Casella Mallee Point - Chardonnay 2009 @@@@ (4 Corks)

Retails: $7.99 (Total Wine)

Chardonnay has become a new favorite. It has managed to diminish my cynicism towards white wines with its crisp yet buttery, fruitful flavors. This Australian white is no exception, beautifully composed with nuanced flavors that shift from buttery, honey, to apple-tart and very light acidity. It's the perfect compliment to this evenings' existential musings.

To set the scene:

I'm home with the kids after a hell-acious week, that, aside from being strenuous on the work-front, has been intensifying on the home-front due to an escalating custody battle brewing---I'll spare you the details, but in essence, it can be boiled down to a lack of cooperation on the opposing party's side to the extent that we had to hire legal council to remedy the situation. Yes, three weeks before my wedding, this is the kind of egregious battle I'm still having to fight. But, we press on. My fiance is enjoying his bachelor party out with his sister (best man, yes we're not traditional), and I'm home, drinking a bottle of Chardonnay while the kids drift into what will hopefully be a restful slumber and I work on some last-minute wedding details, which led me to the following...

My parents sent me a disc of old photographs of my relatives -- many of whom passed away ages ago. I teared up over the people I didn't have enough time with, or had no time with at all. The photographs of my grandmother who passed away from breast cancer when I was a small child; my great grandparents whom I never had the chance to meet; my mother's father who exists as a mix of small clips and snaps in my memory due to the illness that kept him distant; my three Great Aunts, the last of whom just recently passed in body, but whose mind had long been taken by Alzheimer's. (the photo includes, from left to right, my Grandfather, aforementioned Grandmother and Aunt, and Uncle during WWII)

I have always lived far away from my family. I realize it's not abnormal for people to have grown up far away from their families' roots -- to be displaced from the people who have handed down legacy, heirlooms, traditions, secrets. My folks come from absolute opposite ends of North America -- my mother, a native to Quebec, Canada with a giant, true-blooded, Catholic French-Canadian family. My father, a son of the Deep South (Gainesville, Georgia).

We had our tiny, bi-lingual family nestled in the suburb of Cape Elizabeth, Maine--the compromise after my parents married -- moving my mother into the USA but close enough to drive home.

Every vacation, we made the trek to either end of the continent to visit family. It wasn't that we didn't make the effort to maintain family ties, but the distance, the distance made me feel completely alien to either halves. I was the only New England-er. For the most part, I hardly gave it a second thought, this was just expected for being so far away.

There are coping mechanisms, of course, when your family is so far away, your friends really do become your family and for that, I am truly fortunate.

The whole notion of Family. Legacy. Heritage. Tradition. have really hit me now, at the three week mark before my wedding.

I've been completely blown away by how many relatives I haven't seen in years have written, I mean hand written, me messages of wishes and hope in addition to making the journey to me, here in Florida for my wedding. Perhaps I've been unnecessarily withdrawn from either side, either way I'm so moved by the response.

As I was "thumbing" through the photographs on my computer, I just became overwhelmed by the legacy, the tradition that I am apart of, but never felt apart of...but I'm really starting to.

Bogle - Chardonnay @@@@@ (5 corks) !

Retails: $9.95 (Wal-Mart)

Let me start this off by saying...I love my fiance. Not only, in his currently unemployed state, does he happily do errands, groceries and clean the house, but he has exceptional taste in wine! He isn't even a wine drinker, not in the least bit. He is, by and large, an avid Captain Morgan drinker with next to no exceptions. When it comes to selecting a bottle for yours truly, he has yet to disappoint.

Just last weekend, we were exceptionally busy so I asked him to do the big-daddy grocery trip entirely on his own. Normally, it's our weekend ritual to do the largest grocery run together. However, as life has a tendency to do, we were overwhelmingly busy with innumerable obligations and so, I sent him, with list and coupons in hand, to grab our grocery load for the week. Included among the typical milk, pasta and deli meats that grace our list regularly, was a bottle of white wine---a dry white that I needed mostly for cooking. Given his less than optimal knowledge of wine, I sent along the following instructions: "the cheapest bottle you can find, a CHARDONNAY would be preferable."

But, taking the opportunity to impress me, he decided to buy me a bottle of Bogle Chardonnay. For reds, Bogle is one of my all-time favorites. When he's usually aiming to surprise me, as he frequently does (lucky me), he will buy me a bottle of Bogle's Merlot (usually priced at about $12). With even more surprise, it turns out their whites are priced below $10--which he specifically noted so that I'd have another stellar wine to ad to my blog. Go, Honey!

It is completely wonderful! Fragrant and light with a very bold apricot, honey and citrus flavor, this white wine is absolutely delightful. Unlike most whites, the flavor is very strong and stands up easily against strong meals. Since I initially intended this bottle to be used for cooking, I'm sure you're dying to know how the meal went---it was incredible and here is the recipe!

Shrimp with Potatoes and Pancetta
Ingredients:
1lb small potatoes (red russet or smaller is good), diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium red pepper, diced
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
1lb raw shrimp (deveined and without tails)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 cup white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup pancetta (or bacon if not available), diced
salt and pepper to taste
parsley to garnish

- Heat oven to 450 degrees.
- In an oven-proof medium skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high
- Add potatoes, cook 5 minutes while stirring, add peppers and onion. Cook five more minutes until potatoes are tender, constantly stirring,
- Add wine, pancetta, shrimp, garlic and red pepper, season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Cook in oven for ten minutes
- Add parsley and serve
(prep time 15 minutes, cook time 15, serves 2-3 people)
Enjoy!

Gumdale - Chardonnay @@@@ (4 corks)

Retails: $6.99 (Total Wine)

It seemed fate that I should have a positive Chardonnay experience with Summerfield, and low-and-behold Total Wine's "Wine of the Month" is a Chardonnay. With July whisked away and into August, temps in Florida are still in the high 80's, low 90's. It's been rainy and miserable this summer in the Sunshine State. Good wine is keepingn our morales high and spirits up.

It was long believed that the Chardonnay grapes were a mix between Pinot Noir and Blanc. However, recent DNA studies have concluded that Chardonnay is in fact a result of Gouais Blanc and Pinot combinations. Of course, the Romans are to blame, it is believed that Gouais Blanc came into the posession of the Romans by way of the Balkans. It was widely cultivated by peasants in France closely with the French aristocracy who preferred Pinot varietals. Chardonnay grapes were born.

Gumdale has yet to truly fail me. The Chardonnay is no exception. Crisp, fruity and very smooth, Gumdale's Chardonnay is a beautifully composed wine. Just enough body and flavor to compliment a meal or hold its own solo, Gumdale Chardonnay is a MUST for both hardcore red wine drinkers and white wine enthusiasts alike. White wine, for me, usually fails when not paired with a meal, the flavors of food can dwarf its flavor. I have truly enjoyed sipping this wine during cocktail hour just as much as I have while devouring a sumptuous repas. Enjoy!

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.