En route to the first Chardonnay Symposium, the city of Santa Maria appeared in all its incarnations. Hosted at Bien Nacido Vineyards’ historic Adobe, the morning began, like most in this winemaking region, wrapped in tangible veils of fog. As-read more-
You may not recognize this wine as Chardonnay if you’ve only been exposed to the heavy oak and butter first popularized by some California wineries. Made without oak aging or malolactic fermentation, it is more like a new white varietal,-read more-
In some ways, New York’s wine regions are ideal for making sparkling wine. The generally cool weather—combined with lake effect in the Finger Lakes and ocean breezes in Long Island—allows grapes to ripen slowly with gorgeous aromatics and natural acidity.-read more-
Though it’s a bit more expensive than most of the others, this wine is richer and beefier, with fragrant notes of almond croissants, toasted wheat bread with lemon marmalade, orange blossoms, hazelnut, and honeydew. It’s complex, slightly earthy, and well-read more-
This wine was a favorite; it’s a joy to drink. Lemon yogurt on the nose, and the flavor followed through: a flute of this wine is like a scoop of puckering lemon sorbet and a slice of cheesecake all in-read more-
With Golden Delicious apples and honey on the nose, this blend of 54% Pinot Noir and 46% Chardonnay is food-friendly but not extremely complex. The flavor is a little musky, with notes of apples, radicchio, a squeeze of lemon, and-read more-
This sparkling rosé, a blend of 54% Pinot Noir and 46% Chardonnay, is tart and elegant. It pours a light peach orange, just barely pigmented. There’s a hint of biscuits, cream, red berries, and lemon zest on the nose. It’s-read more-
This blend of 50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and 5% Pinot Meunier is the kind of wine you want to bathe in, with a rich scent of baked cinnamon apples and brioche. It’s fragrant and a little decadent, soft and-read more-