×
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $8.94
On the nose, bright citrus aromas are accented by fresh meringue with a hint of vanilla. On the palate, enjoy the...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.62 $19.60
12 bottles: $15.83
A bold take on a California classic; flavors of peach, pear, vanilla and crème brûlée; partial bourbon barrel...
White
750ml
Bottle: $20.08
12 bottles: $19.68
Made with organically grown grapes, the wine has a straw yellow color with green hints. On the nose, its elegantly...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $18.08
12 bottles: $17.72
COLOR: Wine of very elegant red color. BOUQUET: Intense aroma, with fruity hints of ripe plums, cherry jam and notes...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.71 $17.59
12 bottles: $12.35
There's more than meets the eye when it comes to our Chardonnay. A bright twist of lime unfolds into a silky caramel...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $16.71 $17.59
12 bottles: $10.45
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.64 $15.41
12 bottles: $11.52
Bold and strong in character, this deep rich and golden Chardonnay is filled with stone fruit aromas and a sweet...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.87 $15.41
12 bottles: $11.52
A deft touch with oak gives this medium- to full-bodied wine spicy complexity. It ranges from a toasted baguette...
WE
91
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.87 $15.41
12 bottles: $11.52
Medium, slightly round entry balanced by firm acid backbone. Oak well integrated. Uniform across palate with a tinge...
Case only
White
750ml - Case of 12
Bottle: $11.52
This wine represents the best of grapes grown in Monterey County. Our Chardonnay exudes flavors with grace and...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $19.94 $22.08
12 bottles: $19.54
A straightforward white, with fruit cocktail flavors and a short finish. Drink now. 6,000 cases made.
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $13.43
Pour a glass and you’ll discover a brilliant golden liquid overflowing with aromas of crisp citrus, green apple,...
White
750ml
Bottle: $39.94
12 bottles: $39.14
Musky apricot pit, peach and spicy vanillin oak on the nose. Densely packed but quite suave and fine-grained in spite...
12 FREE
VM
93
JD
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $34.69
12 bottles: $34.00
Bright straw-yellow. Rather wild scents of peach pit, strawberry, lime peel, hazelnut and musky lees. Rich and dense...
12 FREE
VM
92
WE
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $47.94
12 bottles: $46.98
A delicate bouquet of white tea, orange blossom and toasted almond build into captivating aromas. Opening with...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $12.05
12 bottles: $11.81
COLOR: Clear pale yellow in colour, with greenish reflections. NOSE: Fresh and slightly fruity bouquet with delicate...
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.48
12 bottles: $14.25
Fields of exuberant yellow straw come to mind when describing this chardonnay’s color. On the nose, a bouquet of...
White
750ml
Bottle: $23.94
12 bottles: $22.13
Bright and citrusy with a lemon-rind scent and broader, more apple like flavors, this wine’s texture, with its...
W&S
91
White
750ml
Bottle: $43.94
6 bottles: $43.06
Grapefruit pith, flint, roasted almonds and toasted lemons here. It’s medium-bodied, flinty and gently toasty with...
12 FREE
JS
92
WS
91
Sale
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $40.95 $46.80
The 2017 Chardonnay Sangiacomo Vineyards opens with aromas of lemon meringue, popcorn, banana chip and stone fruits...
WA
89
WS
88

Chardonnay Fruit Wine Gamay Garganega Primitivo

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.

The French wines of Beaujolais are widely regarded as some of the finest table wines in the world. This is due in part to the qualities of the Gamay grape, from which they are made. Gamay produces beautifully, juicy, rounded and gulpable red wines, usually drank young and full of their natural fruit character. However, it would be a mistake to say that Gamay is limited to easy-drinking, soft wines - it’s a highly flexible and versatile grape, capable of producing aged wines of serious complexity and structure, full of expression and fascinating characteristics.


The majority of Gamay wines from France are labeled under Beaujolais Villages or Beaujolais, and these are the standard table wines we’re used to seeing in French restaurants, at bistros, and at our local wine store. Usually great value for money, these are the light, slightly acidic examples of what the grape can do. Far more interesting are those Gamay wines from the 10 cru villages, just north of Beaujolais, where generations of expertise and a unique soil type made up of granitic schist result in far more unique, complicated wines. The best examples of Gamay feature intense aromatics, all black fruit and forest fare, and are worth cellaring for a few years.

Italy is a fine country for white grape varietals, and white wines have been produced in this ancient country for thousands of years. One of the more popular varietals in the modern age is Garganega, which is currently the 5th most planted white grape across Italy. This grape is most closely associated with the Veneto region of Italy, although it is also grown in Sicily, where it is known as Grecanico Dorato. Garganega is a rigorous, hardy grape, which can grow in huge yields - explaining its popularity in the past. Today, winemakers must be careful to keep yields as low as possible, as this a varietal which can easily lose its distinctive characteristics and fine qualities when grown in bulk.


We know Garganega most commonly from the Soave wines which have been consistently popular over the past few decades. Indeed, the Soave Classico wines which still sell in large quantities across the globe are made from 70%-100% Garganega varietal grapes, and these wines showcase the varietal’s fresh and delicate qualities. The most common flavors present in Garganega wines are delicate, citrus notes, balanced by a hint of almond, and the best examples have remarkable balance and length, with wonderful aromatic notes.

As with many European grape varietals, there is some debate regarding the precise origins of the Primitivo grape. Most people now agree that it probably came from Croatia, where it is still used widely in the production of red wine, and it known as Tribidrag. However, today it is a grape most commonly associated with the powerful red wines of Puglia, the heel of Italy’s boot, where the intense sunshine and brisk Mediterranean breezes produce grapes of remarkable character and balance. Primitivo is a dark grape, known for producing intense, inky, highly tannic wines, most notably the naturally sweet Dolce Naturale and the heavy and complex Primitivo di Manduria wines. Primitivo tends to be naturally very high in both tannin and alcohol, making it ideal for both barrel and cellar ageing, which brings out its more rounded and interesting features.


Primitivo is not the easiest grape to grow or manage, and it has had something of a difficult century. Indeed, by the 1990s, there was little interest in Puglian wines in general, and winemakers were neglecting their Primitivo vineyards and looking to other, more commercially viable varietals. However, the last decade has seen this grape come well and truly back into fashion, with new techniques and a heightened interest in native Italian grape varietals bringing Primitivo back into the spotlight. It is now widely loved for its intensity and ability to be paired with strongly flavored foods.