Wine Tasting - Kinneybrook Sonoma Valley Chardonnay 2010

"… He won the lottery and died the next day.  It’s a black fly in your Chardonnay...”

 - Alanis Morissette, lyrics to her song “Ironic”

May the tides of positive change wash your way and may you be up to your ankles in an ocean of eco- friendly thought.  It’s simple, really.  See a piece of litter along your path?  Simply pick it up and see that it’s disposed of properly.  Choice between plastic and stainless steel bottle of water?  Opt for the reusable stainless steel one.  It may seem simple and insignificant but if everyone just did that little “extra” would this not be a more planet to live? 

Chucky had to introduce some white wine into his "Seitan with Fennel and Caper Sauce" dish that he prepared the other night.  Cooking with wine rule #1, never cook with a wine that you would not drink.  If it's not good enough to sip, why would you fathom it to be good enough to cook with?

A quick scan of the wine cabinets (three of them ~ one chilled and two non-chilled) found the Kinneybrook Sonoma Valley Chardonnay screaming, "Pick me!  Pick me!"  I cannot leave an open white wine sitting around for more than a day so I thought a wine tasting was in order.  Besides, a white wine will go fantastic with my tomato-based dish that I was about to prepare.

Chucky's Point Score: 87

Tiffany's Point Score: 88

Kinneybrook Sonoma Valley Chadonnay 2010

Appellation:  Sonoma Valley, California

Grape Varietal(s):  100% Chardonnay

Price:  $14.99 at Total Wines & More

Vintage: 2010

Producer:  Kunde Family Estate, Kenwood, CA

Alcohol:  13.8%

Tasting notes as follows.

Chucky's Tasting Sheet

Chucky's Notes:  “Powerful and buttery.  Stands up as a Chardonnay.  The apple, grapefruit and tropical fruits of my initial sip quickly became tasty and complex.  The more I sip this wine, the more I like it.  I drank it too early (too cold)."

Tiffany's Tasting Sheet

Tiffany's Notes:  "Nice Chardonnay!  Love the creamy vanilla and pear bouquet, which follow through on the palate!  The creaminess really smooths out the citrus fruits!  A very nice Summer wine.  :)"

From the bottle’s label:

"Complex flavors of bright pineapple, delicious grapefruit and crisp apple are perfectly balanced in Kinneybrook's sustainably farmed, estate bottled Sonoma Valley Chardonnay.  From fresh green salads to full-flavored seafood to roast chicken and vegetables, this versatile wine matches beautifully with a variety of foods."

From the vintner’s web site:

Note:  The “2010 Kunde Chardonnay, Kinneybrook Vineyard” on their web site is not this selection.  If you notice, the wine on their web site is listed as 14.2% whereas this wine is 13.8% alcohol.  It’s my suspicion that this may be an after-market label produced specially for Total Wines & More.  Total Wines & More had a special e-mail subscribers-only discount coupon for this specific wine selection. 

Once again, Tiffany and I scored this selection eerily similar.  As always, we never discuss or share our tastings until both of us have finished.  We do differ slightly but one combination of flavors can quite easily be said to be the equivalent of an entire different combination of flavors.  After all, how much difference between "grapefruit and orange" versus "grapefruit and lemon".  I think it can be said the two combinations are not terribly different.

We both fell in love with this Chardonnay selection.  Neither of us are Chardonnay drinks per se but we love the occasional white wine.  It keeps us both honest, open-minded, and every wine has its place.  Do yourself a favor and share a bottle of this wine with family or friends.  Yes, it's that good and deserves to be shared.  A simple and generous act of vino kindness.

Hi-dee hi-dee give-a-Chardonnay-a-home-on-your-palate-ho my friend.