2020 Wood Family Vineyards – A Versatile Wine Going, Going, Soon Gone!
The end is near for the 2020 Wood Family Vineyards excellent Chardonnay! They will be introducing the 2021 Chardonnay soon, which I have not paired with a meal. But I have over the last year purchased some dozen or more cases of her 2020 Chardonnay!! Yes I am convinced it is one of the best Chardonnay’s with excellent versatility and pairs/compliments an array of foods, and the price point is exceptional for the quality.
Rhonda Wood, winemaker and owner, continues to make consistently outstanding Chardonnay’s. Her previous vintages (2016, 2017, and 2018) had in her words a bent to being “crackerjacks in a bottle” with caramel and a slight secondary malolactic fermentation creating a light buttery finish. Then the 2019 brought forth more citrus flavors. See a previous story at: https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2021/05/25/2019-wood-family-vineyards-chardonnay/ . The 2020 vintage has once again brought a different slant on her Chardonnay and still an extremely enjoyable experience. All have won Gold, Double Gold and Best of Class at various competitions – so they all have rated high reviews.
Last night we pulled out the 2020 Wood Family Vineyards Chardonnay to enjoy with dinner. The 2020 has a beautiful golden coloring that glistens on the eyes with a medium heavy viscosity. On the nose, minerality and flint are predominate with secondary aromas of pear and Golden Delicious apple. Once on the palate, a definite “full on” fresh bakery brioche with lightly smoked almond, and crème brûlée flavors abound. Secondary flavor produced a hazelnut taste. With a little more new tight French oak barrels this year, the wine came across with a refined and lightly oaked finish. A miniscule lemon fragrance towards the end of the finish was also present. Absent is the “crackerjack and buttery finish” Rhonda had previously noted in some of her Chardonnay’s. Currently listed on their website for $32/bottle.
Food and Wine Pairing
Paired with both an appetizer and main dish. First the appetizer was medium size shrimp with a red cocktail sauce and lemon juice.
The main dish was a bok choy stir fried chicken. The ingredients included cornstarch, canola oil, dark sesame oil, uncooked onions, ginger root, minced garlic, uncooked bok choy, mushrooms and low sodium soy sauce. The flavors of the bok choy, mushrooms with the lightly tossed and cooked onions (in the stir fry) provided a wonderful and mouth filling herbaceous flavor mixed with the texture of the stir fried chicken with the Chardonnay. The 2020 Wood Family Chardonnay was a perfect complement with its creamy medium-heavy viscosity, slight fruit nuances, tinge of vanilla and bright freshness.
Wood Family Vineyards Chardonnay is such a versatile wine and co-exists with so many different foods. An enjoyable and delightful wine.
Sláinte,
Michael
California Wines & Wineries 