Varietal: Chardonnay
Region: California – USA
Cost: $14
A steel  Chardonnay that has never touched oak, this white is crisp with flavors of apple, white peach, and pear.  Pairs well with chicken, seafood, and seasoned pork.
Recommendations: My wife and I picked up this bottle on the recommendation of my local wine store expert (John Witherspoon at the Wine Cellar in Richmond, Virginia is great if you’re in the area). Â My wife is not a fan of oaked Chardonnay, and he recommended this as a great steel Chardonnay for a great price. Â Trusting his judgement, we took it home and paired it with a meal of pork tenderloin.
Wines like this are why you should always trust your wine store guy. Â This crisp, slightly acidic white was a perfect compliment to a pork tenderloin with a lot of seasoning and flavor. Â The lightness of the wine did an excellent job of cutting the seasoning on the meat so that it wasn’t overwhelming.
I’ll be the first to admit that I had never heard of Four Vines before, but now that I’ve tried their Chardonnay I’m very interested to see what else they have. Â If you don’t like Chardonnay that’s been in oak, I highly recommend giving the Four Vines “Naked” Chardonnay a try.
I really hope that the trend toward unoaked Chardonnay’s continues. They are closer to the original intention of Chardonnay and truth be told far more enjoyable. Nice post.
Ash