Chardonnay is one of the most popular white wine grapes in the world. It is grown in all of the major wine regions and produces a wide range of wine styles and textures. Chardonnay has not found a region that it does not like, however some areas are better than others for producing this varietal. The origin of this grape is Burgundy, France. Burgundy is where Chardonnay claimed its status as the most desirable white wine grape. In Burgundy, as in other regions around the world, Chardonnay has a range of styles. From Chablis in the North to Macon in the South, it makes delicious Chardonnay wine. The grape came to California in the 1880’s in Livermore Valley, which is located in the Bay Area of Northern California. It is currently planted in multiple areas across the state of California with the most successful plantings residing in the coastal regions where the cooler weather prevails. As in Burgundy, a range of styles are produced in the U.S. ranging from un-oaked, to oaked using a variety of oak products (barrels, planks, and oak chips).
We chose the Carneros region of Napa for our first Chardonnay. It enjoys the cool marine fog influence that prevents the grapes from becoming over-ripe. This is one of the premiere growing regions in California. We age our Chardonnay in French Oak barrels for a minimum of 10 months shooting for a Chardonnay more on the toasty side versus the buttery style. Our chardonnay has a bright citrus character as well as tree fruit aromas of apple and pear. The toasty aromas hint of vanilla and the crisp acidity refreshes the palate. We make a limited amount of Chardonnay to please our personal taste and hope you enjoy it as much as we do. We only offer the Chardonnay on our website due to the limited production. We hope you are enticed to try the lightly oaked Stout Family Chardonnay wine and its rich texture.
