, first of all because drinking wine at work would be fun, but mostly because this is a very easy drinking wine that represents most budget-minded California Chardonnay in a positive light.  Apple and pear on the nose, light golden color with pear and smoky cheese on the palate, and a quick finish.  This is the kind of wine that you should always have around and slightly chilled for those impromptu summer hangout with friends.  If the first glass doesn't completely make you a fan, the second one will.  Very versatile foodie wine.  I think you could even serve this with a ham and cheese sandwich (hence, the take it to work with you wine) and be completely happy! ABV:  13.5% Central Coast, California Suggested retail price:   $11.99    Drink The Bottles score:  85/100

This Columbia Valley Chardonnay from Bookwalter Winery is a straight forward, fun  sipping wine that presents lemon, pear, dried grasses and hints of mineral throughout the nose.  It's not overly aromatic, but the flavors are the stars here.  The blending of Viognier helps make this sweet and bright.  Flavors of candied lemon, pear and honey on the tongue and all the way through the finish.  Although I taste and drink most of my white wines at room temperature, I think this wine would be incredibly refreshing served very cool and with oysters on the half shell or with a cobb salad.  For the price point, it would be easy to have 2 or 3 bottles around all of the time.  This wine is 76% Chardonnay and 24% Viognier. ABV:  13.6% Columbia Valley, Washington Suggested retail price:  $20.00 Drink The Bottles score:  88/100