Wine By Nine

White Wine by Cape Mentelle from Margaret River, Australia. Appearance: Pale gold in appearance Aroma: Aromas of nectarines and figs combined with the sweet spice of gingernut biscuits greet the nose. Palate: The palate opens with rich quince paste and cardamon spiced poached pears. The mid-palate has refined peaches and cream, subtle mealy notes and a lingering finish resonating with crisp lemon zest.

White Wine by Bouchaine from Carneros, California. The 2004 vintage marks our first ever national release of Bouchaine Estate Chardonnay. This wine comes from vines dating to Bouchaine's original plantings in 1981, growing on our windswept Napa Valley Carneros hillsides. It is a true expression of Chardonnay--bright, citrusy flavors graced with only the merest hint of oak. Its bright acidity, notable texture (a hallmark characteristic of Carneros Chardonnay), and relentless finish harmonize in an elegant, stylish wine. Straw gold in color, it dances in the glass like sunlight. For anyone searching beyond overly-oaked Chardonnays, this one will surely delight and satisfy. FOOD PAIRING This Chardonnay loves food as much as you do. Seafood items such as fresh fish, scallops, and shrimp will truly shine when paired with this wine. Try it also with crab cakes with a red bell pepper sauce or chicken marinated in a soy-ginger dressing, and anything with citrus flavors.

White Wine by Chalone from Central Coast, California. Grown entirely at our estate vineyard, the 2003 Chardonnay is an extremely fine and delicate wine with aromas of stone fruit and brioche. Ten months of sur lie aging in 100 percent French oak barrels gives texture and imparts complex aromas of vanilla and hazelnut. As is typical of Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay, the acidity is firm and bright and the wine possesses gobs of minerality from our unique limestone site. I like to call Chalone Vineyard Chardonnay the white wine for red wine drinkers. Its rich flavors, distinctive minerality and crisp acidity make it a versatile wine to complement rich, robust dishes such as pasta in cream sauces, roasted salmon, grilled chicken breast and pork chops.

White Wine by Iron Horse from Russian River, California. 2003 is a excellent vintage in terms of quality and flavor intensity. It is also a special anniversary vintage, marking our 25th year of making Estate Chardonnay at Iron Horse. It beautifully expresses the bright, focused, clean, sweet-tart flavors of cool, foggy Green Valley. It is beautifully balanced, imparting a delightful leesy, toasty, perfectly integrated barrel character that doesn't overwhelm the fruit. The texture is soft, smooth, silky and sensuous. The finish, long and lingering. Enjoy with corn soup, rainbow trout, sole, halibut with mushrooms and asparagus, salmon, steamed lobster, lemon roast chicken served with jasmine rice, veal chop, anything with a cream sauce, goat cheese, walnuts - in other words, as often as possible.

White Wine by Joseph Drouhin from Burgundy, France - regions. The color of Chablis is pale straw with green tinges. There is a fruity and fragrant nose, reminiscent of mint leaves and, at times, lemongrass. It is generally medium to full bodied with a characteristic flinty aftertaste. Chablis usually ages 5 to 8 years. It is excellent served as an aperitif or with seafood, such as oysters, sea shells and fish.

White Wine by Casa Lapostolle from Chile, South America. Brilliant golden-yellow color. Intense, elegant and clean nose, where the tropical fruits, pineapple and citrus, predominate on very nice toasty notes coming from a well integrated wood. Delicious, fleshy and nicely-structured wine in the mouth, with a well balanced acidity that keeps it alive. A good alliance of freshness and complexity.

White Wine by Kumeu River from New Zealand. The 2005 Village Chardonnay features very attractive, lifted fruit aromas, along with a touch of hazelnut: quite typical of Chardonnay. The palate shows a nice, peachy ripeness, along with a crisp and flinty character that gives the wine a refreshing, cleansing quality. This wine is perfect for pairing with fish and shellfish.

White Wine by L'Ecole 41 from Columbia Valley, Washington. Elegantly balanced, this Burgundian style Chardonnay shows Fuji apple, Asian pear and ripe pineapple and tropical flavors with subtle mineral and spice that gain complexity on a long, robust finish.

White Wine by Novelty Hill from Columbia Valley, Washington. Ripe peach, pear and fresh pineapple aromas repeat on the palate and combine with a creamy texture to give this wine a rich and concentrated character. Good balance of acidty that produces a finish with generous length. Similar in style to rich, full flavored California Chardonnays. This limited production Chardonnay is a great example of the high quality wines from Washington state. However, with only a few hundred cases produced, it will be difficult to find. The Conner Lee vineyards in central Washington's Columbia Valley are one of the oldest vineyards in the state. The vineyard is known for its execeptional grape quality and enjoys moderate growing conditions that are well-suited to Chardonnay.

White Wine by Wolf Blass from Australia. The Gold Label Adelaide Hills Chardonnay is soft gold with a hint of green colour in the glass. Aromas of grapefruit and nectarine develop into a full, rich, yet elegant palate with varietal chardonnay flavours, a complex creamy texture and long finish. Char-grilled chicken and avocado salad. The screwcap closure ensures the freshness and character of the wine is preserved and enables upright cellaring for longer periods. This wine is enjoyable now but will continue to improve with careful cellaring for years to come.

White Wine by Trevor Jones from Australia. It's called a Virgin Chardonnay because it is untouched by any oak influence. The only wood that had anything to do with this wine was the trunks of the vines on which the grapes grew. This wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks. The result is a fresh, elegant wine, with great depth of rich ripe fruit, redolent of stonefruit, peaches and lychees. There is an underlying richness provided by the time spent on lees, combined with subtle complexity of the malolactic ferment component. The finish is soft yet crisp, with a hint of fruit sweetness balanced with an approachable acid level to leave a long, savory, flavorsome finish.

White Wine by Giant Steps from Yarra Valley, Australia. Hand picked, sorted and whole bunch pressed with minimal sulphur. Barrel fermented and aged on lees with minimal handling, gravity racking and a gentle filtration prior to bottling 12 months later. Minimal MLF. Bottled with a screw cap. Cool, dry ripening seasons allow us to draw out the palate whilst tightening up the finish. Nose - characteristically complex nectarine, white peach and citrus with underlying secondary cashew and grain meal. Palate - firm, yet creamy textural wine overlayed with minerally lemon zest and nectarine. Very good aging potential.