In yesterday's post I included a short videocast I did on Malo-Lactic fermentation. The following wine is a California Chardonnay and a great example of Malo-Lactic/Oak fermentation....
This Chard demonstrates a nice balance between fruit expression and oak influence.
In the 80's California Chards were ALL about the oak. People would literally say: "Bring me butter in a bottle please." The problem with this was, these big oak fermented wines stood alone beautifully but hassled just about any food they were paired with. They didn't play well with others!
Today winemakers are splitting the difference. The quest is to make a wine that is balanced yet still retaining the California practice of Oak/Malo-Lactic Fermentation; Chardonnays that still retain nice fruit, and freshness, but that also offer subtle nuances of spice and oak.
This Fess Parker 2010 Chardonnay from Santa Barbara does just that. As you can see in the pic, we enjoyed it with a couple of expressive cheeses. One was a Mediterranean String Cheese, and the other a Wasabi Cheddar (thank you, Fresh and Easy). The ripe apples, subtle lemon and melon notes in this wine created a perfect contrasting experience with the cheeses. Together they danced the jig I like in my wine and cheese parties. This Chardonnay DOES play well with others.
We found this affordable wine at Costco and (in my opinion) it competes respectably with much more pricey Chards like Trefethen and Rombauer - although I must say, I also love both of those Chards too.
Oh, and no we did not float tiny palm trees in the glass - :-)
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| Fess Parker Chardonnay with Cheese and tiny palm trees |
In the 80's California Chards were ALL about the oak. People would literally say: "Bring me butter in a bottle please." The problem with this was, these big oak fermented wines stood alone beautifully but hassled just about any food they were paired with. They didn't play well with others!
Today winemakers are splitting the difference. The quest is to make a wine that is balanced yet still retaining the California practice of Oak/Malo-Lactic Fermentation; Chardonnays that still retain nice fruit, and freshness, but that also offer subtle nuances of spice and oak.
This Fess Parker 2010 Chardonnay from Santa Barbara does just that. As you can see in the pic, we enjoyed it with a couple of expressive cheeses. One was a Mediterranean String Cheese, and the other a Wasabi Cheddar (thank you, Fresh and Easy). The ripe apples, subtle lemon and melon notes in this wine created a perfect contrasting experience with the cheeses. Together they danced the jig I like in my wine and cheese parties. This Chardonnay DOES play well with others.
We found this affordable wine at Costco and (in my opinion) it competes respectably with much more pricey Chards like Trefethen and Rombauer - although I must say, I also love both of those Chards too.
Oh, and no we did not float tiny palm trees in the glass - :-)
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