Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Summerfield - Chardonnay @@@@ (4 corks)


Retails: $5.99 (Total Wine)


Drum roll please...I LOVE this Chardonnay. There. I said it. Contrary to my typically un-conformist, failing to go with the popular majority on wine (or pretty much anything)...I Love Chardonnay...or at least THIS Chardonnay.


Crisp, fruitful yet deliciously tart and dry in the aftertaste, THIS is a Chardonnay to conform die-hard red wine drinkers (like me). Unlike many, some expensive, Chardonnays I've encountered in my past, this one bares none of the astringent undertones or lack of flavor. It may have successfully transformed my palette into one that will openly accept whites with baited breath and excitement, as opposed to the snarky cynicism which has been my trademark towards white wines.


One of the most ubiquitous wine varietals produced, Chardonnay grapes are said to originate in Burgundy but can now be found from England to New Zealand. It is said that as far as growing grapes are concerned, growing the Chardonnay varietal is a "rite of passage." It is the white wine's cabernet sauvignon, dominating over 400,000 acres (which is, in fact, more acreage than cabernet currently commands). The grapes have a taste that lends itself very well to being infused with other grape varietals or taking on some of the flavors of whatever kind of material it is aged within (in most cases, oak).


I highly recommend this wine to anyone who has previously turned their nose at white wines. Consider me convereted.

1 comments:

Jon said...

At some point I am going to have to drag you to upstate New York. As much as a heartless harlot as Anne might have been, she did show me the Seneca lake area in upstate New York which has a winery about every half mile or so. The area has reds of course, but it is known for its whites. If you hit up a dozen wineries in prime white wine country in a day you actually will find a few of the little bastards you actually interesting and tasty.

Though... perhaps in hindsight it was the quantity rather than the quality that cause my new found appreciation...