California Wines & Wineries

2019 Wood Family Vineyards Chardonnay and Firecracker Chicken

Posted on March 3, 2021

The Winery

A regular for summer time crowds is Wood Family Vineyards 2019 “Para Mas Amigas”, means “for more girlfriends”. This was not on purpose, but some rusty Spanish made it thus! She was trying to say “for my girlfriends”. She has made many friends, of both sexes, all enjoying her Chardonnay. Rhonda Wood who for three years in a row has won either a Double Gold Medal, Best of Class, Gold Medal from the SF Chronicle Wine Competition and who knows how many other accolades, recently released her 2019 Chardonnay.

The Wine

On the eyes a deep golden color and medium heavy viscosity. On the nose green apple, toasted almonds and soft lemon fragrance. This wine, different from her iconic past vintages with “crackerjack flavors”, added a citrus note. The finish was long and with complex layers of intrigue. This Chardonnay has many of the familiar characteristics of previous years. The wine has lingering tropical fruits, with peach and pear on the palate. In a recent conversation, Rhonda stated she blended her Chardonnay from both “tightly grained barrels and loosely grained barrels” into the final production wine. For the 2019 Chardonnay, she incorporated a higher mix of new French oak barrels, which imparted a new twist on an already exquisite wine. A little bit less “buttery” but the same big mouthful feel/texture and imparting some mild “Sauvignon Blanc type” lemon citrus for enjoyment. The previous three years this wine made “The Best of the Year” on my annual report. Destined to win many more awards in the coming months.

The Food & Wine Pairing

The Wood Family Vineyards 2019 Chardonnay was chosen for last night’s meal due to the spiciness of the dish called Firecracker Chicken. This used skinless chicken breast (cut into 1 inch pieces), cornstarch, eggs (beaten), vegetable oil, Sriracha, chunky garlic pepper sauce, brown sugar, rice vinegar, red pepper flakes and sliced green onions with sesame seeds, Mandarin oranges topped off the dish. This was tempered down in its “heat” last night, still had a kick of hot and spicy, but was so delicious. Having the 2019 Wood Family Chardonnay was a solid food pairing. The wine was refreshing and quenched the palate. First time trying this wine with this dish and with the reduced “heat”, the flavor of the Chardonnay held up nicely.

Sláinte,

Michael

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https://woodfamilyvineyards.com