×
White
750ml
Bottle: $41.94
12 bottles: $41.10
• 100% Chardonnay. • Old Wente selection planted in 1999 by Ulises Valdez on Goldridge Soil in a block of...
12 FREE
White
750ml
Bottle: $26.89
12 bottles: $26.35
Abundant fruit with a slight tropical note backed by judicious oak. The fuller viscosity that is a signature of this...
White
750ml
Bottle: $35.90
12 bottles: $35.18
12 FREE
Red
750ml
Bottle: $42.40
With the Barham Mendelsohn label, Jim stretches his Pinot potential to include one of California's best growing...
12 FREE
Sale
Rapid Ship
Red
750ml
Bottle: $59.28 $60.00
Lastly, the 2020 Pinot Noir Isabelle is all Pinot Noir from six different vineyards and four different AVAs. Its...
12 FREE
JD
94
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $42.34 $46.40
Another gorgeous Pinot from ABC. Beautiful aromas of spice, rose petals, cherry/berry fruit are amplified on the...
Red
750ml
Bottle: $30.94
12 bottles: $30.32
Moving to the Pinot Noirs, the translucent ruby-hued 2019 Pinot Noir La Bauge Au-dessus offers good complexity in its...
JD
89
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $19.94 $22.40
Strawberries and blackberries aromas slowly rise out of the glass. Overtime, more of the anise and clove will mix...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $22.39 $24.88
6 bottles: $20.80
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $61.27 $68.08
12 bottles: $49.40
Belle Glos Chardonnay from Glasir Holt vineyard boasts a refreshing acidity and a rich mouthfeel with flavors of...
Sale
Red
1.5Ltr
Bottle: $126.12 $132.76
6 bottles: $120.00
Deep purple with flecks of garnet in color with lavish aromas of warm blackberry pie, raspberry, licorice, and white...
Sale
Red
3.0Ltr
Bottle: $145.35 $153.00
Deep purple with flecks of garnet in color with lavish aromas of warm blackberry pie, raspberry, licorice, and white...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $52.27 $58.08
12 bottles: $38.00
Deep purple with flecks of garnet in color with lavish aromas of warm blackberry pie, raspberry, licorice, and white...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $18.36 $20.40
12 bottles: $16.63
Blanc de Bleu, a sparkling wine with an added hint of blueberries, is a delicate wine reserved for memorable...
White
750ml
Bottle: $14.73
12 bottles: $13.99
Ours is not a buttery, oaky Chard. It sees no malolactic fermentation and no oak so you get a dry and bright palate...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $16.93 $18.40
Estate-grown on hillsides cradling California's Russian River, this Pinot Noir is made from our finest single...
Sale
Red
750ml
Bottle: $36.07 $40.08
12 bottles: $29.64
Rapid Ship
White
750ml
Bottle: $9.99
An initial impression of rich, buttery cream quickly turns to aromas of honey and lightly toasted almonds, followed...
White
750ml
Bottle: $19.60
12 bottles: $15.83
The brilliant light green and golden straw hue of our Estate Chardonnay hints at the depth of flavor that unfolds in...
Sale
White
750ml
Bottle: $46.43 $51.59
Nestled between the shore of the upper Russian River and a blue heron nesting site and preserve, the Blue Heron Ranch...

Chardonnay Pinot Noir United States California Mendocino County Santa Barbara

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.

Regularly described as being the grape varietal responsible for producing the world's most romantic wines, Pinot Noir has long been associated with elegance and a broad range of flavors The name means 'black pine' in French, and this is due to the fact that the fruit of this particular varietal is especially dark in color, and hangs in a conical shape, like that of a pine cone. Despite being grown today in almost every wine producing country, Pinot Noir is a notoriously difficult grape variety to cultivate. This is because it is especially susceptible to various forms of mold and mildew, and thrives best in steady, cooler climates. However, the quality of the fruit has ensured that wineries and vintners have persevered with the varietal, and new technologies and methods have overcome many of the problems it presents. Alongside this, the wide popularity and enthusiasm for this grape has ensured it will remain a firm favorite amongst wine drinkers for many years to come.

Of all the New World wine countries, perhaps the one which has demonstrated the most flair for producing high quality wines - using a combination of traditional and forward-thinking contemporary methods - has been the United States of America. For the past couple of centuries, the United States has set about transforming much of its suitable land into vast vineyards, capable of supporting a wide variety of world-class grape varietals which thrive on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coastlines. Of course, we immediately think of sun-drenched California in regards to American wines, with its enormous vineyards responsible for the New World's finest examples of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot based wines, but many other states have taken to viticulture in a big way, with impressive results. Oregon, Washington State and New York have all developed sophisticated and technologically advanced wine cultures of their own, and the output of U.S wineries is increasing each year as more and more people are converted to their produce.

California as a wine producing region has grown in size and importance considerably over the past couple of centuries, and today is the proud producer of more than ninety percent of the United States' wines. Indeed, if California was a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world, with a vast range of vineyards covering almost half a million acres. The secret to California's success as a wine region has a lot to do with the high quality of its soils, and the fact that it has an extensive Pacific coastline which perfectly tempers the blazing sunshine it experiences all year round. The winds coming off the ocean cool the vines, and the natural valleys and mountainsides which make up most of the state's wine regions make for ideal areas in which to cultivate a variety of high quality grapes.

Santa Barbara is home to many of California's most sought after wines, with a powerful reputation for superbly crafted, old world style big, flavorful and complex red wines. The white wine industry in the region is growing, too, with many wineries within Santa Barbara successfully experimenting with several classic white wine grape varietals. As in much of California, Santa Barbara benefits from the blazing west coast sunshine, coupled with cooling Pacific Ocean breezes and fogs, which help to temper the grapes and slow the ripening process, thus ensuring more flavor and aroma in the resulting wines. Although Santa Barbara is a relatively young wine region, it is home to many wineries who are extremely dedicated when it comes to demonstrating just how good their terroir is, and how characterful their region's wines can be.