[click image to zoom]
"This delightful unoaked Chardonnay is vibrant, crisp and clean with bright apple and pear aromas and flavors. Fresh and appealing, it pairs well with fish and poultry dishes."
- Schneider's of Capitol Hill
Producer: Maimai Creek
Website: www.maimaicreek.com
Condition/Note:
Price: $19.99
Sale Price: $14.99
Available Vintages:
2011(750ml)
Varietal: Chardonnay
Its adaptability to different soils and climates, and malleability in the wine room make Chardonnay one of the most popular and ubiquitous grapes. Responsible for some of the world’s most thrilling white wines wines including Champagne, it is in its homeland of Burgundy with villages such as Chablis, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet that producers craft arguably some of the world’s finest wines.
Chardonnay is also synonymous with California, where it can display riper, tropical fruit flavors, rather than the more restrained stone fruit and steely, mineral qualities often associated with its Old World and cool climate counterparts.
While there are terrific fresh and vibrant Chardonnays made solely using stainless steel, the grape also knits terrifically well with oak, lending greater depth and weight in the form of a nutty, toasty and somtimes buttery component.
Country: New Zealand
Although vines have been planted in New Zealand for nearly 200 years dating back to 1819, it has only been relatively recently, since the 1970s, that wine production has taken off on a commercial level. The industry has grown at a phenomenal rate with exports increasing six fold in the first decade of the 21st century, and has now surpassed more traditional agricultural exports such as wool. With a combined length roughly that of California's, most of the vineyards on the two islands experience a cool maritime climate. There is a clear climatic distinction between the two. The north island is slightly colder and damper, experiencing a similar climate to Bordeaux, while the southern island is slightly warmer and drier. Many growers are diversifying their planting with other varieties, notably Pinot Gris and Riesling, however Sauvignon Blanc, the grape New Zealand established its reputation with, increased in plantings nearly 4 fold between 2005 and 2010. The red wine industry is heavily reliant upon its number one red wine grape, Pinot Noir, which in some areas such as Central Otago accounts for 78% of total plantings, as of 2009.
Region: Hawkes Bay
Sub-Region:
Type: White
White wine is a wine whose color can be pale-yellow, yellow-green, and yellow-gold colored. The wine is produced from a variety of grape varieties. The flavor and color comes from the juice of the grape and sometimes the skin of the grape as well. Interestingly, not all white wine comes from white grapes. Some select red grapes are used as in Champagne.