Review: 2006 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Chardonnay Reserve

As I've mentioned a bit lately, the Chards have been my most recent wine of choice. Robert Mondavi's '06 Chard Reserve is another yum-yum in my book.
ZinfanHubby & I had visited Mondavi for the first time back in May while in Napa for our anniversary. As members of another Constellation wine club (Ravenswood), we got to skip the crowded main tasting room and got the VIP treatment & tasting (& cheese!) in the back. We do not buy white wines often, much less Chardonnay, but this one was too good.
ZinfanGirl's first thought upon opening the bottle: hello, mellow yellow! I mean seriously, "honey" "straw" and even "golden" don't do this wine justice. Next up was the smell. I am instantly transported back to my younger days as Non-AlcoholicGirl, as this Chard smells exactly like Martinelli's sparkling apple cider. Maybe this wine was created with kids in mind: it has undertones of caramel apple... or is it kettle corn? Slightly creamy yet tart yet fruity. Yum. Keep out of the reach of kids, OK?

Review: 2008 Qupé "Y" Block Chardonnay

I think my "weather-appropriate wine-o-meter" device is off because man! I am loving Chardonnay lately! One would think that with the cooler weather and shorter days that reds would be at the top of ZinfanGirl's list, but the Chards keep pulling through.

Last night, it was on me to find a wine to pair with a lemon-pepper pasta dish we were making for dinner. I think I did good with Qupe's 2008 "Y" Block Chardonnay. Well actually, Whole Foods did good, as I selected this wine based on WF's review that it "pairs well with poultry or seafood pasta." We've been loving the Central Coast lately as well, so it seemed like a good bet.

The color is extremely pale: straw with some very mild green undertones. It smells buttery (hi, oak barrels) yet slightly crisp. ZinfanGirl likes butter, so buttery Chards are always a plus. First sip has a very buttery forward and middle, and a lingering finish throughout the mouth. There is not much acid in this wine-- surprising for a white wine, IMO. The climax of this wine is in the forward; the back is a bit lacking. But it did pair fabulously with our lemon-pepper-chicken-pasta, so it all worked out well in the end.

Cheers!

Report: Livermore Left Intact

Might I pat myself on the back for introducing yet another wine tasting virgin to my scene. We three girls had a fabulous time exploring my new favorite part of the East Bay: lunching, wine-ing, and enjoying the fantastic Livermore sunshine!

We started off with a delicious lunch at Wente's restaurant. We ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc (not Wente's-- is that a faux pas? Oh well.) and it was hands down the best Sauvignon Blanc I have had in a really, really long time. Brophy Clark 2006, Santa Ynez Valley, Valley View Sauvignon Blanc. In fact, just blogging about it reminds me that I best look it up & order some online if need be! Once again, a Wente treated us to a spuerb meal and wonderful service, right down to writing "Happy Birthday" in chocolate on Kelly's crème brûlée.

Happy birthday, wine tasting newbie! @the Restaurant at Wente

Well, since there's a tasting room just a few feet away... off we go!  Being the former sorority girls that we are, we decided we had to have a color theme (red) and wear boas. Birthday girl Kelly got a tiara. We were quite the festive sight!

@Wente vineyards (I appear to have sweated off my make-up).

My comrades were pleased that Wente accomodated their desire for only white wines. How can I be friends with a couple of Reisling lovers is beyond me. As DD, I couldn't even finish off their red wine rejects. Alas, not everyone is as red wine savvy as ZinfanGirl!

Next up was White Crane. What a little gem! They were offering something like 9 tastes for $5-- wowzers! And like any good winery, this was waived with any purchase. We arrived uncertain of where the tasting was. Could it be that little wooden shed just past the vines? That was when we heard the singing...

Our red-clothed, feather-adorned selves entered just as the singing finished. We immediately received remarks about our boas. After explaining that it was Kelly's birthday, the entire winery launched into a (second) round of, "Happy Birthday!" The vibe in that little tasting room was friendly, fun and welcoming-- always good traits, in my Zinfan-pinion. And it's always a rare treat to start your tasting with a sparkling wine-- double points for that, White Crane!

Boas, tiaras & red, oh my! @White Crane

After consulting our trusty map (I'm on the verge of brekaing up with my GPS-- seriously, don't get me started), we found that another recommended winery, Charles R, was just down the road. ZinfanHubby's good friends told us they like Charles R because it is "off the beaten path." They were not joking. I had faith that the Horace-mobile could make it down this gravelly dirt road, and was not disappointed (Horace, like ZinfanGirl, would never let some dirt & rocks interfere with wine).

Literally, off the beaten path! @Charles R Vineyards

Charles R had an interested Chardonnay called Sur Lies, a method which uses less batonnage to bring out the fruit flavors. I knew immediately what this meant even before the lady held the bottle up for my friends to see. "Ewww!" was the (predicted) reaction to the sight of sediment floating in the bottle. ZinfanGirl, however, found it interesting. Dredges & sediment, while not ideal, are just something you deal with in the wine world. Like having to scoop poop if you own a cat, it just comes with the territory (not to insinuate that ZinfanGirl would ever swallow cat poop. Just sayin'.). Our visit to Charles R concluded with Deena's pink melted frosted birthday cupcakes outside in their lovely little picnic area.

Thanks to Kelly for the photos. I better actually, you know, make sure she's OK with me posting them on here.

Review: Morro Bay Vineyards 2007 Chardonnay

Yet another bottle of BBQ leftover wine. We have the best guests ever, they know me & ZinfanHubby all too well!

This Chard has been sitting in our fridge getting nice & chilly while ZinfanHubby & I battled some kind of infection all week. Wines, unlike friends & family, don't suddenly disappear when we get contagious-- my own ZinfanMama won't even hug me when I'm sick! Rather, the bottles sit, waiting patiently, and are all too willing to embrace us the second we feel (or think we feel) better.

I've been to Morro Bay (the city, not the winery) once. Cute, kinda sleepy little beach town not too unlike Half Moon Bay. I wouldn't have guessed there are wineries there, but considering its position between Monterey (which has wineries cropping up like wildflowers) and Santa Barbara (hello, Sideways!) it isn't surprising. I guess grape vines, like ZinfanGirl herself, are partial to the lovely California coast. Alas, I digress!

Let's see how badly the bug affected my nose & palate... it has the nice, crisp smell of well, a Chardonnay. Slightly sweet, slightly acidic, just enough oak, slight hint of creamy... butter? sweet? I dunno, it's just... creamy (maybe my nose has been affected-- that, or my wine description vocab). It is very light for a Chard, just enough of that signature Chardonnay golden hue coming through, but on sight one could almost mistake it for a Sauvignon Blanc.

This wine is crisp all throughout, but a bit acidic for my taste. The creamy smell was indeed butter; its taste hits about halfway down the mouth and gives the wine a nice mouthfeel. I'm getting two distinct flavors here: the acidity of fruit-- light fruits, maybe apples & pears?-- and the creaminess. Both are balanced, neither one dominates the other, yet they just don't... mesh. It's like sipping 2 different wines altogether.

Verdict: I'd prefer if the butter were more forward and the finish more crisp, but meh. Like I said, I didn't buy this wine, and I probably wouldn't again having tasted it. It has its upsides, and if you're a Chard fan it might be worth giving it a go (although I couldn't find a website for Morro Bay vineyards, I'd bet my money-- no pun intended-- that this wine was purchased at a grocery store for under $15). ZinfanGirl is not the biggest Chard fan, and this certainly isn't the wine to change her mind.